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Most Recent Talks With Pinto Were Held On Thursday, Cuts Likely To Come Saturday

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Speaking at Steve Staios’ introductory press conference today (video link), Senators GM Pierre Dorion indicated that the most recent discussions with unsigned center Shane Pinto occurred yesterday so at least there is no stalemate in discussions yet.  Ottawa’s situation is well-known at this point; they need to free up cap space before they can re-sign the 22-year-old who is expected to receive a two-year bridge deal around the $2.5MM range when everything is finalized.  Mathieu Joseph is the speculative cap casualty although the asking price from other teams is high to take on the remaining three years of his deal.  Dominik Kubalik, who came over as part of the return for Alex DeBrincat, might be a bit easier to move as an expiring deal.  Both wingers are off to good starts to their preseasons with two goals and an assist each in their first two outings.

  • Still with the Senators, the team is expected to make a significant number of cuts this week, Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch reports.  At the moment, Ottawa is carrying 51 players on its training camp roster but they are expected to trim that to between 32 and 36 before they head to Eastern Canada for a pair of games on Sunday and Monday.  Meanwhile, Garrioch adds that captain Brady Tkachuk skated today after taking a stick to the eye on Wednesday and could suit up in one of those upcoming contests.

Ottawa Senators Appoint Steve Staios As President of Hockey Operations

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The Ottawa Senators have made a big move at the top of their hockey operations department, naming former NHLer Steve Staios to be their new President of Hockey Operations.

According to the team announcement, Staios will report directly to new owner Michael Andlauer, and “will preside over the Senators’ hockey department.” A statement on the hire was given by Andlauer, which reads:

I am so excited that Steve is joining me in Ottawa to lead our hockey operations. I have worked with Steve for many years and know first-hand that he will strengthen our team with his hockey acumen, attention to detail, commitment to excellence and enthusiasm for the game and its players. In hockey you can never accumulate too much talent. Having Steve and Pierre leading our hockey department gives us a formidable team.

This move isn’t one that comes as a complete surprise, in large part due to the deep existing ties between Andlauer and Staios. Before he became a special assistant to the GM for the Edmonton Oilers, Staios served as President and General Manager for the Hamilton Bulldogs (Andaluer’s OHL franchise) starting in 2015-16.

Staios’ NHL experience extends beyond his year in Edmonton, as he also worked in player development for the Toronto Maple Leafs and does bring 1,001 NHL games of experience from his playing days.

What this addition means for the Senators is that it’s a first look at how an Andlauer-managed hockey operations department could differ from how the Senators’ hockey operations have been organized for many years. For years, GM Pierre Dorion has been at the top of Senators hockey operations, the unequivocal leader of that department.

Now, there’s another voice of importance there, and one that reports directly to ownership rather than Dorion. While it’s unclear whether this change will materialize into any concrete hockey operations decisions in the near future, this is a hire with significant long-term implications for the Senators franchise.

Injury Notes: Norris, Perfetti, Matheson

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Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia is reporting that Ottawa Senators center Josh Norris is practicing once again in a normal contact jersey today. The 24-year-old shed his yellow non-contact jersey for yesterday’s practice after he tweaked something two weeks ago at the start of training camp. Norris has missed 90 games over the past two seasons with a shoulder injury and has continued to deal with the ailment despite several surgical and rehabilitation efforts.

Last season, Norris injured the shoulder while taking a faceoff against the Arizona Coyotes in October, he attempted to do rehab and came back to play in January, but then re-injured his shoulder after three games. He finished the year with two goals and a single assist in just eight games in what was a very disappointing first year of an eight-year $63.6MM contract.

In other injury notes:

  • Sportsnet is reporting that Cole Perfetti left the Winnipeg Jets preseason game last night against the Calgary Flames after taking a dangerous hit from Martin Pospisil. Perfetti didn’t return to the game and was absent from practice this morning when it began. However, according to Winnipeg Sun reporter Scott Billeck, Perfetti did practice in a smaller group of just five players. Ken Wiebe of the Winnipeg Free Press is reporting that Perfetti is day-to-day at the moment.
  • Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports is reporting that Montreal Canadiens defenseman Mike Matheson didn’t practice today with the team. The 29-year-old was a late scratch last night for the Canadiens preseason game against the Ottawa Senators in what was said to be precautionary. Matheson dealt with several injuries last season, which makes any scratch worrisome at this point. Eric Engels of Sportsnet reported last night that Matheson is dealing with a lower body injury that is unrelated to the groin and abdominal injuries he dealt with last season and would’ve played through the injury had the game been a regular season matchup.

