Complete Preview for the Ottawa Senators' 2014-15 Season

Following two years of steady progress by its young squad, a disappointed Ottawa Senators team found itself outside the playoff picture at the end of the 2013-14 season.

The trade of Jason Spezza led to a tumultuous summer that was short on upgrades. The Sens will need to improve from within if they hope to get back into playoff contention.

What We Learned in 2013-14

Paul McLean won the 2013 Jack Adams Trophy for leading an injury-plagued Ottawa Senators team on an unexpected journey to the second round of the playoffs. It looked like it would be onward and upward in 2013-14—until Daniel Alfredsson surprised everyone by signing as a free agent with the Detroit Red Wings.

After naming Jason Spezza as their new captain for 2013-14, the Senators stumbled to a 4-6-2 record in October.

Craig Anderson followed up a season during which he led all goaltenders with a 1.69 goals-against average with a 4-4-2 record and 3.16 GAA over the first month of the season, but he wasn't the only problem.

As a whole, Ottawa took a step backwards defensively. Erik Karlsson came back from a scary Achilles tendon injury to lead all NHL defensemen in scoring with 74 points, but goals against were an issue.

After a stingy 2012-13 campaign during which the team ranked second overall in GAA, Ottawa slid all the way to 27th in the NHL last season.

One bright spot was a late-season surge sparked by Ales Hemsky's acquisition at the trade deadline. Hemsky showed great chemistry with Spezza, leading the Sens to a 9-2-1 record in their last 12 games.

It wasn't enough, as Ottawa finished 11th in the Eastern Conference and 21st in the league with 88 points.

Outlook for 2014-15

Life didn't get any easier in Ottawa after the end of the season.

For the second straight summer, the team lost its captain—this time, when Spezza requested a trade with one year left on his contract. He used his no-trade clause to veto a deal with the Nashville Predators before landing with the Dallas Stars, where he'll add insult to injury as he continues his partnership with Hemsky.

Less than two weeks after the Spezza saga concluded, the Senators took another body blow when it was announced that general manager and president of hockey operations Bryan Murray is being treated for cancer.

All told, the Senators didn't make many roster changes over the summer. Other than Spezza and Hemsky, the only other departure was restricted free-agent center Stephane Da Costa, who didn't receive a qualifying offer.

The most important new additions to the lineup will be veteran center David Legwand, who was signed as a free agent, and young winger Alex Chiasson, the key piece that came back from Dallas in the Spezza deal.

Chiasson showed some offensive flair as he recorded 13 goals and 35 points during his rookie season with the Stars.

Here's a look at the Senators' projected lineup for the new season:

	Forward
	Defense
	Goal
Clarke MacArthur	Kyle Turris	Bobby Ryan
Milan Michalek	Mika Zibanejad	Alex Chiasson
Colin Greening	Zack Smith	Chris Neil
Mike Hoffman	David Legwand	Mike Stone
Erik Condra		Derek Grant
Marc Methot		Erik Karlsson
Jared Cowen		Cody Ceci
Chris Phillips		Patrick Wiercioch
Eric Gryba
	Craig Anderson
	Robin Lehner

Coach Paul MacLean told Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun that he'd like to see Mika Zibanejad step up and claim some of the ice time at center that has been freed up by Spezza's departure. The coaching staff has a plan in place to protect him in his development:

"

He is certainly someone we want to give the opportunity to take that ice time. ... (Zibanejad) is at that stage where his growth can be substantial and significant. We also have to be careful in the long-term when it's not going his way, and it's not always going to go his way, we can't keep forcing him out there. With guys like Zack Smith and Legwand, it gives us a chance to insulate Mika when he needs it.

"

MacLean isn't tipping his hand about who will be named captain or when an announcement will be made:

"

I'm a big believer that you need to have a captain. ... If you don't have the right person, or feel the person is not prepared for it or is not the guy who represents what you need him to, I think you have to be strong enough to wait until you have that guy. ... When we're ready to make that decision, we'll make it. Is that tomorrow, is it next week or is it January or February? That's part of the process.

"

On defense, it's hoped that 2012 first-rounder Cody Ceci will be able to play a bigger role in his second season with the Sens.

Ottawa's situation in net is stable. Both Craig Anderson and backup Robin Lehner signed new deals over the summer. The only question is whether playing time will follow a similar pattern to last year: The pair put up similar numbers with Anderson starting 52 games and Lehner starting 30.

According to CapGeek.com, the Senators currently have 23 NHL players signed and $14.1 million in salary-cap space.

Ottawa has a strong record of drafting and developing NHL players. For the moment, there's not much room up the middle for young players, but the prospect who's likeliest to be ready to take a step up is 19-year-old center Curtis Lazar, who was chosen 15th overall in 2013 and won the 2014 Memorial Cup with the Edmonton Oil Kings.

Lazar's too young to play in the AHL this season, so if he doesn't make the Senators out of training camp, he'll spend another season back in junior.

With few personnel changes and the departure of one of their most important players, the Ottawa Senators may have a tough time improving on last season's performance in 2014-15. They'll need to recommit to the underdog work ethic they displayed in 2012-13 if they hope to see some success.