Where have all the draft picks gone? Ottawa has five selections for 2010

As I was consulting the never-ending source of information that is Wikipedia in order to find out where the Senators would be drafting through the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, I noticed something: The Senators only have five selections this year. It represents the second-fewest picks the franchise has ever had heading into an entry draft, one more than the four they had in 2006 and four fewer than the nine selections they made in 2009.

Over the course of the last year, the Senators have traded away four picks they'd acquired for this upcoming draft, meaning that of nine draft picks (eight, technically) the Senators could have had, only five remain. So what happened to that newfound devotion to building through the draft?

Quite frankly, it's taken a back seat to more immediate concerns.

(Take the jump for more... )

Picks the Senators have:

• First round (16 overall)
• Third round (76 overall)
• Fourth round (106 overall)
• Sixth round (178 overall, from San Jose via Dallas)
• Seventh round (196 overall)

Picks the Senators had, but traded:

• Second round (46 overall): Traded to the Carolina Huricanes in exchange for F Matt Cullen.
  People will be upset with this deal. The last two seasons, the Senators have been guarding their draft picks hugely, rebuilding the franchise while trying to stay competitive. But when Cullen was acquired, the Senators were right in the mix for the Northeast Division crown, and looked very capable of making a splash in a wide-open Eastern Conference. It was a deal for the short-term that didn't help get Ottawa out of the Eastern Conference Quarter-Finals, but was worth the cost, in my opinion.
• Second round (58 overall, originally from San Jose): Traded to the New York Islanders for D Andy Sutton.
  See above, basically. The only difference between Sutton and Cullen is likely that we needed Sutton's services more desperately; our defence was green before Sutton came in, and he helped stabilize it to some extent.
• Fifth round (136 overall): Traded to the San Jose Sharks as a component of the Dany Heatley trade.
  Brutal. I still shake my head at the thought that a draft choice, even just a fifth-rounder, had to go to San Jose as a part of this deal. Unreal.
• Sixth round (166 overall): Traded to the Edmonton Oilers for a 2009 seventh-round pick (191 overall; Michael Sdao).
  Superficially, trading a sixth-round pick away to acquire a seventh-rounder seems silly, but obviously the Senators liked what they saw in Michael Sdao (who they ultimately selected with the acquired pick). The Senators had the 190 overall pick and selected Brad Peltz; my thinking is they really liked Sdao and Peltz, and didn't want to pick one over the other, so they gave up a future asset to ensure they got both. When you see a player you like, you do what you have to to get him.

Looking at the group together, it's sad to see so much potential traded away--especially those two second-rounders, which could have brought some good players into our system. But when you look at them individually, only that fifth-rounder is really embarrassing; the others have generally reasonable justifications.

Senators GM Bryan Murray said he's going to try and acquire more draft picks over the course of the draft. Although it will be tough to get any high picks, if the Senators can turn some surplus assets with little upside into new assets with decent upside, it will be good for the franchise moving forward.