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The Ottawa Senators playoff berth in the first of an alleged three-year rebuild -- coined by the front office during the change-over from Cory Clouston to Paul MacLean -- was a startling and positive development.
The first-round appearance, though, hasn't really thrown the organization into a separate direction. The team will still build from within, void of the vast free agent expenditures and hefty contracts a number of other teams have opted for to improve the on-ice product in 2012.
Really, it's smart business. The team may regress to a point where they miss the post-season in 2012-2013, but the focus is no longer on the short-term. The brass wants to build a dynastic hockey club -- one that can compete for a championship on a year-to-year basis.
For now, the options -- as mentioned above -- will come internally. Jakob Silfverberg, Mark Stone, and Mika Zibanejad are three elite prospects expected to make the jump to the big league club this year. Ottawa's prospect depth -- cited as
one of the three best by HockeyFutures -- expects to provide the team with young talent and insulation for the foreseeable future.
Still, Eugene Melnyk and Bryan Murray aren't afraid to open up the checkbook. Really, it goes back to the three-year rebuild ideology, where the organization had hoped after two seasons, a championship contender could be in place.
For as much rhetoric and hyperbole one can pump up about the surplus of young talent in the organization, it's pretty obvious that the team is setting up for a major push in the 2013 free agent pool. Hey -- there's going to be an abundance of talent available, and Ottawa's going to have an almost infinite number of dollars readily available to spend.
Consider the financials: Ottawa's team this season is towing the fourth-lowest team salary this year, with about $18M in available cap space. The team's free agent moves were of the low-risk, low-cost variety, including cheap acquisitions in Guillaume Latendresse and Mike Lundin.
The team's not spending a ton of money this season, and considering how many teams improved in the Eastern Conference, it's not unrealistic to argue that this club
could temporarily fall out of the playoff picture. How do they fix that issue? Let's continue on.
Ottawa's $18M in cap space is going to spike at the end of next year, with two sizable contracts in Sergei Gonchar($5.5M) and Daniel Alfredsson($4.8M) coming off of the books. The only name expected to need a raise next year is RFA Kyle Turris, but considering how many deals are expiring -- ten in total -- the dollar expenditure is simply going to be shifted around.
Conservatively speaking, it's quite possible that the Ottawa Senators could and should have around $25M in available cap space next year, and depending on what players return and what players are sent elsewhere, it's possible that number could be higher. It's a ton of money -- a ton of money that the organization isn't just going to sit on.
Perusing the 2013 UFA class, there's an absurdity of talent. You have to figure that a number of these players will eventually re-up with their clubs or accept competing bids from more desirable markets, but on sheer numbers, it's undeniable that there will be top-six forwards and top-four defensemen available at the right price.
Below, some of the more intriguing names:
2013 UFA CLASS
Iginla, Jarome » R CGY 35 $7,000,000 2013 (UFA)
Semin, Alexander » R CAR 28 $7,000,000 2013 (UFA)
Timonen, Kimmo » D PHI 37 $6,333,333 2013 (UFA)
Elias, Patrik » C NJD 36 $6,000,000 2013 (UFA)
Backstrom, Niklas » G MIN 34 $6,000,000 2013 (UFA)
Visnovsky, Lubomir » D NYI 36 $5,600,000 2013 (UFA)
Getzlaf, Ryan » C ANA 27 $5,325,000 2013 (UFA)
Perry, Corey » R ANA 27 $5,325,000 2013 (UFA)
Ribeiro, Mike » C WAS 32 $5,000,000 2013 (UFA)
Alfredsson, Daniel » R OTT 39 $4,875,000 2013 (UFA)
Connolly, Tim » C TOR 31 $4,750,000 2013 (UFA)
McDonald, Andy » C STL 35 $4,700,000 2013 (UFA)
Jagr, Jaromir » R DAL 40 $4,550,000 2013 (UFA)
Selanne, Teemu » R ANA 42 $4,500,000 2013 (UFA)
Hainsey, Ron » D WIN 31 $4,500,000 2013 (UFA)