Training Camp Cuts: 09/26/23

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Pretty much any team who hasn’t started their preseason yet will do so tonight, as there’s a solid seven-game slate on the schedule tonight, including a nationally televised battle of New York between the Islanders and Rangers. As most teams do have their legs under them almost one week into training camp, roster cuts continue on the daily, mainly involving players being returned to juniors or being released from PTOs and ATOs after getting a look in preseason action. As always, we’re laser-focused on teams posting their roster moves, and we’re conglomerating them all in one place.

Anaheim Ducks (via The Sporting Tribune’s Derek Lee)

D Rodwin Dionicio (to Windsor, OHL)
F Connor Hvidston (to Swift Current, WHL)
F Nico Myatovic (to Seattle, WHL)
F Coulson Pitre (to Flint, OHL)
D Vojtech Port (to Edmonton, WHL)
D Konnor Smith (to Peterborough, OHL)
F Yegor Sidorov (to Saskatoon, WHL)
F Carey Terrance (to Erie, OHL)

Arizona Coyotes (via team release) (additional X link)

F Ryan Dzingel (released from PTO)
F Elliot Ekefjärd (to Europe, team unknown)
D Terrell Goldsmith (to Prince Albert, WHL)
F Patrick Harper (released from PTO to South Carolina, ECHL)
D Olli Juolevi (released from PTO)
D Justin Kipkie (to Victoria, WHL)
F Julian Lutz (to Green Bay, USHL)
D Austin Strand (released from PTO to Chicago, AHL)

Calgary Flames (via team release)

D Charles Côté (released from ATO to Rimouski, QMJHL)
D Tyson Galloway (released from ATO to Calgary, WHL)
G Jari Kykkanen (released from ATO to Kelowna, WHL)
F Jaden Lipinski (to Vancouver, WHL)
D Quinn Mantei (released from ATO to Brandon, WHL)
D Donovan McCoy (released from ATO to Peterborough, OHL)
F Oliver Peer (released from ATO to Windsor, OHL)
F Nathan Pilling (released from ATO to Edmonton, WHL)
F Oliver Tulk (released from ATO to Calgary, WHL)

Chicago Blackhawks (via team release)

F Jiri Felcman (to SCL Tigers, NL)

Colorado Avalanche (via team release)

F D.J. Busdeker (to Colorado, AHL)
D Gianni Fairbrother (to Colorado, AHL)
D Kyle Mayhew (to Colorado, AHL)
F Cédric Paré (to Colorado, AHL)
F Ryan Sandelin (to Colorado, AHL)
F Dalton Smith (to Colorado, AHL)
G Ivan Zhigalov (to Tri-City, USHL)

Nashville Predators (via team release)

G Austin Elliott (to Saskatoon, WHL)
G Owen Flores (to Niagara, OHL)
F Kalan Lind (to Red Deer, WHL)
D Dylan MacKinnon (to Halifax, QMJHL)
F Austin Roest (to Everett, WHL)
D Graham Sward (to Wenatchee, WHL)
F Joseph Willis (to Saginaw, OHL)

New Jersey Devils (via team release)

F Cole Brown (to Brantford, OHL)
F Cam Squires (to Cape Breton, QMJHL)

Ottawa Senators (via team release)

D Matthew Andonovski (to Kitchener, OHL)
F Connor Clattenburg (released from ATO to
D Jorian Donovan (to Brantford, OHL)
D Tomas Hamara (to Kitchener, OHL)
F Jackson Stewart (released from ATO to Owen Sound, OHL)

Philadelphia Flyers (via team release)

F Denver Barkey (to London, OHL)
D Oliver Bonk (to London, OHL)
F Jonathan Fauchon (released from ATO to Blainville-Boisbriand, QMJHL)
D Sam Sedley (released from ATO to Owen Sound, OHL)
D Carter Sotheran (to Portland, WHL)

San Jose Sharks (via team release)

G Mason Beaupit (to Wenatchee, WHL)
D Luca Cagnoni (to Portland, WHL)
D Ethan Frisch (to San Jose, AHL)
D Jake Furlong (to Halifax, QMJHL)
F Félix Gagnon (released from ATO to Baie-Comeau, QMJHL)
D Roman Kinal (to San Jose, AHL)
F Connor MacEachern (to San Jose, AHL)
F Bradley Marek (to San Jose, AHL)
F Anthony Vincent (to San Jose, AHL)
G Beck Warm (to San Jose, AHL)

Seattle Kraken (via team release)

F Maxim Andreev (released from PTO to Coachella Valley, AHL)
G Jaxon Castor (released from PTO to Coachella Valley, AHL)
D Lukas Dragicevic (to Tri-City, WHL)
F Jagger Firkus (to Moose Jaw, WHL)
F David Goyette (to Sudbury, OHL)
D Kaden Hammell (to Everett, WHL)
F Kyle Jackson (to Coachella Valley, AHL)
F Andrei Loshko (to Rouyn-Noranda, QMJHL)
F Carson Rehkopf (to Kitchener, OHL)
F Eduard Sale (to Barrie, OHL)

