As the doldrums of the NHL summer drag on the Sens have yet to resolve their remaining RFA situations (Pinto and Sokolov) or address the Formenton-situation (either because they can’t or won’t). I’ve been waiting for something to change, but at this point I decided to look at the team as-is (assuming contracts for the former two with Formenton not returning). What prompted me to do this is the varied lineups I’ve seen from journalists and fans. Key: those in bold are on one-way contracts; those in italics are on two-ways; those with a (v) take up a veteran slot in the AHL; those in green are either new to the roster or barely played last season. I realize some of the players can play other positions, but I’m going with how they’ve generally been used (keep in mind this is a depth chart arrangement).

NHL Depth Chart – Forwards
Tkachuk-Stutzle-Giroux
Kubalik–Norris-Batherson
Joseph-Pinto (RFA)-Greig
Kelly-Kastelic-MacEwen

I don’t think there’s much room to argue this configuration, barring other roster changes. The Sens are weak on the right side, which is good for Greig, and while Kelly is likely on his way off the NHL roster and Joseph is misplaced, contracts get priority. That said, the Sens are very deep on the left side, even if that depth isn’t established enough to push out roster players. Let’s look at how I think the org see’s that depth by position:
Center: Chartier, Ostapchuk, Pilon (v), Daoust
I don’t think either Chartier or Pilon are good fill-in NHL players, but both have some experience; Ostapchuk is a rookie, but the Sens won’t hesitate to put him in the lineup because of his style of play; Daoust is coming off a major injury so we have no idea what he is as a prospect; the org would not lean on any of these players for a significant period. They also have an AHL-contract at this position (Saulnier), who was a good soldier for the org last year. At the AHL level it’s not clear any of these players are elite talents (with Chartier unable to remain healthy), so that’s going to hurt the BSens offensively.
Rightwing: Sokolov (RFA), Currie (v), Boucher
I expect the Sens will add someone on the right side in Belleville, but as it stands Sokolov is easily the first call-up, with the veteran Currie as 1A (assuming his decline in the KHL isn’t an overall decline); first-rounder Boucher needs to prove he can perform and stay healthy; theoretically there should be decent production from at least the top two (Sokolov was 26th in the league last season)
Leftwing: Highmore (v), Crookshank, Jarventie, Smejkal, Reinhardt, Imama
The Sens are loaded on this side, but presumably signed Highmore because of his NHL experience to take the pressure off prospects (he was 19th in AHL scoring last season); my guess is Crookshank is next in line because of his style of play, with the talented Jarventie better suited to strictly offensive opportunities; I assume the Sens signed Smejkal for a reason, which puts him ahead of Reinhardt, and Imama wasn’t added for NHL duty; they inexplicably have an AHL-deal on this side as well, with McPhee. Because of the players ahead of Smejkal, I wouldn’t expect big numbers from him (unless he can play center, or someone else in this group can). The intent with the Czech, unlike Matinpalo below, seems to NHL depth rather than as a pure prospect.

It’s worth pointing out that, with the possible exception of Jarventie, none of these players are expected to push things offensively (there’s a possibility with Crookshank, but that’s still up in the air), so where the Sens truly trail behind other teams is in proven scoring depth. Ideally Kubalik is on the third line with Pinto and someone else who can score (with a scoring winger added on the left side of the second line), but right now the Sens have to lean entirely on their top-six (with injuries it’s almost certain Pinto will spend parts of the season among them). It’s worth pointing out only two drafted players are being inserted into the system (Ostapchuk and Boucher).

NHL Depth Chart – Defense
Chabot-Chychrun
Sanderson-Zub
Brannstrom-Hamonic
Bernard-Docker (R)

As with the forwards above, I don’t think any of this can be argued. Unlike the forward group, the Sens are stack on the right side (which is unusual), and the depth chart is much clearer than the forward group.
Left side: Kleven, Larsson (v), Heatherington (v), Sebrango
The org loves Kleven, but there’s no room for him in the NHL. Behind him are the lumbering spare parts known as Larsson/Heatherington. The former has a ton of NHL experience, but that got him run into the minors; both are stopgaps capable of minimal minutes. Behind them is failed first-rounder Sebrango who I wouldn’t expect to be called-up at all. Other than Kleven, none of these players can effectively move the puck at this level, so don’t expect much offensively.
Right side: Thomson, Guenette, Matinpalo
While Matinpalo is a wildcard, the other two are comfortable callups and I think Thomson is better than JBD already. The Sens have another blueliner on this side on an AHL deal (MacKinnon) so I don’t know if any further additions will be made. Fans should appreciate that, barring injury, Matinpalo is not going to get many offensive opportunities, so don’t expect big numbers.

On paper the Sens have a good blueline, but both Chabot and Chychrun struggle to stay healthy and other than Thomson there’s not much in the system to move the puck (Kleven has yet to prove he can do it at that level and we know JBD can’t). The good thing is, there’s still potential in that depth so it’s not as cut and dried as the forward group.

NHL Depth Chart – Goaltenders
Korpisalo
Forsberg

This is so simple I’m not going to spend too much time on it: Sogaard, Merilainen, Mandolese
Mandolese has more experience than Merilainen, but he’s been erratic his whole pro career so I think he’s the third goaltender until something changes. The Sens have picked up an AHL-goaltender already (Sinclair), so I don’t expect any more to be signed.

The entire goaltending group is a giant question mark. None of these players have demonstrated consistent good play over an extended period. It’s difficult to assess prospects at this position until they are 26-27, and the prospects (in the order above) are 23 (in December), 21 (in August), and 23 (in August). Any or all could blow up like Marcus Hogberg or simply never escape the AHL. On the plus side all three have shown their ability to elevate their play, so the question is consistency and the ability to stay healthy. At the NHL-level it’s even more dire, as Forsberg has never truly been a starter (and we have no idea how he’ll perform after surgery), while Korpisalo has been erratic throughout his career. If there’s a fail point to the roster, it’s right here.

This article was written by Peter Levi

July 22, 2023
Categories: Belleville Senators, Ottawa Senators . . Author: Eye on the Sens

3 Comments

Comments RSS TrackBack Identifier URI

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.