Senators Management Faces Tough Tasks During Off-Season

The Ottawa Senators have been one of the most publicized teams in the off-season.

From the Dany Heatley saga to the surprising signing of sniper Alex Kovalev the Sens have been under the microscope for the last several weeks. But if you're Ottawa's management team you have three glaring problems that need to be addressed heading into next season:

1 - You have an elite forward who wants out of a lengthy contract with an enormous cap hit of over $7 million per season

2 - Your defense core—which struggled to move the puck—has not been improved

3 - You are sitting over the salary cap

It's hard to evaluate moves made (or not made) in the off-season because its effect won't be seen until the Senators hit the ice for the 2009-10 season.

To be fair to general manager Bryan Murray, he and his colleagues have been trying to improve their club while having their hands tied by the Heatley camp. The same man who was given a second chance after an unfortunate turn of events in Atlanta does not want to be in the nation's capital. And from what we have seen, he doesn't want to be in Edmonton, either.

Heatley, who is in his prime at the age of 28, endured a tough season last year. Although he was named an assistant captain and still managed to post 39 goals it was evident that things weren't going well.

On the other hand, the same thing could be said for the entire Senators roster.

The team couldn't match the scoring prowess that they have been known for over many years. At the same time they weren't equipped with the right pieces to be a stingy defensive. Just 48 games into his tenure with the Sens, coach Craig Hartsburg was relieved of his duties.

Enter Cory Clouston. The club's head coach for the AHL affiliate in Binghamton was given the task of closing out the year behind the bench in Ottawa with no guarantee of where he would be in the fall.

The Senators won 19 of the 34 games under Clouston, but it was to Heatley's chagrin. He was demoted to the second powerplay unit which saw a slight reduction in ice time for the two-time 50-goal scorer.

What makes this very interesting is that Heatley was an effective player in Clouston's system, racking up 28 points in 34 contests and often finding himself as the difference maker in games late in the season.

Though this makes Heatley look like the antagonist in this story, one has to believe that the rest of the Senators will have to band together and commit to hard work more than ever. If Heatley is gone before camp begins expect the team to move forward as a tightly-knit group.

Whether he returns or not is yet to be seen, but as the days countdown to training camp it looks like Heatley could be returning to action with the Senators this season. Murray has stated that he won't be dealing his star forward unless he finds the right deal which is looking very bleak now that many teams have committed a lot of money to the salary cap.

The team inked Alex Kovalev to a two-year/$10 million contract in an attempt to fill the void for a top-six forward. However, if Heatley is on the move the Senators will be in the same situation as they were before the "AK-27" entered the fold.

Kovalev's signing was something that many didn't see coming. That's because there is a need for an offensive defenseman who can move the puck up the ice and join the attack when necessary.

The Senators acquired Chris Campoli from the New York Islanders at the trade deadline in March in hopes that he is up to the task of being the blueliner the team looks to for quick breakouts. With Campoli alongside powerplay set-up man Filip Kuba the team's numbers with the man-advantage could improve next season.

Ottawa's former first-round selection Erik Karlsson was signed to an entry-level in May and will be attending the team's training camp in September. While it looks like he will either spend the season at home in Sweden or in Binghamton there is still a shot he could crack the lineup as a sixth defenseman and see time on the powerplay.

The deal that sent Alex Auld to the Dallas Stars for a sixth round draft pick in 2010 may have given the Sens some cap space, but expect it to be used really soon. They are currently sitting $293,000 over the salary cap and still need to sign restricted free agent Brian Elliott.

Elliott posted a 16-8-3 record last season and was set to battle for back-up duties behind Pascal Leclaire in the fall. With the subtraction of Auld on Wednesday evening Elliott will be in Ottawa this season after he resigns during the summer.

Owner Eugene Melnyk has said he's not worried about moving contracts, but there is reasons to believe that statement could be wrong.

The two players that could be on the moving block are Heatley and Jason Smith. While the Sens know that there is a good chance Heatley will be returning they would love to see Smith's $2.6 million cap hit vanish into thin air.

In all honesty they have a better chance dealing Heatley than a worn-down veteran who is making what he was worth five seasons ago. With that being said, Smith is a great commodity in the dressing room and would be good at working with young defenders.

With the season still months away the front office in Ottawa will be working non-stop to get these issues resolved. Though they will be hard-pressed against the salary cap there's no question that everybody in the Sens' dressing room will have something to prove after missing the playoffs for the first time since the 1995-96 campaign.