To me, this is not a lottery team. if things are left as is, I would see them finishing somwhere between 10-12 in the East, maybe 20-24 overall.

That's one thing people seem to be doing to the Sens, writing them off as 31st overall. I don't think they will be anywhere near a playoff team but when you look down the lines they aren't extremely awful, you still have guys like Stone, Duchene, Ryan, Pageau and even Dzingel with the additions of White, Brown and possibly Tkachuk. If Karlsson isn't traded you have him, a young defenseman in Chabot, and generally depth defenseman who can hold their own afterwards. If goaltending isn't awful the Sens will not finish last in the NHL next year.

Just a little note : B.Tkachuk is most likely staying in BU next season. He's already on their roster and it's unlikely he stays in OTT this season. Don't get your hopes up, Sens fans...

-and BU jumped the gun and added him to the roster yet it's been reported by Mike Morreale (NHL.com) and Evan Sporer (Sporting News) that he hasn't made a decision. I wouldn't be surprised if he went back to Boston University or went to his OHL draft rights team of London but there is a fair chance he could join the Senators.

Did you overlook their goal tending situation and how bad it was? And dont give the Anderson has 1 good year 1 bad year excuse. The guy is 37 years old coming off a disaster season who requested a trade, how motivated do you think he is going to be

Tkachuk is not a lock to play yet, hasnt said one way or the other if he is going ot BU or not, but regardless of that. That second line of Pageau and the corpse of bobby ryan. That foward depth is poor.

They still have the same coach who plays the same predictable trap 1-3-1 style game and did nothing to upgrade their roster. I dont see how they will be magically a bubble team. They could finish in the 5-8th range for a pick but even then that might be a tough uphill battle for them

Every team that doesn't make the playoffs is a lottery team, so it they are 10th-12th in the East, they are a lottery team. Sure the odds are less that you land a top 3 pick, but Carolina finished with the 11th worst record and only a 10% chance at a top 3 pick but still wound up with the 2nd pick in the draft. So if in your hypothetical they are 20th-24th overall, they'd still have a 10-19% chance of sending a top 3 pick to Colorado.

If EK is gone and Duchene and Stone appear to be right behind him as they don't sound likely to stay, why hold on to them just for the chance to lower the pick you give up? It doesn't help Ottawa in any way and actually hurts them because every other round the Senators pick will be lower. More importantly you'd likely lessen your trade return for Karlsson since it would only be for a couple of months and it would be harder for a team to work out an extension as part of the deal. If you are hanging on to Stone and Duchene you lose them (and potentially other FAs) for nothing. What is the benefit for Ottawa if they aren't a playoff team?

I wouldnt say they really jump the gun. Prior to him even being drafted they already hinted at him returning to BU back in May/June. Probably gave them the early impression that he would come back, but probably seeing the NHL chance being tempting especially after Dev Camp also I think Quinn being hired as the Rangers HC impacts this.

Thanks have changed since June for him, also it depends...he might want to play in the NHL next year but is Ottawa wanting him to play yet? Who knows