The Ottawa Senators submitted a substantial offer to pending free agent winger Mark Stone last week, and things seemed to be trending in the right direction between the two sides. All that changed today according to Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia, who reports that Stone could be scratched tonight and traded before Monday’s deadline after that optimism has “quickly turned to pessimism.” The Senators recalled two forwards—Filip Chlapik and Darren Archibald—today in preparation for tonight’s game which could also see fellow forward Matt Duchene held out as a healthy scratch.
Garrioch notes that if Stone is available at the deadline the Winnipeg Jets are the top contender, though the talented winger would be on the minds of nearly every contender in the league. To that end, Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic spoke today about how the Calgary Flames also have interest in Stone if they could somehow get an indication that he would be open to a contract extension.
The 26-year old Stone is an incredible talent in the midst of his second consecutive point-per-game season and will likely reach the 30-goal plateau for the first time in his career. A Selke candidate every year even as a winger, there are few players in the league who can drive possession like Stone on a regular basis. His ability at both ends of the rink make him a perfect fit for basically every team in the league, and could potentially make him the most valuable asset at the deadline.
It’s not just as a rental player that Stone has value though. The Senators have tried for some time to sign him to a long-term deal given that he is still in the prime of his career and even an eight-year deal would be buying out mostly productive seasons. That eighth year is also a consideration in trade, as if Stone wants to sign a deal of that length he can only do so with the team who owns his rights as the deadline passes. On the open market, he would only be able to sign for seven years (though sign-and-trade is still a possibility).
If Stone is held out of the lineup tonight it will be a clear indicator that the Senators intend to trade him by the deadline. At that, teams from all around the league will surely reach out if they have not done so already and see what the cost in acquiring him would be. The trade market has been somewhat held up by names like Stone and Duchene so far, but things should be starting to move along in the next few days.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
I hope they don’t follow this advice, but the Jackets should trade Panarin and use the assets to get Stone.
Stone is worth more
Sens “substantial offer” was probably 8.5m at best let’s get real hopefully they can use the deadline to really get set up well for the next couple seasons or so.