Toronto Maple Leafs: Eye on the Enemy, Part Two
Let’s take a brief look at the Toronto Maple Leafs divisional competition, the Ottawa Senators.
The battle of Ontario between the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Senators last season was pretty good.
Hopefully they can follow that up with some more grueling contests this season.
Here’s the second part in my seven-part series where we take a look into the Atlantic Division for the 2017-18 season.
Next to the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Leafs, I think that the Senators will make up one of the better teams in the Atlantic.
Last season was not a fluke, I repeat, not a fluke.
Remember that at the end of each article, I’ll make a prediction for where I think the team of conversation will land in the standings by the end of the regular season.
Let’s get it going.
Ottawa Senators
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When you look at the Senators roster, the only player that really jumps out at you is Dion Phaneuf.
I’m kidding, it’s obviously Erik Karlsson.
Geez, take a joke.
Up front, Bobby Ryan leads the way, which isn’t horrible, but it’s also not great.
The best thing about the Senators forward group is that it’s made up of a lot of above average talent, combing for consistent production.
There’s nobody that really stands out, though.
Between Ryan, Mike Hoffman, Derick Brassard, Clarke MacArthur, Mark Stone and Kyle Turris, they’re doing alright.
Their backend is made up of pretty solid guys, but a lot of them will need new contracts once the season is up.
Still, with Karlsson, they’ll be alright.
Add in Phaneuf for his leadership, shutdown capabilities and hard-hitting, then that’s a pretty solid one-two punch.
I’ll quickly touch on this because this is the first time he’s been brought up by myself in an article.
Phaneuf was given too much to handle in Toronto, money wise, captainship wise, minutes-wise, you name it.
He should’ve never been given that much responsibility and I blame management for most of it, not Dion himself.
He’s a good player and when used properly, can be effective.
Continued
Lastly, with one look at their goaltending tandem, we don’t see a brick wall like we see with so many other teams.
However, Craig Anderson is capable of surprising us all, just look to last season as an indicator for that.
I commend him for his strength, perseverance, and play.
He’s shown flashes of brilliance and I think he can do it again.
Like I said earlier, I don’t think their 2016-17 season was a fluke, I look to them as a leading team in the Atlantic this season.
My prediction is that the Senators will end up third in the division by seasons end.