Insider shares that expectations have changed for the Ottawa Senators, but just how much?

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Sam Hutch
September 11, 2022 (8:56)

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The Ottawa Senators have had quite the off-season, acquiring Claude Giroux, Cam Talbot and Alex DeBrincat among others, but is their re-build over?

According to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet, it just may be. With the season a few short weeks away, the time for the Sens is now. They've run out of excuses.

What they've shown their players is: all of the excuses are gone. I think the players see that. If I'm a player walking into the Senators' dressing room, I'm saying that if this doesn't work, it's on the guy in the mirror. I think great players want that.

You can look at your organization now and say: we're not sparing any expense on our roster. You can't point to a dysfunctional organization or not being setup to win.

I'll give the Sens this, they should be able to ice a very exciting team this season. Though, they do still have some holes on the back end and who knows if a 35-year old Cam Talbot can shoulder the load of being an every day started at this point in his career.

In all honesty, it reminds me of the 2016-17 Toronto Maple Leaf roster, no one expected them to do much and yet, they made the playoffs and gave the Washington Capitals a run for their money. I wouldn't be at all surprised if something similar happened with Ottawa this year.