New York Rangers Acquire Tyler Motte
Tyler Motte is back on Broadway. The New York Rangers have acquired the veteran forward from the Ottawa Senators in exchange for forward Julien Gauthier and a conditional 2023 seventh-round pick, per a team announcement.
The Senators have announced the conditions on the deal: if the Rangers win a playoff series in the 2023 Stanley Cup playoffs, the pick will improve to be the lower of the Rangers’ two 2023 sixth-round picks. (The Rangers also own the Winnipeg Jets’ sixth-rounder from last year’s Andrew Copp trade)
Senators GM Pierre Dorion gave the following statement regarding Gauthier, the centerpiece asset his team is receiving in this deal:
Julien Gauthier is a hard-working, good skating winger with a big body who routinely goes to the opponent’s net. His north/south game should be a nice addition to our lineup.
Dorion’s strategy with this trade mirrors how he approached the trade of Nick Paul last season. Rather than simply aim for the best draft pick possible, Dorion instead identified a player on the buying team’s roster that he believes can contribute to the Senators immediately.
Last season, the team acquired pending restricted free agent Mathieu Joseph. This year, it’s Gauthier, who is also a pending restricted free agent.
Both Motte and Gauthier have scored nine points this season, but for the Rangers this trade is about more than just scoring. After the acquisition of Vladimir Tarasenko from the St. Louis Blues, the Rangers’ need for a scoring-line right winger was met. Their biggest need heading into the deadline became an upgrade to their fourth line, as they were relying on relatively unproven commodities such as Gauthier and Jake Leschyshyn.
Now, they’ve added a player who not only brings a different flavor to their fourth line than what Gauthier could provide, but also brings a more well-rounded game and valuable playoff experience. Gauthier has just three playoff games on his resume, while the 27-year-old Motte helped the Rangers to the Eastern Conference Final last season and got into 17 playoff games for the Vancouver Canucks in 2019-20.
Motte is the Senators’ leading penalty-killing forward and should be able to help a Rangers penalty kill that at the moment ranks just 15th in the league. He’s tenacious, always energetic, and a forward Rangers fans came to greatly appreciate despite his limited time on their roster. Both the New York market and head coach Gerard Gallant will surely be pleased that Motte is back in the fold.
For Ottawa, this trade is all about Gauthier. Motte got the Canucks a fourth-rounder in a trade last season, and while he’s not quite having as good of a season as he had last year, it’s hard to say that his decline alone causes his value to drop from a fourth-rounder all the way to a sixth or seventh-rounder.
Instead, this seems to be a case of Ottawa simply seeing something they like in Gauthier and preferring to add him to their roster over a slightly improved draft pick. The 25-year-old winger is, as Dorion noted, a player with size and strong skating ability. He’s routinely attacking the net when he gets offensive chances, but his ability as a finisher leaves much to be desired.
While he showed flashes in New York of the talent that made him a 2016 first-round pick, he ultimately was not able to find the night-to-night consistency to earn the trust of David Quinn or Gallant. Now, Senators head coach D.J. Smith will get a chance to see if anything can be made out of Gauthier’s impressive physical tools.
Pictures courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Ottawa Senators Make Tyler Motte Trade-Related Scratch, Recall Dillon Heatherington
The Ottawa Senators have recalled Dillon Heatherington from the AHL’s Belleville Senators, per a team announcement. According to Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch, this recall was made so that Heatherington could make the trip with the Senators to Boston for Monday’s game, adding a seventh defenseman to Ottawa’s roster.
While this move does not seem directly related to any trade conversations, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports that “conversations have intensified” around Senators forward Tyler Motte.
It seems that beyond just this recall, even more Senators’ roster moves could be on the horizon. Garrioch adds that Motte will sit for Ottawa’s game today against the St. Louis Blues for trade-related reasons. While no deal has been completed yet, Garrioch notes that it’s being worked on.
As for the officially-announced transaction, the 27-year-old Heatherington now has a chance to return to the Senators’ lineup for the first time since late December, when he got into three games for head coach D.J. Smith’s team. In those three games, Heatherington averaged a shade over nine minutes of ice time per game, almost entirely at even strength. In total, the 2013 second-round pick has 23 games of NHL experience on his resume.
At the AHL level, Heatherington is more of a difference-maker. He currently serves as the captain of AHL Belleville and plays a top-pairing role for the team. While he isn’t a major offensive contributor (he has eight points in 39 games this season) he’s a valued leader, an AHL veteran with Calder Cup championship experience, and a capable defensive defenseman. He should be able to adequately fill a depth role for the Senators with this recall.
As for Motte, a deadline-season deal would mark his second mid-season trade in as many years. He was dealt to the New York Rangers last season and helped them on their run to the Eastern Conference Final. Motte is an energetic bottom-six forward who doesn’t provide a ton on the offensive end but is a respected penalty killer.
With an expiring $1.35MM cap hit, it’s easy to see why a contending team would want to pull the trigger relatively early on a deal to acquire Motte, assuming the price is within reason. Last year, the Rangers paid a fourth-round pick to the Vancouver Canucks in order to acquire Motte, although the New York Post’s Larry Brooks tweets that “the asking price is significantly higher” than it was last season to acquire Motte this year.
Maple Leafs Made Strong Pitch To Sign Chris Neil In 2009
- Long-time Senators winger Chris Neil had his #25 retired by the team on Friday night but Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch relays that the 15-year player nearly signed with rival Toronto back in 2009. The Maple Leafs made the high-money offer to Neil who, at the time, was coming off a down season but he opted to take a little less to stay with Ottawa. In the end, he suited up for more than 1,000 games with the Sens, recording more than 2,500 penalty minutes.
