For the last 20 years (12 with The Hockey News) Dobber has reviewed each team from a fantasy-hockey standpoint and graded them.

The 20th annual review will appear here on DobberHockey throughout the summer/fall. This is not a review of the likely performance on the ice or in the standings, but in the realm of fantasy hockey both for the season ahead as well as the foreseeable future. Offensively, will the team perform? Are there plenty of depth options worthy of owning in keeper leagues? What about over the next two or three years? These questions are what I take into consideration when looking at the depth chart and the player potential on that depth chart.

Enjoy!

Gone – Connor Brown, Adam Gaudette, Chris Tierney, Colin White, Logan Shaw, Andrew Agozzino, Michael Del Zotto, Victor Mete, Matt Murray, Filip Gustavsson

Incoming – Alex DeBrincat, Claude Giroux, Jayce Hawryluk, Jake Lucchini, Rourke Cartier, Jacob Larsson, Kristians Rubins, Cam Talbot

Impact of Changes – The Senators lost a decent depth option in Connor Brown as well as other pieces like Tierney, White and Gaudette but boy did they ever find a replacement. They traded for star winger Alex DeBrincat and instantly added elite scoring to the roster. Three of his last four seasons have seen him score at a near or above point per game pace and he has two seasons of scoring 41 goals. The majority of his time was spent with Patrick Kane but now he moves to a young and hungry Senators squad and should immediately slot in on the top line and power-play.

The Senators were not done there though as they signed Claude Giroux to a three-year deal to further bolster the lineup. Similar to DeBrincat, Ottawa immediately adds a great playmaker who should factor in heavily on the top power-play unit. Assuming he does indeed play there it raises the question of who among last year's quartet of forwards will be moved down to the second unit. One of Josh Norris, Brady Tkachuk, Drake Batherson or Tim Stutzle will not be on the top power-play in place of DeBrincat and Giroux which will certainly dent their fantasy value.

In goal they elected to move on from Matt Murray and bring in Cam Talbot who as an established starter will likely command the majority of time in net to start the season. Last season in Minnesota he posted 31 Wins, 2.78 GAA and a 0.911 SV% in 48 games played. Expect Talbot to hover around the same percentages but with less wins. His arrival also indicates that Anton Forsberg will serve as his backup, given the uncertainty around Murray and Filip Gustavsson last season it seemed as though Forsberg had a shot at the starting job. However, with Talbot in town Forsberg will now need to rely on either significantly out playing him, or Talbot missing time from injury.

Ready for Full Time – Shane Pinto was signed to his entry-level-deal in April of 2021 and played 12 games with the Senators before being injured. Immediately upon return he aggravated the same injury resulting in season ending surgery. He was named NCAA Player of the Year prior to signing in the big leagues and is expected to resume his NHL role this season. Pinto remains the only forward expected to be full time this year but Egor Sokolov is close and should see time this season as well. He put up 50 points in 64 games in the AHL but has one more year as waiver exempt so expect the Senators to utilize that and allow for Sokolov to develop for one year longer.

On defense there are two skaters expected to join the team this fall in Jake Sanderson and Jacob Bernard-Docker. Sanderson is defensively sound as a young player and was signed after an excellent albeit, shortened season with the University of North Dakota where he posted 26 points in 23 games. Bernard-Docker was drafted 26th overall in 2018 and has similar defensive prowess. Both players are expected to play early on as shutdown pairings to allow for Thomas Chabot and Erik Brannstrom to become more creative offensively. As a result, it may be wise to temper expectations given the limited opportunity they will have to notch points of their own. Lassi Thompson is the other defensemen who may see time this year in the NHL but unlike Sanderson and Bernard-Docker he is less likely to make it full time until next season.

Fantasy Outlook – The Senators arguably improved the most over any other team this offseason with the additions of DeBrincat and local hero Giroux. They join what was already a promising forward group consisting of Tkachuk, Batherson, Norris and Stutzle. Now the team has two very strong scoring lines to go along with a full arsenal on the power-play.

On defense, expect Thomas Chabot to continue leading the way next season and with the new additions on forward he should reap the benefits of an improved power-play from last season. He is still young at 22 and very early in his multi-year contract and so will likely receive the lion's share of the prime offensive deployment. Brannstrom has only played 116 games in the NHL so far in his young career but the arrival of Sanderson or Bernard-Docker as the stay at home pairing may allow for him to spread his wings offensively along with continued second power-play unit deployment.

Talbot takes over the starting role here and should produce similar numbers to last season assuming he starts close to the same number of games but Forsberg will still receive a good share as the backup given how well he performed for the Senators last season.

Fantasy Grade – A- (last year was B-)