There's a right-wing issue in Ottawa and it has nothing to do with conservatives or politics.
No matter what sport you're talking about, there's no such thing as having too many good players. But this season, the Senators find themselves overloaded with three very good right wingers and the challenge is going to be keeping everyone happy.
Claude Giroux, Drake Batherson and newcomer Vladimir Tarasenko have the kind of skill that demands top-six linemates and minutes and, if all three stay healthy, you can lock all of them in right now for a 60-80 point season.
So the question is, since they're all top-six-caliber forwards on this team, which right winger will be shifting over to play left wing this fall?
It's a good problem to have – a first-world problem – and a heavy upgrade on where they were opening night just two years ago when their top three right-wingers were Batherson, Connor Brown and the left-shooting Tyler Ennis.
Head coach D.J. Smith and his staff have been wondering about it too. But as he guested on TSN 1200 radio in Ottawa Tuesday, Smith said Batherson has already stepped up to say he's willing to make the switch.
"I know Drake has reached out and said, 'Hey, I'll play left wing,'" Smith said. "Giroux can play left wing (too). We'll figure it out throughout camp and come up with what we think is the best top six positionally for us."
It's at least a little curious that Tarasenko is the only player of the three who actually shoots left, but isn't even being mentioned as an obvious left-wing candidate. At his welcoming news conference, when asked about positioning, Tarasenko basically said it's up to the coaches, but also made a point to say that he'd played his whole career at right wing.
Obviously, the Senators want Tarasenko to be at his best, and that's difficult for anyone to truly do that when they're playing an unfamiliar position, but this is also a player who's probably only going to be here for one year. Meanwhile, Smith has core, long-term players to keep happy, who also want to be in a position to be at their best as well.
"I said (to Tarasenko) you're going to be a big part of putting us over the hump," Smith said. "And, you know, you've got to be at your best and we'll get you (to be) at your best. And my job's to do that, but also make sure that I got Drake at his best, and Giroux, and Brady and Timmy.
"As long as we're winning games and we're competitive, I don't care where they play."
No coach is ever going to complain about having too many good players at any position, or the challenge of trying to keep them all happy. It's way better than the alternative, which Smith has personally lived out for most of his four years in Ottawa.