NHL off-season rankings place Senators and Canadiens in bottom tier

TheHockeyNews.com has released its NHL off-season rankings, placing the Ottawa Senators at 26th and the Montreal Canadiens at 25th.

The Ottawa Senators' ranking follows the departure of captain Brady Tkachuk to the Florida Panthers. While GM Steve Staios added William Eklund from the San Jose Sharks and acquired goaltender Samuel Ersson from the Toronto Maple Leafs, the team's net results were characterized as losing more than they added. Concerns were noted regarding Ersson's previous statistics and the age of new addition Andre Burakovsky.

The Montreal Canadiens were ranked due to a quiet off-season that failed to significantly bolster the roster. Although the team secured an eight-year extension for winger Ivan Demidov, the departure of players like Brendan Gallagher and the lack of experienced additions to the top-six forward group left the team largely unchanged from the previous season.