PITTSBURGH -- They entered the postseason as the only team with a negative goal differential to make the playoffs -- and the lowest outside expectations of any team.
They left the postseason as one of the last four teams standing. By that measure, it was a magical run for the Ottawa Senators, even if they fell one win short of playing for a Stanley Cup against the Nashville Predators.
It raises expectations in Ottawa heading into next season. Here's a look at where the focus should be to try to meet them:
1. Convince Vegas to take Bobby Ryan in the expansion draft
Ryan was great for the Senators in their playoff run, and that's just about the best thing that could have happened for the Senators after a rough regular season for him. Now, there's a case to build when calling Vegas GM George McPhee and working a deal to get him to take Ryan, a deal that would need a serious sweetener because of the massive contract to which Ryan is currently signed.
There are still five seasons remaining on his contract that comes with an annual cap hit of $7.25 million. That's the bad news. The good news is that the no-trade clause in the contract doesn't require the Senators to protect him in the expansion draft.
Ottawa has only two picks in the first three rounds of the draft, so it's already dealing from a thin hand, but as a budget team, the Senators can't afford to overpay Ryan into his 30s. The reality is that the days of him producing up to the level of that cap hit might already be over.
2. A long-term deal for Jean-Gabriel Pageau
Around the middle of the season, Senators GM Pierre Dorion said he wanted to see a full season out of Pageau before really getting serious about a new deal for the restricted free agent.
He wanted to compare full seasons to full seasons when doing the deal. Well, he now has a pretty good idea what Pageau means to this team. He's a Selke Trophy-caliber defensive forward, and he scored some of the biggest goals of the playoffs for the Senators, finishing the postseason with eight goals.
His regular-season goal scoring was down, but he showed what kind of player he is on the biggest stages, and is a key part of the future in Ottawa.
3. Make room for Thomas Chabot on defense
The exciting thing for Senators fans is they had a strong postseason and they have good, young players coming. Most notable on that list is Chabot.
After putting up 45 points in 34 regular-season games for Saint John in the QMJHL, he followed it up with 23 points in 18 playoff games. And that's on top of being named MVP of the World Junior Championship.
He's a great skater with NHL vision, making the idea of him and Erik Karlsson on the same defense a scary thought for opposing teams.