The Senators have already added to their forward group this offseason with the signing of Evgenii Dadonov and the acquisition of Austin Watson but they may not be done adding up front just yet. Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch reports that the belief is that Ottawa may be interested in adding one more forward to the mix.
From a roster composition standpoint, the Sens have several players on entry-level contracts that are likely to break camp with the team so adding another veteran wouldn’t put them in a roster crunch of any kind. Adding another veteran would certainly insulate them against injuries and would allow them to shuffle some of those youngsters back and forth between them and AHL Belleville which is something they did last season.
Cap space won’t be an issue either as even after they re-sign arbitration-eligible center Chris Tierney, they’ll have plenty of it but there are questions as to how much they’ll be willing to spend next season, especially since they’re not quite ready to emerge from their rebuild just yet. As things stand, they have a little less than $18MM in room, per CapFriendly.
It’s unclear what type of forward they’d have a preference for acquiring though as they have needs basically in every area. But with their young core set to get more expensive over the next few years as entry-level deals expire, adding someone on a long-term deal could have repercussions down the road. With that in mind, adding someone with a year or two left would probably be more beneficial for Ottawa.
There are quite a few teams looking to free up some cap room and if GM Pierre Dorion is indeed willing to add another forward, this could be an opportunity to bring someone in for a low price or if they’re open to taking on a pricier contract, perhaps add some more draft pick and/or prospect capital as well.
brining back hoffman? i doubt it but would instantly make the sens forward group decent and a first line C and a couple more D away from being good
You won’t get all that for 18mil. Adding Hoffman would give you even less to accomplish those goals
As a pens fan you should go defense first. Murray is a good goalie when he has the lanes blocked, not one for a high pace team.
they need to look at C. the team is incredibly week there. Yes a lot of high drafted young players but I’m not sure there is even a #2 in the current group.
Getting a Mikael Granlund for 1-2 years wouldn’t be bad if looking at FAs.
Why not go after Tyler Johnson? I feel like Ottawa wouldn’t give up much to get him? He would be a veteran presence who just won a cup. I know he has a list of teams he won’t go to and I am sure Ottawa is on there. If I am Tampa, I am giving Ottawa permission to sell themselves to Johnson. I think it would be a huge opportunity for Johnson as well getting a big boost in playing time. Maybe that isn’t how it works but I like the idea.
Drake Batherson, Logan Brown and Alex Formenton should be ready for a full season of NHL seasoning. Should be interesting to watch them develop…or fall off of a cliff.
I vote David Krejci. First or second line center, one year left, veteran presence, will help the kids develop without requiring “special” treatment.
Motivation for the Bruins is to free up space to sign Hoffman, who they need more than they need a C.