Lupul, Joffrey » L TOR 28 $4,250,000 2013 (UFA)
Morrow, Brenden » L DAL 33 $4,100,000 2013 (UFA)
Streit, Mark » D NYI 34 $4,100,000 2013 (UFA)
Bouchard, Pierre-Marc » R MIN 28 $4,080,000 2013 (UFA)
Antropov, Nik » C WIN 32 $4,062,500 2013 (UFA)
Regehr, Robyn » D BUF 32 $4,020,000 2013 (UFA)
Roy, Derek » C DAL 29 $4,000,000 2013 (UFA)
Zidlicky, Marek » D NJD 35 $4,000,000 2013 (UFA)
Whitney, Ryan » D EDM 29 $4,000,000 2013 (UFA)
Horton, Nathan » R BOS 27 $4,000,000 2013 (UFA)
Zajac, Travis » C NJD 27 $3,887,500 2013 (UFA)
Koivu, Saku » C ANA 37 $3,800,000 2013 (UFA)
Cervenka, Roman » C CGY 26 $3,775,000 2013 (UFA)
Clowe, Ryane » L SAN 29 $3,625,000 2013 (UFA)
Lehtonen, Kari » G DAL 28 $3,550,000 2013 (UFA)
Gagne, Simon » L LAK 32 $3,500,000 2013 (UFA)
Lombardi, Matthew » C TOR 30 $3,500,000 2013 (UFA)
Ryder, Michael » R DAL 32 $3,500,000 2013 (UFA)
Zubrus, Dainius » C NJD 34 $3,400,000 2013 (UFA)
Scuderi, Rob » D LAK 33 $3,400,000 2013 (UFA)
Penner, Dustin » L LAK 29 $3,250,000 2013 (UFA)
Edler, Alexander » D VAN 26 $3,250,000 2013 (UFA)
MacArthur, Clarke » L TOR 27 $3,250,000 2013 (UFA)
Weiss, Stephen » C FLA 29 $3,100,000 2013 (UFA)
Armstrong, Colby » R MTL 29 $3,000,000 2013 (UFA)
Filppula, Valtteri » L DET 28 $3,000,000 2013 (UFA)
Leopold, Jordan » D BUF 32 $3,000,000 2013 (UFA)
Lydman, Toni » D ANA 34 $3,000,000 2013 (UFA)
White, Ian » D DET 28 $2,875,000 2013 (UFA)
Cleary, Danny » L DET 33 $2,800,000 2013 (UFA)
Clarkson, David » R NJD 28 $2,666,667 2013 (UFA)
Malhotra, Manny » C VAN 32 $2,500,000 2013 (UFA)
Handzus, Michal » C SAN 35 $2,500,000 2013 (UFA)
Murray, Douglas » D SAN 32 $2,500,000 2013 (UFA)
Babchuk, Anton » D CGY 28 $2,500,000 2013 (UFA)
Brouwer, Troy » L WAS 27 $2,350,000 2013 (UFA)
Raymond, Mason » L VAN 26 $2,275,000 2013 (UFA)
Howard, Jimmy » G DET 28 $2,250,000 2013 (UFA)
Aucoin, Adrian » D CLB 39 $2,250,000 2013 (UFA)
Ference, Andrew » D BOS 33 $2,250,000 2013 (UFA)
Smid, Ladislav » D EDM 26 $2,250,000 2013 (UFA)
Hejduk, Milan » R COL 36 $2,000,000 2013 (UFA)
Latendresse, Guillaume » L OTT 25 $2,000,000 2013 (UFA)
Smith, Mike » G PHO 30 $2,000,000 2013 (UFA)
Burrows, Alexandre » R VAN 31 $2,000,000 2013 (UFA)
Pardy, Adam » D BUF 28 $2,000,000 2013 (UFA)
Corvo, Joe » D CAR 35 $2,000,000 2013 (UFA)
Higgins, Chris » L VAN 29 $1,900,000 2013 (UFA)
Cooke, Matt » L PIT 33 $1,800,000 2013 (UFA)
Ponikarovsky, Alexei » L WIN 32 $1,800,000 2013 (UFA)
O'Byrne, Ryan » D COL 28 $1,800,000 2013 (UFA)
Fedotenko, Ruslan » L PHI 33 $1,750,000 2013 (UFA)
Torres, Raffi » L PHO 30 $1,750,000 2013 (UFA)
Larose, Chad » R CAR 30 $1,700,000 2013 (UFA)
Wellwood, Kyle » C WIN 29 $1,600,000 2013 (UFA)
Bouillon, Francis » D MTL 36 $1,500,000 2013 (UFA)
Dupuis, Pascal » R PIT 33 $1,500,000 2013 (UFA)
Erskine, John » D WAS 32 $1,500,000 2013 (UFA)
Jones, Ryan » R EDM 28 $1,500,000 2013 (UFA)
Bozak, Tyler » C TOR 26 $1,500,000 2013 (UFA)
Langenbrunner, Jamie » R STL 37 $1,500,000 2013 (UFA)
Fistric, Mark » D DAL 26 $1,475,000 2013 (UFA)
Nystrom, Eric » L DAL 29 $1,400,000 2013 (UFA)
Miettinen, Antti » L WIN 32 $1,351,293 2013 (UFA)
Klein, Kevin » D NAS 27 $1,350,000 2013 (UFA)
Gordon, Boyd » C PHO 28 $1,325,000 2013 (UFA)
Clitsome, Grant » D WIN 27 $1,250,000 2013 (UFA)
Comeau, Blake » L CGY 26 $1,250,000 2013 (UFA)
Steckel, David » C TOR 30 $1,100,000 2013 (UFA)
Stalberg, Viktor » L CHI 26 $875,000 2013 (UFA)
As for the 2013 RFA Class? Yeah, it's
pretty savory.
The compilations above offers a spattering of options. Should Ottawa focus on bringing in an elite first-line winger to replace the departed Daniel Alfredsson? Or, should they primarily seek a shutdown defender to pair with Erik Karlsson, especially if Marc Methot proves to be ineffective?
I'll throw my hat in for winger Ryane Clowe. Can you imagine? Ahh -- I digress.
Overall, it's a pretty intriguing scenario -- one that's worth discussing in the middle of a hockey off-season that doesn't look like it's going to end anytime soon.
If you're Bryan Murray, to whom do you turn attention to next season?
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Thanks for reading!
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