Storylines to Watch During the Final Week of Senators’ Training Camp

The final week of the preseason presents many storylines for the Ottawa Senators.

While the majority of the club’s roster is set, there are several questions still to be answered. With only three exhibition games, some of them may not be resolved until the team opens the regular season in Buffalo on October 13, or even beyond.

Competition remains fierce for the final pair of spots on the Senators blue line. The fourth-line centre role is up for grabs. Will the team sign restricted free agent forward Alex Formenton? How will head coach D.J. Smith manage his power play units?

Ottawa Senators Final Training Camp Week Storylines

The current state of the Senators Defense

What is known; if the current defensive duos remain status quo, they’ll look like this”

Thomas Chabot – Artem Zub

Jake Sanderson – Travis Hamonic

Nick Holden – ?

From the outset of camp Chabot/Zub and Sanderson/Hamonic have been steady pairings.

Chabot requires a partner he can count on, and Zub is more than capable of matching the 25-year-old minute for minute if need be.

The preference is to have Sanderson paired with a d-man that plays within his means. Hamonic fills that role admirably. Last week Hamonic mentioned he just had to get the puck to the Sanderson. The Senators 2020 fifth overall selection is a fluid skater, who breaks the puck out of the d-zone with ease.

There’s been some question about whether to swap Zub and Hamonic for the purpose of insulating Sanderson with the club’s perceived second-best d-man, but that hasn’t come to fruition, at least not to date.

Nick Holden sits in the fifth hole, whether it’s on the left or right side remains to be seen.

Erik Brannstrom makes a solid case for the defence Saturday. Signed to a one-year contract in the offseason, the young Swede may have played his best game as a Senator, especially in terms of being noticeable in a good way.

Brannstrom’s dangle through four Montreal Canadiens almost led to a third-period goal. He also quarterbacked a pair of late power plays. The one bonus for the 23-year old; a left shot, Brannstrom like Holden can play either side on the Senators’ back end.

With Lassi Thomson assigned to Belleville, the team’s American League affiliate this weekend, it leaves Brannstrom, Jacob Bernard-Docker, Jacob Larsson, and Nikita Zaitsev vying for two spots.

To earn a position on the club’s roster, Bernard-Docker has to be a clear number six.  If the Canmore. AB native is not going to be constant in the Senators’ lineup, it behooves the team to send him to Belleville to continue to hone his game.

Inked to a two-way deal, Larsson a veteran of 165 NHL games with the Anaheim Ducks, has worked his way into the mix. However, at the end of the day, he’ll likely be one of the first AHL call-ups when duty calls – though there may be some worry he’ll be claimed off the waiver wire.

For Zaitsev, the preseason hasn’t been kind. From a scouting perspective, he’s been surpassed by the Senators young d-core. Two games shy of 400, after receiving a $2 million bonus, Zaitsev is owed another $2.5M for the remainder of the 2022-23 campaign. A club needing to stay above the cap such as the Arizona Coyotes or the injury-riddled Chicago Blackhawks may possess a modicum of interest in acquiring the stay-at-home blueliner.

Then there’s the trade option to bolster the D. Rumours of adding Coyotes Jakob Chychrun persist, but it’s doubtful general manager Pierre Dorion is willing to part with forwards Ridly Greig or Shane Pinto who’s been a component of the suggested return.

TSN insider Darren Dreger mentioned hearing the name of goalie Mads Sogaard in a potential swap for Chychrun during the TSN1200 pregame show Saturday.

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Kastelic making his case

Heading into training camp, the Senators’ fourth-line centre role belonged to Dylan Gambrell. Mark Kastelic has now joined that conversation. After a 16-game cup of coffee with the team last season followed up with an impressive summer, which saw him named the second-fittest player at camp, Kastelic has done all he can to make the squad.

But not unlike the situation surrounding Bernard-Docker, will Kastelic receive enough ice time to make it worthy to keep him in Ottawa?

Smith said of the Phoenix resident a week ago, “It’s going to come right down to the end for him, and it’s a matter of how many minutes we can get him. He’s going to play in the National Hockey League. He’s too big, he’s too strong and his will is too good. You can see he’s got presence out there.”

