The acquisition of Jordan Spence in the offseason was a move that garnered a lot of praise around the nation's capital because of the shortcomings the Senators had last season with their right-shot depth.

Travis Hamonic logged 866 minutes of five-on-five ice time last season per Natural Stat Trick, with the majority of those minutes spent paired with Jake Sanderson (396 minutes) and Thomas Chabot (221 minutes). It was never the veteran defenceman's fault that he was thrust into a role that he was ill-suited for.

Due to the poor quality of depth and the coaching staff's reluctance to separate a Tyler Kleven-Nik Matinpalo pairing that had spent the previous year playing significant minutes in Belleville, Hamonic's usage increased.

Whether that represented an unwillingness to entrust Matinpalo with a larger role or a preference to keep that familiar defensive partnership together was inconsequential. It simply meant that when Artem Zub or Nick Jensen were absent from the lineup, Hamonic's elevation caused the performance of the blue line to deteriorate.

Spence's addition was motivated by a desire to enhance that quality of depth on the blue line.

In Los Angeles, Spence was an analytical darling.

When the undersized defenceman was on the ice, good things tended to happen for the Kings, according to HockeyViz's isolated impact data. The Kings' defence was better and generated more offensive chances when Spence was on the ice.

Natural Stat Trick's data shows the Kings generated 56.80 percent of the shots (CF%), 57.02 percent of the shots on goal (SF%), 65.43 percent of the total goals (GF%), and 56.92 percent of the expected goals (xGF%) at five-on-five.

Listed at 5'11" and 188 lbs, the right-shot defender is not the archetypal third-pairing defenceman. He relies on his skating and stick to pressure opponents and disrupt their offence. When the opposition relinquishes possession, Spence's exceptional puck-moving ability helps his team transition the puck quickly and tilt the ice in their favour.

Now it appears that Spence's season will begin with him in the press box.

The Senators announced their projected lineup for tonight's game with Donovan Sebrango and Nik Matinpalo manning the third pair.

You can tell the Senators' season is about to kick off when there is palpable consternation regarding the Senators' line combinations on social media.

The organization clearly prioritizes balanced pairings, with one left and one right-shot defender, rather than dressing the more experienced hand.

Spence has 180 games of NHL experience under his belt to Sebrango's two. Even though Matinpalo has only half a season of games, his presence in the lineup can best be explained as a matchup decision by the coaching staff.

The Tampa Bay Lightning should not be confused with the Florida Panthers in terms of their style of play, particularly their ruggedness or physicality. However, by dressing Matinpalo, head coach Travis Green prefers having the big and rangy defender for this matchup.

In an appearance on TSN 1200 this morning, Senators general manager Steve Staios was asked about Spence's preseason and the likelihood that he would not dress tonight.

"It was good," the general manager affirmed. "When we looked at the acquisition of Jordan Spence, we certainly wanted to add depth to our right side.

"We said from day one, it is a competition. The more (depth) that I can provide as a manager to the players and the coaches, it elevates play. I don't think anybody expected Nick Jensen to be back and healthy at this time. There will be an opportunity as the season goes along. We have a belief in the player. We like the player, but certainly, at this point in time, there's a competition and we have some depth."

Opportunities can certainly arise as the season progresses, and there should be plenty of chances for Spence to establish himself as a staple in the Senators' lineup.

A strong preseason would have helped earn the trust of the coaching staff, but while Spence had moments where he flashed his skills, it was not his best body of work. Granted, it is not like Matinpalo was a standout either. He had his own share of struggles in puck retrieval and movement.

You cannot replace familiarity, however, and with Matinpalo's strong performance down the stretch and into the postseason, the coaching staff may feel compelled to give him the first opportunity to play.

That may not be ideal for Spence.

After having his average ice time fall from 16:47 during the regular season to 7:31 in the playoffs, Spence assuredly feels like he has something to prove and can be a reliable defender.

He is just going to have to wait for his chance to prove it.

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