Capital Punishment May Be The Only Thing Working In Ottawa This Season
Club: Ottawa Senators
Fantasy Impact Rating: Cool
Superstars: Dany Heatley, Jason Spezza, Daniel Alfredsson
Big Producers: None
Mid-Level Flyers: Antoine Vermette, Andrej Meszaros, Mike Fisher
Rookies/Prospects: Brian Lee, Ilya Zubov, Brian Elliot
Sleepers: None
Avoid The Hype: Nick Foligno
Analysis:
There is a significant drop off in talent after the “Capital Punishment” line in Ottawa, and that may leave fantasy managers wondering what the impact of a weaker Senators team will mean for their squads.
Let’s state the obvious: Dany Heatley, Jason Spezza and Daniel Alfredsson are all superstars without a doubt in anyone’s mind. Don’t expect a lack of production from these 3 players this year whatsoever. They will be putting up all-star caliber points both even strength and on the power play. It’s not a question of whether you draft these three; it’s a matter of where. Spezza and Heatley should go in the 1st round in a 12 manager league. Alfredsson may fall to round two, possibly round three, just because he is a little older than the other two, however, he has a lot to prove this season as retirement talks swirl around his name. So even though he may drop to the 2nd or 3rd round, don’t expect anything shy of a 70 point season. All 3 should be considered as first options at left wing, center and right wing for any fantasy team.
Now, this is where that drop off in production will occur. The Sens are very limited when it comes to depth players, and will have to rely on players like Mike Fisher and Antoine Vermette for secondary scoring. Mike Fisher has played fairly consistent puck over the past 3 seasons and similar numbers should be expected from him again in 2008-2009. Fisher should be a nice 3rd center option, but the longer you can hold off on drafting him, the better. It’s still difficult to determine how well Ottawa’s 2nd line will produce. Antoine Vermette will be to the left of Fisher, and could easily match last year’s 53 point performance. There will be a little more pressure on Vermette to come through this year in this role. However, he has been around the block a few times and is slowly turning into a viable fantasy option. If you consider Vermette a 3rd option at left wing as well, you’ll be pleasantly surprised with his production this year.
Andrej Meszaros may be the only source of serious scoring the Sens have from the point this season. With Wade Redden shipping off to the Rangers, Meszaros will be quarterbacking the power play in Ottawa, and is certainly worth using as a number one or number two option at defense. Also, it would be worth throwing Brian Lee on your watch list to see if this top prospect actually gets a shot in the NHL this season. Don’t expect to see Lee in the lineup at the beginning of the season, but keep him in mind if Ottawa has a defender go down for an extended period of time. He has the offensive mindset to offer some sort of relief to a team that may be somewhat anemic offensively from the point this season.
A name that was thrown around a lot last season, and is being mentioned quite a bit this off-season is Nick Foligno. Foligno’s name may be generating some attention now, but don’t bite too hard on him just yet. Leave him on your watch list until the season starts. Monitor his progress and see who he will be playing with. You can check back at the end of every week and see who we have him slotted with in our “line combos” section, but for right now, peg him as Ottawa’s 3rd line left winger. Depending on how Ottawa fares, Hartsburg may be forced to mix and match from different lines, and Foligno could move up if he is playing well.
Goaltending:
Situation: Solid (for now)
Grade: B
1. Martin Gerber
2. Alex Auld
With Ray Emery out of the picture, it would seem that Martin Gerber would have the starting job locked up, but Coach Hartsburg appears to have no reservations about throwing backup Alex Auld into the mix. Gerber had an up and down season last year posting a 30 and 18 record with a goals against of 2.72 and a .910 save percentage. Gerber has the starting job for now, but if he begins to falter, his job may be in jeopardy. If you recall last season, Auld put some pressure on Tim Thomas in Boston for the starting position, so he’s a backup fully capable of at least platooning, and putting up good numbers when doing so. When all is said and done though, Gerber will be the starter come October. Your best bet is to have a solid first option in net before relying on him too heavily.
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