It seems as though Minnesota Wild defenseman Matt Dumba has been on the trade block for years on end. Now, rumors are once again starting to build up regarding the 2012 seventh overall pick. TSN’s Darren Dreger reported on today’s edition of Insider Trading that both the Ottawa Senators and Edmonton Oilers have shown interest in Dumba, who is a pending unrestricted free agent.
Senators Rumors
Zack Ostapchuk To Be Traded In Junior
- The big trades in the CHL continue as Sportsnet’s Jeff Marek reports (Twitter link) that Senators prospect Zack Ostapchuk is being traded to WHL Winnipeg. The 2021 second-rounder played for Canada at the World Juniors and has 10 goals and 19 assists in 21 games this season. The full trade package is unknown but it’s believed to involve three first-round picks.
Latest On Mathieu Joseph
- Ottawa Senators forward Mathieu Joseph has made progress in his recovery from a lower-body injury that’s kept him sidelined since early December. Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch reports that Joseph wore a contract jersey during practice this morning, meaning he could be nearing a return to full health. The former Tampa Bay Lightning winger has scored nine points in 25 games this season and has scored 21 points in 36 games in his Senators career.
Latest On Cam Talbot
The Ottawa Senators have had an up-and-down season. After it looked at first like the team couldn’t escape the ghosts of disappointing seasons past, strong play over the past few weeks has them back in the extended playoff conversation.
A big part of this improved performance has been the goaltending duo of Anton Forsberg and Cam Talbot, who has helped bring out each other’s best in a tandem role. Talbot’s started 20 out of Ottawa’s 38 games despite missing time early in the season with an injury, and both he and Forsberg have recorded save percentages above the .910 mark.
It’s goaltending that’s good enough to get you into the playoffs, and it’s goaltending that’s good enough to win you a round or two. That’s why it’s not surprising that Talbot, an ageing veteran netminder on a young and developing team, wants to stick around to see it through. Talbot told reporters today, including Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun, that he’s ready to sign a contract extension with the Senators if the team is interested in retaining him.
While there haven’t been any formal talks, Talbot’s ability to sign an extension was hampered by his not being ready for the start of the season.
The team likely still wants to see a bit more than a 20-game sample size before committing to him for another handful of years. With Forsberg signed until 2025, at least half of their goaltending situation is set until then. While Talbot has been a good fit, a tandem/1B netminder (perhaps a younger one) is generally attainable in free agency.
If Talbot is able to maintain strong numbers through February, a one- or two-year extension is likely a somewhat safe bet for the Senators to get cost and personnel certainty at a pivotal position.
Senators Assign Jacob Bernard-Docker To AHL
Jacob Bernard-Docker just returned to Ottawa’s lineup last week after being on injured reserve for more than a month. However, his time with the Senators has come to an end for the time being as the team announced (Twitter link) that he has been sent to AHL Belleville.
The 22-year-old has played in nine NHL games so far this season, including seeing action in Ottawa’s last three. In those contests, he had an assist along with 14 blocked shots while averaging over 17 minutes per night which isn’t bad for a rookie. However, he’ll have an opportunity to log a lot more minutes at the minor league level; he played in eight games with Belleville back in October, picking up an assist.
At the moment, the Senators have just six defensemen on their active roster and one of those is Erik Brannstrom who hasn’t played in nearly two weeks due to a leg injury. Bernard-Docker’s assignment suggests that Brannstrom should be ready to return for Tuesday’s contest against Columbus. Brannstrom has three assists in 32 games so far this season.
Senators Stepping Up Efforts To Move Nikita Zaitsev
It has been a tough year for Senators defenseman Nikita Zaitsev, to put it lightly. He has struggled when he has been in the lineup and passed through waivers earlier in the season which resulted in his first career AHL action.
However, it appears as if they’re stepping up their efforts to move the 31-year-old as ESPN’s Kevin Weekes reports (Twitter link) that Ottawa has given Zaitsev’s permission to speak to other teams to try to help facilitate a trade. Additionally, Weekes reports that the Sens are also willing to part with a sweetener – a good prospect or high draft pick – to get a deal done.
Zaitsev has another year after this one on his contract that carries a $4.5MM cap hit. That’s a high price tag for someone who is averaging less than 17 minutes per night when he’s in Ottawa’s lineup. While he had a 36-point rookie season with Toronto in 2016-17 which helped shape the price tag of his current deal, he hasn’t been able to reach half of it since then. Notably, he also has a ten-team no-trade clause which gives Zaitsev a bit of an ability to control what happens next.
