Joined: Mar. 2019
Posts: 976
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I'd give it maybe a 50-60% chance
A bit more development from some of these young guys and decent goaltending and they'll be in a pretty good spot. Chychrun looked really nice in his limited time in Ottawa and you'd imagine that improves after getting a full camp in with the team.
The blue line has potential to be one of the best in the league, but that's a big if. Sens making playoffs comes down to 2 things imo:
1. Can their goaltending not be a hindrance
2. How do the other playoff contenders in the east shake out?
Big thing is number 2
Do the Pens and/or Isles finally fall off or are they still floating around in the 0
88-95 point range?
Do any of the 6 "expected" teams (TB/BOS/TOR/NYR/CAR/NJD) fall off?
Florida is a wild card but closer to the expected group than the other for sure.
The problem is that Ottawa, Buffalo, and Detroit all fall into a category of being a year away as of the start of last season (Buffalo wasn't af the time, but given they're improvement and current outlook, I think they now fit into the same group). Without anyone expected falling out only 1/3 teams can make it and that's assuming NYI/PIT are out, which may not be the case. And while unlikely, it's always possible that one of the teams expected to be bad ends up putting themselves in the mix.
Not like I'm on to any sort of amazing revelation or anything, but there's so many factors to consider. Short answer imo: Yes, the Sens are absolutely good enough to make the playoffs next season, but it's up in the air because the east is such a mess of quality (or potential quality) teams.