After a year finishing second-last in the NHL and being surrounded by drama,
trade rumours, and ownership issues, the Ottawa Senators are ready for a
change. The players have spoken out in the media, in exit interviews, and
there';s a general sense that something in the nation';s capital has to give.

The conflict between Mike Hoffman';s fiancée Monika Caryk and Erik
Karlsson';s wife Melinda started the offseason for the Senators. Caryk was
accused of harassment and cyberbullying towards Melinda, resulting in the
Karlsson's filing a peace bond against Caryk. It wasn';t long before Hoffman
was traded out of Ottawa.

Adding to the soap opera that has become the Senators, assistant general
manager Randy Lee is being charged with harassment against a 19-year-old
shuttle bus driver. Lee recently stepped down as the team';s AGM to focus on
his court proceedings.

With both of these storylines complimented by the trade rumours surrounding
Karlsson, Matt Duchene, Bobby Ryan, and Craig Anderson, the players in Ottawa
are ready for a fresh start and someone to step up.What Happened to the
Senators'; Leaders?

Sure, Karlsson remains the captain, Anderson is still on the team, and Stone
has stepped up as a leader on the ice in recent years. The addition of Duchene
 last season should add to this core as he enters his first full season with
the team. Unless he';s traded before the deadline of course.

As for the rest of the leadership core on the Sens, taking a look at the past
two years explains where they have gone. Dion Phaneuf was traded to the Los
Angeles Kings, Marc Methot was taken by the Vegas Golden Knights in the
expansion draft, Hoffman was understandably sent away, and veteran Alex
Burrows retired.Alexandre Burrows spoke out on the "negative energy" in the
Senators locker room (Amy Irvin / The Hockey Writers)

While many fans knew it already, Burrows was the first to point out the
leadership issue for the team. In his exit interview, Burrows blamed himself
for not doing something about the problems and "negative energy" in the
Senators locker room.

"It's not only one thing. It's not only (owner) Eugene (Melnyk) or coaches or
players … Karl," said Burrows. "It seems like it was a lot of things that
went on at the same time, and we didn't really respond to it well.

"I blame myself for it. I should have been maybe more proactive or found a way
to … but that's the way it is sometimes. It's personal stuff you think
they're not going to expose, but later on, you realize maybe you should have
done something about it."

Burrows gives great insight into what the dressing room was like last season.
This may explain why Anderson asked for a trade at the beginning of the summer.
 It';s never good for a team when one of your core players and leaders asks for
 a trade out of town.

Anderson recently came forward indicating that he hopes to stick with the team,
 but he doesn';t want to go through another season like 2017-18. He told
reporters, "My only comment on that is that I'm too old for drama and I don't
want anything to do with drama. Hopefully, we've resolved all that. Ottawa.
I've been there for eight years now, and that's my home. I've got no interest
in going anywhere else as long as we can clean up what was going on this
summer."Craig Anderson is ready for a new year with no drama (Tom
Szczerbowski-USA TODAY Sports)

It will be interesting to hear Anderson';s comments, if he does comment, on the
 dressing room as the season goes on.Who';ll Step up and Lead the Senators This
 Season?

Karlsson is still on the team. As he and the organization remain quiet on his
future, there';s no reason to believe that he won';t come into training camp as
 the leader on the team. Stone, Duchene and Anderson are likely to remain
leaders as well, as long as they remain on the team.

However, this group didn';t work for the team last season. In a recent
interview, defenseman Mark Borowiecki and forward Jean-Gabriel Pageau are
planning to take over the dressing room this year. Borowiecki summed up how the
 Senators locker room is right now, and what needs to happen.

"There are certain things we can actively try and change as a group, if we are
just going to sit here passively and say, ΓÇÿWe need the culture to change,'
well, the culture doesn't just change. It changes because we have a group of
guys that rally together and say, ΓÇÿThis is the way it's going to be done,'
that this is how we expect them to come in and handle their off-ice issues.

"It's time for us as a somewhat veteran leadership group to come together and
do that."Mark Borowiecki is ready to lead the Senators (Marc DesRosiers-USA
TODAY Sports)

The defender commented on the drama surrounding the team, "It's impossible in
this day and age to stick your head in the sand and pretend you're ignoring it.
 I think anybody who says they are ignoring it is probably lying a little bit."

Pageau reiterated Borowiecki';s statements, stating that the team needs to
stick together and move forward as a team, even as the trade rumours continue
to swirl around the Senators. He and Ceci, both young players who have been
with the club long enough, will be looked upon this season and moving forward
as leaders.

For now, the status of the Senators is up in the air. We know that players were
 not happy with how the season went last year and will be looking to move
forward to prove critics wrong this year. That will remain to be seen if the
team can move on. Numerous players are still on the trade block, most of them
core leaders on this team.

With the Hoffman and Lee drama hopefully over for the organization, the team
may be able to move on. Whether Karlsson remains on the team or not, as well as
 Anderson and Duchene, the team needs leaders. The usual leaders should remain
as such, and with Borowiecki, Pageau and Ceci looking to take responsibility in
 the locker room, perhaps the Senators leaders can get their team back on track
 in 2018-19.

The post Senators Ready for a Change in Leadership appeared first on The Hockey
 Writers.

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