by Kelly Monteith

Created on: September 20, 2010

Last summer did not start well for the Senators, with the demands of a trade by Dany Heatley, may have been the main reason for the team's slow start, but GM Brian Murray did his best to find a team and players suitable for both parties.

Once that was behind them the hope was the team would response in the direction of moving forward, forgetting the past, and trying to secure a playoff spot, however, things did not look promising at the beginning, for it wasn't until a 11-game winning streak in the months of January and February which gave Senators fans something to cheer about and sent the team into the post season, and gave Pittsburgh a run for their money in the first round, so things were looking good for the team was they moved forward into the summer.

Brian Murray did little in the way of big changes to the team, watching Anton Volchenkov leave but hoped with the signing of Sergei Gonchar, little would be missed.However, another round of trade demands surfaced from Jason Speeza, who like Dany Heatley before him felt he would be much better off if he went to another team.

Senators fans booed Speeza during last spring's playoff run, especially when Pittsburgh's Sidney Crosby turned Speeza inside- out and made Speeza look like he should be back in the minors.It has been speculated that for several seasons Speeza's name always seems to come up in trade talks, whether it's during the summer or in the regular season and since Jason had had enough, felt that if something could be done, would be better for everyone involved.

Cooler heads prevailed and Jason has decided to stay with the club, and  prove to the fans he is ready to take this team to a new level, along with Daniel Alfredsson and Mike Fisher.

The question that remains is the goaltending, which was supposed to be answered when the team signed Pascal Leclaire.

Leclaire has spent much of his career battling injuries, and is not getting any younger and going into this season's training camp will try to win the no. 1 spot on the roster, and had it not been for Brian Elliot, the Senators would having probably missed the playoffs.This could be the number one reason they will not make it this season.They have the talent up front, but in the net is where they lack depth, and although they may feel the y have gained the number one defencemen in Gonchar, he is not Anton Volchenkov, who blocked shot after shot, risking his body to stop the puck and help his team win.

The Ottawa Senators are a team who can come up and surprise you, but if there is any chink in the armour, it could spell trouble, and this time the team may not be able to fight it's way out as they have in the past.   

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