After the biggest offseason make over in the team's 15-year history - the Ottawa Senators are anxious to see if all of Bryan Murray's work pays off.
The general manager changed over a third of the roster over the summer, including a new head coach - former Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds coach Craig Hartsburg - for opening night for the third straight season.
"We've kinda gone from a skilled team three years ago to more of a hard working, disciplined team two years ago to losing our way last year." said Murray. "I'd like to find our way again."
That's welcoming for star forward Dany Heatley, who was a big acquisition himself when the team acquired him in 2005.
"This is our first big coaching change," he explained to reporters on Tuesday. "We were familiar with Bryan and John (Paddock). I think we are excited about a big change, a little bit of a different outlook on things and a different outlook on the game and we're all excited about that."
The outlook that Heatley refers to isn't something that will be found before the puck drops for them on Oct. 4. In fact, it won't be clear for some time whether or not the Senators can find their way back to Stanley Cup contenders from two years ago. But the Senators clearly have a lot more questions than answers heading into this season.
"I think until you start practicing and playing games, as a coach there are lots of questions," he said. "How is it all going to fit together? I've got a picture, but until you work and play games and you see where everything's going to go, it's a process."
That identity came with a series of big trades and signings over the summer. The club brought in goaltender Alex Auld, defenceman Jason Smith and forwards Ryan Shannon and Jarkko Ruutu and also traded defenceman Andrej Meszaros to Tampa Bay in exchange for blueliners Filip Kuba and Alexandre Picard. How these players will fare with Ottawa's core group remains to be seen.
"What's on paper is great, but we have to build an identity and that starts today," said Hartsburg. "We'll have a meeting tonight and talk about it. We like the pieces that are here and the depth that we have, but on paper it doesn't really matter. It's the identity that we build and how quick we build it."
Written with files from TSN's Brent Wallace.
TSN's 30 Teams In 30 Days preview of the Ottawa Senators will be available online on Oct. 1.