Toronto Maple Leafs (via team release)

D Noah Chadwick (to Lethbridge, WHL)

Vancouver Canucks (via team release)

F Marc Gatcomb (to Abbotsford, AHL)
D Alex Kannok-Leipert (to Abbotsford, AHL)
G Jonathan Lemieux (to Abbotsford, AHL)
F Jermaine Loewen (to Abbotsford, AHL)
D Chad Nychuk (to Abbotsford, AHL)
F Karel Plasek (to Abbotsford, AHL)
F Cooper Walker (released from ATO to Abbotsford, AHL)
F Dmitry Zlodeyev (to Abbotsford, AHL)

Vegas Golden Knights (via CapFriendly’s transactions log)

D Joe Fleming (to Henderson, AHL)
F Mason Primeau (to Henderson, AHL)
F Matyas Sapovaliv (to Sarnia, OHL)

Winnipeg Jets (via team release)

G Domenic DiVincentiis (to North Bay, OHL)
F Jacob Julien (to London, OHL)
D Simon Kubicek (released from PTO to Manitoba, AHL)
F Connor Levis (to Kamloops, WHL)
D Jimmy Oligny (released from PTO to Manitoba, AHL)
F C.J. Suess (released from PTO to Manitoba, AHL)

This page will be updated throughout the day.

Latest On Mathieu Joseph

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The Ottawa Senators began their preseason on a high note, but still have one major issue remaining. One of the team’s key young players, center Shane Pinto, still does not have a contract for next season and the Senators simply do not have the cap space at the current moment to pay for Pinto’s next deal.

In order to clear enough cap space to retain someone who profiles as a long-term middle-six center in Ottawa, the Senators have reportedly looked at moving Mathieu Joseph, who is under contract through 2025-26 at a $2.95MM cap hit.

Joseph struggled in his first full season in Ottawa, posting just three goals and 18 points in 56 games. He drew praise for his work on the Senators’ penalty kill, but otherwise was viewed as a disappointment.

The Senators were likely optimistic that Joseph, a former QMJHL star, could build on that chemistry and potentially find a long-term home in the team’s top-six.

While Joseph proved himself to be a useful player in Ottawa, it seems unlikely at this point that he’ll become quite as good as the Senators were betting on. That leaves the team in a position where dumping his $2.95MM cap hit might be the best course of action to take in order to clear the room to sign Pinto.

That’s where the Philadelphia Flyers enter the picture. The Fourth Period’s Anthony Di Marco reports that the cost the Senators will have to pay in order to entice another team to take on Joseph’s deal is “a first-round pick or a prospect equivalent.”

Boucher was ranked the number-four prospect in the Senators’ system by EP Rinkside, (paywall link) and would represent a major price to pay for Dorion. But if paying Boucher or another top-end future asset is what allows Dorion to carve out the cap space to afford an extension for Pinto, he just might have to consider it.

Snapshots: Senators Arena, Pysyk, Öhgren

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Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia is reporting that new Ottawa Senators owner Michael Andlauer estimates that a new arena in Ottawa would cost around $900MM and must make economic sense in order for it to happen. A new Ottawa arena has been an ongoing saga in the City of Ottawa for nearly a decade and according to some economists, it should be the first order of business for the new owner.

The Senators have played in the Ottawa suburb of Kanata since 1996 in a building that felt out of date shortly after it opened. The team has been lobbying for quite some time to get a new venue in Ottawa’s downtown core but has yet to be successful in breaking ground on a new arena. Previous owner Eugene Melnyk came close in 2016 when he tried to make a deal to build a new arena on federal land, but ultimately fell short of his goal. With the Senators now firmly under Andlauer’s control, it should be interesting to see if the Senators are finally able to break ground on a new building in a more central part of the city.

In other notes:

  • Pittsburgh Hockey Now is reporting that defenseman Mark Pysyk saw his attempted comeback hit a roadblock yesterday as he was injured in a pre-season game with the Pittsburgh Penguins. Pysyk has been trying to catch on with the Penguins for this season as he plays out training camp on a PTO. The 31-year-old missed all last season after signing with the Detroit Red Wings and hasn’t played a full season since he posted three goals and nine assists with the Buffalo Sabres in 2021-22. No information on Pysyk’s status or injury has been released at this time.
  • Färjestad BK announced today that Minnesota Wild prospect Liam Öhgren will be leaving Sweden to travel to Minnesota to undergo testing on an undisclosed injury. The injury has kept the 2022 19th overall pick off the ice this season and the Wild have opted to get a second opinion on the nature of his injury. Öhgren signed his entry-level contract last summer and has been on loan in Sweden since then. He was expected to make the jump to North America for the 2024-25 season, but with the uncertainty surrounding the injury, little is known about Öhgren’s playing future.

