The Sens' all-time best lineup

In response to Bleacher Report's Ottawa Senators' blog's all-time Senators' lineup (which included the likes of Randy Cunneyworth and Janne Laukkanen), I've formulated my own all-time Senators' lineup--respecting the players' natural positions. I've gone All-Star Game style, picking the best players with little to no thought of how they would serve as 'fourth-line role players' or 'grinders' or anything; pure skill is measured, with very few exceptions made to intangible assets (like Magnus Arvedson).

Got any comments, criticisms, or recommendations? Let me know in the comments.

FORWARDS

1. Dany Heatley-Jason Spezza-Daniel Alfredsson

• 'Nuff said. Best line the Sens have ever had.

2. Shawn McEachern-Alexei Yashin-Marian Hossa

• Alexei Yashin may not be very popular in Ottawa today, but he was certainly one of the best all-time offensive players the Senators have had. He helped reinvigorate Shawn McEachern's career, which is the biggest reason he made this list. And Marian Hossa is one of the best right wingers in hockey today, cementing his place in Senators' history.

3. Vaclav Prospal-Pavol Demitra-Martin Havlat

• Injury problems aside, Martin Havlat is a dynamic player, and has the ability to be a game-breaker. He was hampered in Ottawa by virtue of the fact that in front of him on the depth chart were Daniel Alfredsson and Hossa. And even though Vaclav Prospal and Pavol Demitra enjoyed much of their offensive success for other teams, they very well could have done so for the Senators given the opportunities.

4. Magnus Arvedson-Mike Fisher-Peter Bondra

• It would have been interesting to see this line in action. Again, most of Peter Bondra's success was with another team, but he could very well have produced given more than a half-season with the Sens. Mike Fisher may very well move up on this list, and is certainly higher on a popularity listing. And Arvedson may have been given this spot because he played his heart out, but he also had a great career as a Senator.

Notable forwards: Antoine Vermette (LW), Radek Bonk (C), Mike Comrie (RW), Andreas Dackell (RW), Bob Kudelski (RW).

DEFENCE

1. Zdeno Chara-Chris Phillips

• Incredible shut-down pair. The only defenceman in Senators history who made Chris Phillips look small was Zdeno Chara, and the two were strong when they played together.

2. Steve Duchesne-Wade Redden

• Offence from the defence. His later years were not as strong, but Wade Redden was the Senators' highest-scoring all-time defenceman. And Steve Duchesne was a huge part of the Senators' early success.

3. Anton Volchenkov-Norm McIver

• Norm McIver is the only Sens defenceman to lead the team in scoring. And I don't need to outline the many attributes that earned Anton Volchenkov a spot on the all-time roster.

Notable defencemen: Joe Corvo, Sami Salo.

GOALTENDERS

1. Dominik Hasek

• As irritating as Dominik Hasek's injury problems were, he was the best goaltender ever to play in the Senators' uniform. Had he managed to play the whole season, I can only imagine where the Sens would have gone. And I'm imagining the Stanley Cup.

2. Ron Tugnutt

• Ron Tugnutt's best years, by far, were with the Senators. In 1998-99, Tugger set an NHL-low 1.78 goals-against average, and he's a nice guy to boot.

Notable goaltenders: Patrick Lalime, Ray Emery, Damian Rhodes.