NHL Postseason Dissection: Ducks, Senators Facing Makeover

The NHL postseason is upon us unless you’re the Ottawa Senators or Anaheim Ducks. What went wrong with this pair?

With less than a week remaining in the regular season and the NHL postseason just around the corner, most of the Stanley Cup playoff spots have been clinched. The race in the Eastern Conference has pretty much been over since the All-Star break, while the final spots in the Western Conference may come down to the last few games.

With most of the teams that are mathematically eliminated playing out the string, it is a good time to see exactly why they ended up on the outside looking in. We will start two clubs that have a lot of young talent but still seem a bit away from being in the mix for the playoffs.

Ottawa Senators

What went wrong?

The Sens were adversely affected by COVID early on, which forced players to move up in the lineup before they were ready. The attempt to bring in veteran secondary players (defensemen Nick Holden, Michael Del Zotto, and forwards Zach Sanford and Tyler Ennis) did not provide enough support for their young core group, while others like Connor Brown took a step back offensively.

Where Ottawa struggled mightily was on defense and in goal. Thomas Chabot is excellent but overburdened by a heavy workload, while the rest of the blueline (Nikita Zaitsev, Artem Zub, Victor Mete, Del Zotto, Holden) was inadequate. Matt Murray had a stretch where he played well, but he cannot stay healthy, and thus far has been a costly mistake.

What went right?

Unlike some rebuilding teams, Ottawa does have the cornerstone players in place, which are always the most difficult pieces to find. Brady Tkachuk and Josh Norris have the makings of a fearsome top-line duo, Tim Stutzle has struggled defensively but has doubled his offensive production in his sophomore season, and Drake Batherson averaged nearly a point-per-game in an injured-shortened season.

With Murray sidelined, the Sens were fortunate to find an adequate replacement in Anton Forsberg, and at the deadline, GM Pierre Dorion swapped pending free agent Nick Paul to Tampa for winger Mathieu Joseph and added veteran blueliner Travis Hamonic.

What will they do?

The path that the Sens organization is likely to be significantly affected by the death of owner Eugene Melnyk, with questions about a new building in downtown Ottawa, the club’s financial well-being, and their future in the nation’s capital hanging in the balance.

The addition of 2020 top pick Jake Sanderson should help fill a big hole on defense, but other possible moves like buying out of Murray, trading White (to clear salary to extend Norris), or even signing free-agent forward Claude Giroux are pure speculation at this point.

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Anaheim Ducks

What went wrong?

Bad roster planning by former GM Bob Murray had the Ducks facing a trade deadline with three core members in Hampus Lindholm, Josh Manson, and Rickard Rakell as pending free agents. New GM Pat Verbeek took over a club contending for a playoff spot in mid-season but had to deal with the situation and chose to move out his veteran rentals for the best return he could get. Anaheim now faces the prospect of a long rebuild.

What went right?

The Ducks perhaps did not expect to do as well as they did in the first half and chose to give their future core pieces a lot of rope. After struggling over four seasons in the organization, Troy Terry finally found his place, posting a career-high 36 goals. 21-year-old center Trevor Zegras appears to have star potential ability, along with youngsters Jamie Drysdale, and Isac Lundestrom.

What will they do?

Verbeek will have another top prospect in Mason McTavish joining the club next season, but with the retirement of team captain Ryan Getzlaf, the Ducks look to be on the path of a methodical rebuild. There has been speculation that players traded at the deadline (Manson, Nicolas Deslaurier) may return to Southern California over the summer, but is goalie John Gibson on board with finishing outside of the post-season for the next two-to-three years.