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If the Senators were on course for another post-season run, the experience and savvy of role players such as Zack Smith and Jean-Gabriel Pageau would be important. Given their current situation, though, it looks like they overpaid to keep both.

Nobody should be shocked if one or both are dealt before the Feb. 26 trade deadline, freeing up some cash that will be needed to re-sign pending restricted free agent Mark Stone, who could, soon enough, become the Senators’ next captain.

Given the renewed emphasis on youth, we wonder if Melnyk will also be putting his money where his mouth is, either buying out Dion Phaneuf in the summer or assuming a portion of Phaneuf’s salary in a potential trade. Phaneuf has $6.5 million, $6.5 million and $5.5 million in the remaining three seasons of his contract, with a salary-cap hit of $7 million.

If the Senators are indeed switching gears to focus on the future, Dorion is ideally suited to lead the development.

His drafting track record is solid. Look no further than the current lineup, where 21-year-old rookies Thomas Chabot and Colin White have provided a late-season spark in a largely forgettable season. They were both drafted in the latter half of the first round in 2015.

Logan Brown, Drake Batherson and Alex Formenton have all had outstanding junior seasons, promises of a brighter future. Look around the league: The new era of the NHL is about finding ways to insert speedy, energetic (and relatively low-cost) youngsters into the lineup as quickly as possible.

The irony is that Dorion put a stamp on his scouting acumen by pushing hard for former general manager Bryan Murray to trade up to draft Karlsson 15th overall in 2008.

When his career is done, Karlsson could go down as the greatest 15th-overall selection in NHL history.

Friday’s moves, however, represented more signals that Karlsson’s future here was uncertain, that the Senators could be using their captain as the key piece for rebuilding the next generation of the team.

kwarren@postmedia.com

Twitter.com/Citizenkwarren