If there’s a team that needs to turn the page to a new season, it’s the Ottawa Senators. After storming out of the gates last season and looking every bit the Cup contender, the team plummeted down the standings and barely got into the playoffs before being swept by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the opening round.

In between, there was talk of dressing room issues, led by the antics of former goalie Ray Emery, who since has exited to Russia. So yes, this is a team that desperately needs a fresh start.

“We’ve got a new coach [Craig Hartsburg], which always brings a new look and a bit of enthusiasm to everything,” center Jason Spezza told ESPN.com. “We’re putting our failures of last year behind us. We’ve got some new bodies in; we’re looking forward.”

GM Bryan Murray didn’t sit idly by after his team’s ugly finish. He brought in Hartsburg, a coach who won’t let his players off the hook, and added veteran defenseman Jason Smith, who was a captain last season with the Flyers. He also added gritty winger Jarkko Ruutu, who had been a popular member of the Penguins and kept the room loose.

“I think Bryan wanted to bring in good people, guys that are hard to play against,” Spezza said. “And playing against Jarkko Ruutu and Jason Smith — that’s an understatement; they’re both really hard to play against and they both play really hard. Just bringing [Smith] into our leadership group in Ottawa I think will really help because of his experiences, and he’s a guy who doesn’t take a night off.”

OFFENSE

On the surface, this didn’t look like an area of concern last season with the Sens leading the NHL with 258 goals. But there was a significant drop-off after the three-headed offensive machine of Spezza, Dany Heatley and captain Daniel Alfredsson. Secondary scoring was a huge issue. Hartsburg was attempting to find two scoring lines this season, keeping Alfredsson away from Heatley and Spezza. But after the trio spent significant ice time together during the preseason, the players were reunited on the top line on the eve of the team’s season opener in Stockholm. It remains to be seen whether the line will be broken up again if times get tough. Getting career years from Mike Fisher and Antoine Vermette certainly would help the cause.

DEFENSE

The blue line took a hit with the losses of Wade Redden and Andrej Meszaros. The Sens welcome Smith, Filip Kuba, Alexandre Picard and Brendan Bell to the group, but there’s a loss in back-end offense here. Perhaps Bell will be a surprise; he is shifty and has shown offensive ability in the past. Picard also showed some in the AHL. Chris Phillips (one of the NHL’s top shutdown guys), Anton Volchenkov, Christoph Schubert and Brian Lee round out a defensive corps that’s not as deep as in years past.

GOALTENDING

Martin Gerber stole the No. 1 job from the troubled Emery last season, and while he had good stretches, he didn’t completely erase doubt that he’s a true NHL starter. His 2.72 GAA was 29th among NHL goalies, while his .910 save percentage was 20th. True, some of that can be attributed to a shaky team defense in front of him, but he enters the season needing to prove himself to many.

A clever signing might be Alex Auld, who was brought in to be the backup. He played some big games with the Vancouver Canucks before losing himself on a bad Florida Panthersteam the past two seasons. Keep an eye on him.

www.epsn.com