Michael Andlauer Says Salary Cap Needs To Be Sustainable

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  • New Senators owner Michael Andlauer spoke to the team’s salary cap situation and unsigned RFA Shane Pinto. He told the Ottawa Sun’s Bruce Garrioch that, “We’re at the cap. We have a problem signing Shane Pinto because we are at the cap. At the end of the end of the day, it’s about sustainability and making sure we have enough money in the coffers to pay our players and making sure we’re sustainable”. He went on to emphasize that player success drives fan interest, which then drives the money ownership can put back toward the players. While these comments likely don’t impact the chances of Pinto re-signing, they could limit the upside of his cap hit.

    [SOURCE LINK]

Peter Chiarelli Could Join Ottawa's Front Office

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Could long-time NHL executive Peter Chiarelli be on the move again?  Long-time Senators reporter Brent Wallace reported on his podcast recently (video link) that Chiarelli has moved to Ottawa and is likely to join the Sens in some capacity.  He actually started his career with Ottawa as their Director of Legal Relations before moving to Boston and later Edmonton as their GM.  Chiarelli has spent the last four seasons in St. Louis, the last two of which were as their Vice President of Hockey Operations.  Wallace notes that Chiarelli has ties to new owner Michael Andlauer whose purchase was formally approved on Thursday.  He has already made one front office hire in bringing back Cyril Leeder and it looks like more could soon be coming.

Ottawa Senators Officially Sold To Michael Andlauer

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5:00 PM: The NHL has now officially announced that Andlauer’s purchase of the Senators has been unanimously approved by the NHL’s Board of Governors.

1:08 PM: Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun reported that, per his sources, Michael Andlauer and partners are set to officially sign for the sale of the Ottawa Senators on Thursday. This concludes what’s turned into a bit of a saga, following the Senators’ official offering of the club 10 months ago.

A slew of potential future owners of the Senators came forward in those 10 months, including a bidding group led by music artists Snoop Dogg and The Weeknd and one involving actor Ryan Reynolds. Other names rumored to be involved at one point or another included Toronto-based brothers Jeffery and Michael Kimel, founders of Harlo Entertainment.

But in the end, it was a part-owner of the Montreal Canadiens that stepped forward with the winning bid. As part of his journey to own the Senators, Andlauer had to complete a sale of his 10 percent stake in the Canadiens – with majority owner Geoff Molson purchasing those shares.

Andlauer’s bidding group includes Anna and Olivia Melnyk – daughters of the late Eugene Melnyk who will maintain a 10 percent stake in the team – Ottawa-based businessman Jeff York, the Ottawa real estate-based Malhorta family, the Toronto-based investment group Yorkville Asset Management, owners of Alinea Group Holdings Paul and Michael Paletta, and Rocco Tullio: the owner of the Oshawa Generals.

The group came together to offer a $950MM (USD) bid, $150MM more than a Forbes valuation that was cited by many outlets during much of the sale’s journey. This marks the highest price an NHL team has ever sold for.

Andlauer and his team are expected to announced as the official fourth owners in franchise history at a press conference on Friday, barring any last minute hiccups, per Garrioch.

Ottawa Senators Sign Djibril Touré To Entry-Level Deal

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The Ottawa Senators have made their first official signing of the Michael Andlauer era. Late-blooming defenseman Djibril Touré has signed a three-year entry-level contract with the club.

Senators general manager Pierre Dorion issued the following statement regarding the signing:

Djibril’s growth over the last two years has been remarkable. He’s come a long way, from playing in the CCHL as recently as two seasons ago, to earn this contract. He’s a rangy defender who skates well and who has shown consistent improvement in his game.

This signing is an intriguing one, especially given that Touré has only one season of OHL hockey under his belt. Ranked 178th by NHL Central Scouting for the 2023 draft, Touré went undrafted in the 2023 process. Touré is clearly a player the Senators have been tracking, though, and after an impressive showing with the Senators in the prospect tournament in Buffalo he earns his entry-level deal.

The biggest reason as to why Touré is an intriguing player is undoubtedly his size. Touré stands six-foot-seven, and as a result has the type of reach and overpowering physical ability that can make life miserable for opposing attackers. He also is quite a bit more mobile than one might expect of someone his size, and Touré’s skating is at times genuinely impressive.

While he didn’t put up a ton of offense in his lone season for the Sudbury Wolves (16 points in 57 games) Touré’s abilities in his own end should give him a chance to succeed as a professional.

With this entry-level deal in hand, he’ll be able to take the ice for the Belleville Senators in the AHL this fall. He’ll look to continue to develop his game with an eye on eventually making a push for an NHL call-up.

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