Senators Still Looking For Help At One Position

The Ottawa Senators are again dealing with injuries this season. This has put them in a bind because they need adequate defensive help and the tight cap situation has made it very difficult to do anything. Currently out of the lineup is Thomas Chabot and Erik Brannstrom, both of whom are needed.

Chabot, even though he wasn't having an amazing start offensively, is the team's number one defenseman. He logs over 24 minutes a night, something that is very tough to replace from within. Both Chabot and Brannstrom are taken out from the left side of the Senators' defense, meaning the team had to dive into their system and have 21-year-old Tyler Klevin come into the lineup.

By forcing Jakob Chychrun back over to the left side to help out, that therefore made the right side weaker as well. This saw Jacob Bernard-Docker recalled and placed into the top-four. It doesn't seem like either Klevin or Bernard-Docker are ready for the role they were thrust into and Elliotte Friedman stated that the team has looked at depth defensive options on the market, but haven't been able to do anything about it.

Brannstrom is dealing with a concussion and those are unpredictable, so his timetable is unknown. Chabot is still out a while longer. The Senators are struggling and something needs to get done. They can't dig a hole in the Atlantic division this season with how strong it is.