What are the Ottawa Senators' Plans for Defenceman Erik Brannstrom?

Brannstrom's particular skill set is valuable, but it's time for the Senators to address the redundancies on their blue line.

One of the intriguing storylines of the Ottawa Senators' off-season will be to see, by their actions, what new management thinks of 24-year-old defenceman Erik Brannstrom. For the third summer in a row, Brannstrom will be a restricted free agent. His last two deals were signed by former GM Pierre Dorion, who had every reason in the world to want to see the young Swede succeed. 

But the sun has set on the Summers of Dorion.

New GM Steve Staios is now the man who will decide if Brannstrom is part of the solution in Ottawa or not. And Staios is able to make that assessment entirely without bias. Staios isn't the one who acquired Brannstrom. He isn't the one who gave up Mark Stone to get him. And he isn't the one who called it his proudest day as a GM. 

After Dorion did and said those things, he immediately had an extra interest in Brannstrom. But even he became uncertain of Brannstrom's potential. Instead of signing him long-term, like he did for so many other young players on this team, Dorion signed him to back to back one year deals.

With Brannstrom back at the bargaining table for a third straight year, and eligible for arbitration, the brutal truth is that bringing him back this fall wouldn't make sense for Ottawa. And it's not because Brannstrom hasn't been a good solider for this team.

With the presence of Jake Sanderson, Thomas Chabot, and Jakob Chychrun, the Senators are already overstocked with left-shot, puck-moving defencemen. It almost feels like Dorion has been furiously trying to replace Erik Karlsson over the past few years. The Sens need help on the right side from physical players who defend well and are hard to play against.

Sanderson and Chabot are both locked up with huge deals, so they're still well covered for offence from the blue line. Meanwhile, Brannstrom is the smallest and the lowest-scoring of the four. And as Chychrun prepares for UFA next summer, he didn't sound too obsessed with being here long-term, recently saying he hadn't thought about it.

After 266 NHL games, it's hard to expect much more growth in Brannstrom's game. While watching the Stanley Cup Playoffs and the vicious net-front battles, it's also fair to wonder if the diminutive Brannstrom could thrive in that. Mind you, it's fair to wonder if about half of Ottawa's current roster would thrive in that.

If the club were to move both Chabot and Chychrun, then there's maybe still a place here for Brannstrom. But that's highly unlikely, and he'd still have to fend off 6-foot-4 Tyler Kleven, who addresses the current need to get more physical.

However they choose to do it, we're betting they part company with Brannstrom this summer to make room (and help pay) for other roster ingredients they lack.