Ottawa Senators Want to Improve Defense More Than They Have
On the Saturday, June 6th edition of TFP Hotstove on SiriusXM NHL Network Radio with Dennis Bernstein, Dave Pagnotta, and Ryan Paton, they discuss DFO Rundown Insider’s report about the Ottawa Senators looking to move on from Jordan Spence, as well as other offseason plans.
Writing for NHLRumors.com
Ryan Paton: “Welcome back, Hoststove Sirius XM Channel 91 brought to you by TFP Betting, powered by Proline Plus, Ryan Payton, Dennis Bernstein, Mike Bonora, and David Pagnotta, who wants to talk about the Ottawa talk here, Dave. So the microphone is yours, my friend.”
NHL Rumors: Where Are Brady Tkachuk Trade Rumors Coming From?
Dave Pagnotta: “Yeah, the Sens fans found another way to get mad at me, or I think I found another way. First, it was the whole Brady Tkachuk thing, and I’m just going to sit back and wait until that happens. The other one is now yesterday or Thursday, I’m sorry, In DFO Insider Edition and Irf, we both reported, and I wanted Omantha for the defense – They want it well – The Senator is someone who can put it in the top four theirs.
And I’ve indicated, talking to people on the team, that Jordan Spence in that role doesn’t fit the bill. They want an upgrade over Jordan Spence. That he didn’t reach the mark of what they thought he could do, and they want to improve. They could shake him. They can keep him on the third pair. Either way, the moral of the story is that even though he put up 31 points, they want to improve. And I don’t know why everyone is so upset about it, but that’s the reality of the situation in Ottawa.
Senior management wants to bring in a defender. They want someone better than Jordan Spence, and that’s it. Now, I don’t know why I keep stressing this. This is not a knock on Spence. They just want someone who can fit in on the right side of the first or second pair, and that’s what the Sens are looking for.”
Dennis Bernstein: “Let’s look at this team, though, it was the second wild card.
Is Fighting Disappearing From Hockey (or Just Changing)?
I love Jordan Spence. I know him from Los Angeles, and he produced. But is he a top four player on a contending team? That’s the question, and that’s what they’re looking at. So, no – he’s not a bad player. I know they increased his minutes, and he was productive, but is that going to be a tournament player in the long run? I don’t know.”
Pagnotta: “They didn’t have anybody else either, so automatically, he had a lot of opportunity, and it’s good for him as well. This is not a knock on Jordan Spence. This is what the Sens are looking to do. Yeah, yeah, anyway, I wanted to reiterate that to the Sens fans who will continue to complain about it.”
NHLRumors.com Note: One of the biggest reasons why the Senators went out and got Jordan Spence was Nick Jensen undergoing hip replacement surgery. Jensen took a significant step back this past season. Let’s see what a full offseason without surgery does, but it doesn’t change the fact that the Senators’ defense was not deep enough. They tried to get Rasmus Ristolainen, MacKenzie Weegar, Tyler Myers, and others at the trade deadline, but couldn’t close the deal.
They need help on the right side, to have depth to not only compete in a tough Atlantic Division, but also withstand injuries throughout the season.
We had to restart our X account. Please follow @MyNHLRumorsX
Have you subscribed to our YouTube channel? Rumors and hot topics from around the league. We also post some stuff on Instagram.
If you like our reporting, choose NHLrumors.com as a favorite source on Google.
