With the changes made this week, the Senators are well into their most important offseason yet at a hockey operations level. The team has stagnated, rife with inconsistency that has plagued the fanbase over the last four seasons.
After deciding to tear down the remaining legacy of the late 00s-era Senators and build around young talent like Erik Karlsson and Kyle Turris, the team reached almost immediate success with new coach Paul MacLean and took the highly-touted Rangers to 7 games in 2011-12. After losing Erik Karlsson to injury in the lockout year, the team won their first (and only) playoff series in the last 8 years against the hated Montreal Canadiens.