OK, so the playoffs are a couple days old, and the Senators along with the other 6 Canadian teams are on the outside looking in.

All will be looking for improvement, as 5 of them were in the dance last season and dropped out. The Senators will be no different. They have holes that were exposed this season, most notably a lack of depth to overcome the injuries that hit every team. The good ones are the teams that can fill those gaps adequately, while the thin ones fall by the wayside.

The Senators certainly fell into the latter category, with first Clarke MacArthur missing basically the full season with a concussion and then Kyle Turris being injured in early December and never being the same player who was in the top 40 of NHL scoring at the time Casey Cizikas rolled over his ankle.

Take out 2 top 6 forwards and there is a big hole. And the Senators couldn't fill it. And the high powered Senators offense was trimmed, and they couldn't adjust defensively to make up for it.

That being said, injuries happen all the time and can be used as an explanation but not an excuse. The "next man up" mentality has to come into effect, and the Senators got production from Zack Smith and Jean-Gabriel Pageau but got little from the replacements in the lineup.

Shane Prince, Matt Puempel, Max McCormick, Ryan Dzingel, Nick Paul, Buddy Robinson all had opportunities to step in and contribute and all showed signs of what was expected but none were truly consistent.

With all but Prince still around, is there any reason to expect that they can step in when needed now that they have all got their feet wet?

As it stands right now, with no changes the projected lineup might look something like:

MacArthur - Turris - Stone
Hoffman - Zibanejad - Ryan
Smith - Pageau - Lazar
XXX - XXX - Neil

This is assuming Alex Chiasson isn't resigned and that MacArthur can return to health and productivity. So there will be spots for someone to step up, the question is, who will it be? Dzingel and Paul were probably the most impressive, also having the most opportunity with 30 and 24 games respectively.

There is also the Colin White factor. The 2015 first rounder had a standout NCAA season, and it has yet to be determined if the Boston College forward will turn pro or return to college for next season. Also, if he does decide to sign and join the organization officially, are the expectations too high for a 19 year old. You don't have to go back too far to find a similar case, and if they rush White like they did Lazar will he reach his full potential? NCAA players quite often need more seasoning as they are not accustomed to the grind of an 82 game schedule, whether that seasoning is in the AHL or more NCAA time to develop physically. There aren't a ton of players who come out after their freshman season that make an immediate impact in the NHL. Even Jonathan Toews played 2 seasons of college hockey before jumping to the NHL. Just because White might be ready doesn't mean he needs to be rushed.

So, assuming White goes back to BC, and the XXX's are filled by Dzingel and Paul, where will the depth come from? If a top 6 forward goes down, who steps in and fills the role? Puempel was probably expected to be the most logical choice to fill an offensive role but hasn't shown much to me that would inspire confidence that he is capable of doing it at the NHL level. McCormick & Robinson have certain skill sets, but mostly on the bottom half of the roster.

So, I am not sure that the solution exists within, at least in the short term. The Status Quo means toeing a fine line and hoping for unprecedented health if the team is going to be able to compete. And by compete I mean be a playoff team, not necessarily a Stanley Cup Contender.

Tomorrow I will look at some options that might be available from outside the organization.

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