Being outside the bubble makes this feel almost like an ordinary summer for the Ottawa Senators and their fans. The only real rooting interest for the Senators was to see the New York Islanders lose their play-in series with the Florida Panthers, and then lose Phase 2 of the Draft Lottery this upcoming Monday. That would have given the Senators the best pick possible by way of the J-G Pageau trade. Unfortunately, that dream is now dead, as the Islanders cruised to victory over the consistently-underwhelming Panthers.

So, where does Sergei Bobrovsky’s inability to live up to his $10-million annual salary leave the Senators? Farther down the draft board than originally hoped. While still to be determined based on playoff results, the pick should land in the high teens or low twenties (more likely), assuming the Islanders don’t make it to the final four. It feels like a fairly significant drop from the original hope, but if you’re of the belief that the talent gap in this draft sits right in the #10 range, as many scouts are, it really shouldn’t make much of a difference to Ottawa’s end result.

The one thing we do know for certain at this point is that the Senators will have three first-round picks. The lottery protection against the Islanders’ first is no longer in play, thanks both to their victory over the Panthers and the fact that the Edmonton Oilers probably have the lottery winner locked up anyways. While the results of the Islanders series might feel disappointing, it’s important to remember the bigger picture: Three first round picks in what is viewed as a deep and talented draft. That’s a huge boon for this franchise as it continues to rebuild.

Of note for Ottawa is the number of quality defenders projected to go in the range of 15-30. There’s Braden Schneider, Kaiden Guhle, Helge Grans, and William Wallinder. All are big, projectable two-way defenders with offensive games at varying stages of development. Because at least one, if not more of them, should be available when Ottawa makes the New York pick, it should free Pierre Dorion to take the absolute best players available at third and fifth overall, even if that means two forwards. Coming out of the draft with two game-changing forwards and a promising defender – in the first round alone – is the kind of thing dreams are made of.

Back with more of my answers to your Mike’s Mailbag questions next time around. As always, thanks for reading!

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