Ottawa- As the playoffs rage on the Senators certainly aren't just sitting on the couch watching other teams play, they are busy preparing for what is expected to be a huge draft year for the organization, as they continue on through a complete rebuild.

"We have a lot of work to do," said the Sens GM, "as an organization we realized the only way we are going to truly compete with the big boys of the league and not just be a team struggling to make the playoffs every year we would need to tear everything down and start from scratch."

With rumours swirling that deals have been agreed to that would see remaining top end players David Backes, Alex Burrows, and David Perron traded to various teams for what is expected to be first round picks, it certainly does look like they have started from scratch!

It is believed that the Senators will have four picks in the first round this year, and it certainly is expected that Brampton Battalion forward Cody Hodgson has long been a draft target for the Sens, so many are speculating that Ottawa has managed to trade into the top 4 a position that would guarantee them one of Steve Stamkos, Luke Schenn, Drew Doughty, or Hodgson.

"I obviously can't confirm any trades, but we believe he have positioned ourselves to get what we feel will be a franchise player, and someone we can build or team around," added GM Rob Botham.

Expect to see Ottawa making another couple of selections around the middle of the draft as its believed they have acquired two picks which currently sit between 15th and 20th overall.

"If we can in fact acquire those picks, we feel that even with two picks in the middle of the draft there is enough talent that we can possibly get another two great players to build around, and as we currently sit we are wide open to select who we feel is the best player available no matter if it's a forward, defenseman or goalie," said the GM.

With possibly another first, very late in the draft, maybe even one of the last picks of the first round, and 3 picks in the 2nd round, the Senators will look to add a considerable amount of talent that can contribute hopefully in 2 or 3 seasons as the Sens look towards a long term rebuild but one with a bright future according to Senators management.

"We know we are in for a long rebuild, but to add possibly 7 high end picks, to the youngsters like Oscar Moller, Lars Ellers, Mark Mittera, Dale Mitchell and many others that we already have in our organization we are very excited."

The Senators draft certainly won't end in the second round as they will become even busier with what is believed to be a staggering 7 picks in the 3rd round, and almost as many in the 4th as the Sens will be expected to make 6 selections.

"We feel with the amount of selections we will be making that we will be able to build a great team and will be able to take chances on some players that might need a bit more time to develop," said the GM, "we feel that with our scouting staff we will be able to find some hidden gems later in the draft that will have a big impact on our team and that we will be able to completely restock our prospect depth."

The Senators will have a much easier draft after they get past the fourth round as it is believed they currently only have 6 combined picks in the reaming 3 rounds of the draft, and as it happens with most drafts this is when teams start to go off the board and go looking for the homerun.

"Obviously we hope we can find some players that can not only contribute to our farm team but players that can help the pro team with strong two way play, and frankly at 18 or 19 years of age its hard to say how some of these kids could still develop there could be some great steals later in the draft," added GM Rob Botham.

Of course until trading opens up again much of this is speculation and much can happen before the draft, but it is certainly easy to see that the Senators fan base will have an exciting team to cheer for in the future, it will just take a few years of patience to get there!