NHL: Canada Day Report From the Nation's Capital

After going through a disappointing season, the Ottawa Senators are looking to fill the depth chart as the first day of free agency is upon us.

The Sens’ roster has plenty of holes in the third and fourth lines as well as in the third defensive pairing. According to NHLnumbers.com, the team's cap hit going into the signing period is $39.638 million.

Out of the 20 players who played on the team for most of the season, 13 players are returning.

Here's how the team is lined up at the current time:

Heatley      Spezza     Alfredsson

(vacant)      Fisher          Neil

Foligno       Kelly        (vacant)

(vacant)  McAmmond     Bass

     Volchenkov       Phillips

      (vacant)        (vacant)

      Schubert       (vacant)

                 Gerber

                 (vacant)

We also should factor in the RFAs and the minor-league players that will most likely be with the team next season. Forward Antoine Vermetteand defenseman Andrej Meszaros will most likely be back in the fold, albeit at an increased expense.

Rookie defenseman Brian Lee is expected to make the jump to Ottawa next season as a mainstay blue liner. He is a great puck mover and could be used with Meszaros to run the powerplay.

Now if we go back to our chart, the Sens are virtually short two forwards and one defenseman.

Over the past week, the team has held a conditioning camp for all its prospects. As the final day of the camp concluded today, GM Brian Murray stated that he was delighted with what he seen from his young guns (see article here).

It could also be speculated that at least one of the forward positions would be occupied by a player within the team's development system. According to management, the likely players would be Jesse Winchester, Ruslan Bashkirov, and Ilja Zubov.

On the point, it would be wise to try and find someone with NHL experience to help bring balance to the group. Ideally, a player such as Jason Smith would fit the bill.

However, guys like Ron Hainsey, Mark Streit, and Brad Stuart would also be looked at as potential targets if the price is right. I don't expect them to get any of these players, but from a fan's point of view, it would be nice to have one of them as a solid addition.

Martin Gerberhas re-earned the No. 1 goaltending duties after Ray Emery was bought out almost two weeks ago. Murray also expressed interest in finding a backup goalie, saying he didn't want prospect Brian Elliott playing a limited amount of games.

It is in Elliott's best interest to get some AHL playing experience under his belt to help his transition to the NHL game.

If Murray were to look for a goalie on the UFA market, there are a few names to choose from. Alex Auld, Johan Holmqvist, and Curtis Joseph are all reasonable candidates to take a back seat to Gerber in Ottawa.

Joseph, 41, would be my personal choice because he has the experience and has proven that he can still compete at a high level this late in his career.

The good news from all of this is that the salary cap is now at approximately $56.8 million. Management now has more cap room to play with to ensure that the roster has the proper players in the proper places.

The Senators have to make sure to sign solid players who can buy into whatever system that new-coach Craig Hartsburg teaches.

They'll be filling that cap space to the last penny in hopes to bring success back to the Nation's Capital. Hopefully, Canada Day can ignite changes in Ottawa.