If Ottawa is indeed willing to move a quality asset to get out of the final year and a half of Zaitsev’s deal, it stands to reason that the primary objective is to clear the full contract off the books, similar to what Calgary did when they sent Montreal a protected first-round pick to get out of the final year of Sean Monahan’s contract. That suggests that they’re likely unwilling to retain on the contract or take a bad deal back as if they were, they wouldn’t need to attach an additional asset to make a move happen.
Ottawa has a little more than $4.3MM in full-season cap space at the moment, per CapFriendly. That amount is lower than what it really should be as at the moment, they have six players on injured reserve (including Zaitsev); as some of them return and their short-term replacements go back to the minors, they will have considerably more cap room to work with.
However, it’s also worth noting that they’re typically a budget team, not one that spends to the Upper Limit and with an ownership situation that’s certainly in flux with efforts to sell the team well underway, it’s possible that they don’t have the green light to spend right to the limit. Accordingly, if they want to make a move to add to their roster, they might need to move Zaitsev to have the budget room to do so.
With the bulk of the trade market still a fair way away from developing with so many teams needing to bank more cap room, they haven’t had much luck finding a taker for him yet. Perhaps now with his agent being able to speak to teams and the Senators willing to incentivize a team to take on Zaitsev’s contract, they’ll eventually have some better luck making it happen.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Senators Prospect Carson Latimer Dealt In WHL
- Ottawa Senators prospect Carson Latimer has been dealt in the WHL. The former Prince Albert Raiders forward will be heading to the Kootenay Ice in exchange for forward Aiden Oiring, a third-round pick in 2024, and a conditional third-round pick in 2025. Latimer has spent parts of four seasons with Prince Albert and the Edmonton Oil Kings, sitting on 28 points through 31 games thus far in 2022-23.
Will The Senators Be Able To Extend Alex DeBrincat?
Senators winger Alex DeBrincat has had a very strong month of December with 18 points in 13 games heading into today’s action. When they acquired him at the draft, he was viewed as someone that they likely felt was a long-term piece of the puzzle. However, Postmedia’s Ken Warren suggests a long-term agreement for the pending RFA might not be a slam dunk. With the ownership situation not settled, do the Sens have a firm commitment that they’ll be able to spend right to the Upper Limit next season? With the team struggling, do they want GM Pierre Dorion working out another long-term contract for a forward, one that would limit their flexibility? A new deal for the 25-year-old probably pushes Ottawa into a situation where their top six forwards will account for more than 50% of the cap next season. Would they be better off spending that money to upgrade the back end for a more well-rounded roster?
Accordingly, Warren wonders if there’s a scenario in which Ottawa trades DeBrincat at the trade deadline. If they’re out of the mix and DeBrincat isn’t overly open to a long-term agreement, it’s possible that the smarter long-term play would be to move him. It’d be a notable step back for the Senators at least in the short term but if they’re still out of the playoff picture in a couple of months, it’s one that might get considered if there’s no extension in place by then.
Artem Zub Could Return Tomorrow
- Ottawa Senators defenseman Artem Zub could return to the lineup tomorrow against Detroit, according to TSN 1200. Zub has been out the last 27 days with a jaw injury, and Dillon Heatherington was returned to AHL Belleville today to make room on the roster for his return.
Senators Recall Jake Lucchini, Reassign Dillon Heatherington
Dec 30, 11:18 am: Ottawa has returned Heatherington to the minors, signaling that fan favorite Artem Zub could be close to a return to the lineup.
Dec 27, 9:51 am: The Senators have brought back some extra depth as the team announced (Twitter link) that they’ve recalled defenseman Dillon Heatherington and winger Jake Lucchini from Belleville of the AHL.
Heatherington should be used to the frequent shuffling by now as this is his third recall of the month and fourth of the season overall. Despite the recalls, the 27-year-old has only suited up with Ottawa once this year. He has spent the bulk of his time with Belleville where he has five points in 19 games.
As for Lucchini, he made his NHL debut earlier this month against Montreal. The 27-year-old has been quite productive in the minors this season with 23 points in 25 games after putting up 51 points with Belleville last season.
The recalls come on the heels of some injury news as head coach D.J. Smith told TSN 1200 (Twitter link) that winger Tyler Motte has a broken finger, Rourke Chartier has an upper-body injury, and Erik Brannstrom has a lower-body issue. As a result, Heatherington and Lucchini might be a little more than just spare players this time around.