theScore is previewing each team leading up to the 2016-17 season.
In an effort to build their team back into playoff contenders, the Ottawa Senators cleaned house.
Ottawa brought in Pierre Dorion to succeed longtime general manager Bryan Murray, and appointed Guy Boucher the new bench boss, his second stint in the NHL.
Overall, the Senators will enter the season with a brand new approach, and here are three things to look out for in the nation's capital in 2016-17.
Can Boucher tighten things up?
Last season, Ottawa iced a potent attack, finishing ninth league-wide in goals for, but countered by ranking 26th in goals against.
Enter Boucher, who will be tasked with cleaning up the Senators' defensive zone inefficiencies. Luckily for Boucher, having Erik Karlsson at his disposal is a rock-solid foundation to build a gameplan around in both the defensive and offensive zones.
On top of defensive struggles, Ottawa was buried last season by poor special teams. Last year's Dave Cameron-led Senators ranked 26th in power-play conversion (15.8 percent), which is remarkable considering Karlsson, Mike Hoffman, Mark Stone - though limited with injuries - and Bobby Ryan are some of the offensive weapons this team can boast.
On top of a dreary power play, Ottawa ranked 29th with a 75.8 percent penalty-kill rate.
Was dealing Zibanejad the right call?
Ottawa's biggest move in the offseason was sending Mika Zibanejad to New York in exchange for Derick Brassard, a move that can't be conclusively evaluated for a few years, at least.
Brassard, 29, is a superior defender, and is coming off a 58-point season with the Rangers, but Zibanejad, only 23, was a first-round pick of the club in 2011, and scored a career-high 51 points for Ottawa in 2015-16.
With a reasonable cap hit of $5 million for three seasons, Brassard's contract doesn't hurt the Senators, and Dorion perhaps avoided providing a gratuitous paycheck to Zibanejad, who's a restricted free agent next offseason.
Will Bobby Ryan finally breakthrough?
After four seasons topping 30 goals with the Anaheim Ducks, Ottawa acquired Ryan in 2013 with hopes of the same productivity. Hopefully no one held their breath.
Ryan, who turns 30 in March, has still been a reliable point producer during his tenure with the Senators, and reached his highest mark with the club last season with 56 points in 81 games.
Still, Ottawa's braintrust, and fans for that matter, must be yearning to see Ryan - the player with the richest contract on the roster - bring his game to the level they gave up a first-round pick, among other pieces for.
