What's With the Senators?

No, I'm not talking about those buffoons in Washington, although that is a good question to ask. I'm talking about a team that made last year's Eastern Conference Finals, only to falter into disarray the next season: The Ottawa Senators. The Ottawa media is already calling for the owner's head and stars like Erik Karlsson are expected to be traded. Sitting at 52 points and near the bottom of the Eastern Conference, the Senators have become a sad case of a team crashing back down to earth.

It's not like they started off poor, either. Ottawa got off to an 8-3-5 start (good for 21 points) before losing 12 of their next 13 games (only two were overtime losses). Ever since that poor stretch, nothing has gone Ottawa's way. Goal scoring, blue line play, goaltending and everything else under the sun has gone awry for the Senators.

Eugene Melnyk, owner of the Senators, has talked about moving the team if they "became a disaster". This left Senator fans uneasy and angry, with an uncertain future involving Ottawa hockey hovering over their heads. If Eugene Melnyk wants to make right with the fans, he'll have to lay low for a while. He'll also have to figure out a game plan with his front office in terms of rebuilding. Starting from scratch and vying for better draft picks may not be the best solution in the short-term. However, rebuilding can have some great long-term effects that can give Ottawa a future Stanley Cup.