Ottawa Senators Want to Upgrade Defense Over What They Have
On the Saturday, June 6th edition of the TFP Hotstove on SiriusXM NHL Network Radio with Dennis Bernstein, Dave Pagnotta, and Ryan Paton, they discuss the DFO Rundown Insider Report about the Ottawa Senators looking to move on from Jordan Spence, along with other offseason plans.
NHLRumors.com Transcriptions
Ryan Paton: “Welcome back, Hoststove Sirius XM Channel 91 brought to you by TFP Betting, powered by Proline Plus, Ryan Payton, Dennis Bernstein, Mikey Bonora, and David Pagnotta, who wants to address some Ottawa talk here, Dave. So mic is yours, my friend.”
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Dave Pagnotta: “Yeah, Sens fans found another way to get mad at me, or I guess I found another way. First, it was the whole Brady Tkachuk thing, and just I’ll just sit back and wait until that happens. The other is now yesterday or Thursday, excuse me, On the DFO Insider Edition with Irf, we had both reported, and then I enhanced it – that the Ottawa Senators are looking for a right-shot defenseman. They wanted somebody who can slot it to their top four. They want an upgrade on that side,
And I also indicated, speaking to people from the team, that Jordan Spence in that role doesn’t fit the bill. They want an upgrade over Jordan Spence. That he hasn’t hit the mark for what they thought he could, and they’re looking for an upgrade. They could move him. They could keep him on the third pair. Whatever, moral of the story is that even though he put up 31 points, they want an upgrade. And I don’t know why everyone’s so pissy about it, but that’s the reality of Ottawa situation.
Upper management wants to bring in a defenseman. They want somebody who is better than Jordan Spence, and that’s it. Now, I don’t know why I keep having to emphasize this. This isn’t a knock on Spence. They just want somebody who can slot on the right side on the first or second pair, and that’s what the Sens are looking for.”
Dennis Bernstein: “Let’s look at this team, though. They were the second wild card. He got swept in the first, they got swept in the first round. So you don’t want to improve the team? You want to run it back with the same players?
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I like Jordan Spence. I know him from Los Angeles, and he produced. But is he a top-four player on a championship team? That’s the question, and that’s what they’re looking at. So, it’s not – he’s not a bad player. I know they stepped up his minutes, and he did produce, but is that over time going to be a championship player? I don’t know.”
Pagnotta: “They also had nobody else, so by default, he had more opportunity, and good for him again. This is not a knock on Jordan Spence. This is just what the Sens are looking to do. Yeah, so yeah, anyway, just wanted to reiterate that for the Sense fans that will continue to complain about it.”
NHLRumors.com Note: One of the big reasons why the Senators went out and got Jordan Spence was Nick Jensen having hip resurfacing surgery. Jensen took a significant step back this past season. Let’s see what a full offseason without surgery does, but it doesn’t change the fact that the Senators’ defence corps was not deep enough. They tried to get Rasmus Ristolainen, MacKenzie Weegar, Tyler Myers, and others at the trade deadline, but could not close the deal.
They need help on the right side, so they have the depth to not only compete in an Atlantic Division that is only getting tougher, but also withstand injuries throughout the course of the season.
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