Kastelic earned the praise of his coach once again after Saturday’s 5-4 extra-time victory over the Canadiens.

“He is one of these guys that just does what the coach asks him all the time and I can’t imagine he’s that much fun to play against. He’s certainly making it real hard for us.”

In camp on a PTO, former Sen recently turned 35, Derick Brassard also gave a solid showing versus Montreal.

Playing on a line with Alex DeBrincat and Claude Giroux, Brassard played like his old self,

“I thought he played well. He’s easy to play with. He’s in the right spot most the time and you know, he can make those plays,” added DeBrincat.

But for Brassard to have any opportunity to make the squad, one of Gambrell/Kastelic won’t at the outset. And if the RFA Alex Formenton signs a deal, it complicates the forward group that much more.

Will he or won’t he?

On separate occasions, Pierre Dorion stated he was hopeful Alex Formenton would sign in time for training camp, then it became prior to the end of camp. While the latter may still occur, the addition of Tyler Motte has made Formenton’s future with the team murky at best.

An offensive dynamo at the University of Michigan, finishing second in goals (32) to current Winnipeg Jet Kyle Connor, Motte has registered five points (two goals, three assists) in three preseason games with the Senators.

Mainly brought in via free agency to fill the checking/penalty kill role with the Senators, Motte isn’t expected to put up points, but he’s fit in seamlessly on the left side of the Senators’ third line alongside Shane Pinto and Mathieu Joseph seamlessly.

On playing with Motte, Pinto told Full Press Hockey, “There’s so many little things he does throughout the game that just makes it so much easier for me. He tracks so well. He’s never stopped moving his feet and I honestly love playing with him.”

If Formenton does eventually re-join his mates, it’ll likely force the shift of Motte to the fourth line – causing a domino effect of possibly pushing LW Parker Kelly or Gambrell out of a spot, if Kelly moves to the middle.

Formenton tied for the league lead in shorthanded markers (5) last season, and there’s no doubt the club can utilize his speed, especially on the penalty kill.

But where the negotiation currently stands and how much the ongoing 2018 Hockey Canada investigation comes into play is certainly an unknown factor. Only time will tell for Formenton who was a member of the roster that attended the Gala event in question.

Duelling power plays

D.J. Smith noted the St. Louis Blues finished second last season in power play percentage possessing two top units. His goal is to do the same with his newly-minted roster.

On PP1A:

Brady Tkachuk – Josh Norris – Drake Batherson – Tim Stützle – Thomas Chabot

On PP1B:

Alex DeBrincat – Shane Pinto – Claude Giroux – Jake Sanderson/Erik Brannstrom or Mathieu Joseph

Having two strong power plays is a great problem to have. In fact, the so-called PP1B, trio of forwards may be a tad ahead of PP1A due to Saturday’s performance. DeBrincat netted the overtime PP game-winner, while Pinto potted a pair on the power play for a three-for-five evening, with one man-advantage being only 29 seconds.

Smith has the option of interchanging his power play units depending on the situation; that is; what players may be hot on a given night or which line was on the ice when a penalty was drawn, and for how long.

The question begs; how will the Senators’ head coach keep his players happy? Most units tend to remain on the ice for up to 90 seconds at a time, this doesn’t leave sufficient ice time for a second to slide into the flow of play.

There’s only one puck and everyone wants it.

Will Smith rotate his units? It’s a possibility.

For DeBrincat who said he relished the friendly competition, one has to immediately wonder if he’ll re-sign at the end of the 2023-24 season especially if he doesn’t receive power play reps worthy of the two-time forty-goal scorer he is.

Of all the team’s questions, this may be the biggest. Of course, there may be a complete buy-in from all players. We’re not in the room. And DeBrincat is two seasons away from unrestricted free agency.

But for the here and now, the Senators’ power play has the potential to be daunting. With one unit featuring Norris, a powerful left shot on the right side and the other countered with DeBrincat possessing his pinpoint right shot on the opposite side – not to mention the emergence of Pinto, arguably the club’s top performer in camp.

Pinto has a sneaky shot of his own, giving the opposition an additional option to think about when he’s on the ice.

These are some of the biggest storylines for the Ottawa Senators as they head into the final week of training camp.