Pierre Dorion Speaks On Senators Trade Deadline Plans
The Ottawa Senators are in a tricky situation. Similar to the Buffalo Sabres, who sit just a few points ahead of them in the Atlantic Division standings, they have shown some significant growth with a roster full of young, inexperienced talent. The playoffs are likely out of reach this season, but after so many lean years (they last had a winning record in 2016-17), adding at the trade deadline doesn’t seem out of the question.
Even just as a reward for the hard play the team has shown this year, it might be worthwhile to bring in a little boost for the group. More complicated is the fact that the team is going through the process of sale, and increased ticket sales over the last 30 games could be beneficial.
You could tell that there is still some indecision on the part of general manager Pierre Dorion when he met with reporters including Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia today. In detailing his deadline plans, he admitted that the next seven games would determine his strategy one way or another, but there were a few things that he has already decided.
First, is that Alex DeBrincat will not be traded. There had been some speculation regarding the diminutive sniper, because of how his contract is structured moving forward. The 25-year-old DeBrincat is owed a $9MM qualifying if the Senators want to maintain his RFA rights, which would result in a one-year deal that walks him right to unrestricted free agency in 2024. Despite his age, he will qualify for UFA status early because he has already finished six seasons in the NHL.
Ottawa could get a significant piece back for him at the deadline recouping the assets they sent Chicago at the draft. But getting DeBrincat for another season and trying to sign him long-term seems to be the plan for Dorion at this point, kicking the can on a decision down the road. If he’s still unsigned come this time next year, his name will certainly be in the news again.
Second, Derick Brassard will also not be dealt. The veteran forward is coming up on 1,000 games in the NHL, a milestone he will reach with the Senators, his hometown team (Brassard was born in Hull, just across the river from Ottawa). Technically there is still time for that to happen and then be traded, but it doesn’t seem like that is in the cards. Brassard, 35, is on a one-year, $750K contract and will remain with the team for the stretch run.
Third, Dorion admitted that he will add a defenseman if he can, but cautioned that the market is difficult to work with right now. When Travis Hamonic‘s name was brought up as a potential chip, he said he likely won’t move him – not quite as determined as in the case of DeBrincat or Brassard.
Part of that need for defense is due to a new injury for Nick Holden, which has moved him to injured reserve. The Senators now have just six defensemen on the roster, as Holden joins Jake Sanderson on IR.
Ottawa Senators Place Nick Holden On Injured Reserve
- The Ottawa Senators placed defenseman Nick Holden on injured reserve Wednesday, CapFriendly reports. Holden is day-to-day with an undisclosed injury that kept him out of yesterday’s storybook shootout victory over the New York Islanders. The 35-year-old veteran of 636 NHL games has a goal and nine assists in 47 appearances this season, and his 10 points are tied for third among Senators defensemen with Travis Hamonic.
Injury Notes: Pageau, Tinordi, Faber
The New York Islanders are without one of their best depth pieces tonight against the Ottawa Senators. Jean-Gabriel Pageau is out for tonight’s game against his former team with an upper-body injury and is day-to-day, per the team.
Pageau sustained the injury at practice yesterday, says Stefen Rosner of NYI Hockey Now. Reportedly, Pageau was “clipped” during a drill and was slow to get up, yet stayed on the ice for the remainder of practice. The 30-year-old center has 10 goals and 29 points in 56 games this season. This is his first absence of the 2022-23 campaign.
- Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Jarred Tinordi is out for the remainder of tonight’s game against the Montreal Canadiens with an undisclosed injury, the team said. The Chicago Sun-Times’ Ben Pope notes that Tinordi had fallen awkwardly on a shift in the first period. Tinordi, 30, was claimed on waivers by the Blackhawks at the beginning of the season and has suited up in 26 games, recording five points.
- One of the best prospects in hockey on one of the best teams in college hockey is out long-term. The Athletic’s Michael Russo agreed with reports today that Minnesota Wild defense prospect and University of Minnesota captain Brock Faber is out week-to-week with an upper-body injury. Acquired from the Los Angeles Kings in the Kevin Fiala trade, Faber has 20 points in 30 games with Minnesota this year after representing the United States at the Olympics and World Junior Championships last season.
Latest On Senators Sale
- Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch has reported a potentially major development in the Ottawa Senators sale process, as star Hollywood actor Ryan Reynolds has reportedly joined the Remington Group’s bid to purchase the team. Per Garrioch, the Toronto-based real estate development corporation is “poised to make a bid” for the Senators and is also “determined to build a new rink at LeBreton Flats.” Since the NHL has publicly communicated a desire for Reynolds to be involved in any ownership solution for the Senators, it seems his addition to the Remington Group’s bid could be a major boon as they look to become the new owners of the franchise.
Anton Forsberg Will Not Require Surgery
- After Anton Forsberg needed a stretcher to leave the ice for the Ottawa Senators, the worst was feared. Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia gives something of a promising update though, reporting that the veteran goaltender will actually not require surgery on his knees. His recovery timeline is set at two to three months as he recovers from MCL tears in both legs.
Jake Sanderson Out Two Weeks, Senators Recall Kevin Mandolese
As expected, the Ottawa Senators have recalled goaltender Kevin Mandolese from their AHL affiliate, the Belleville Senators. The move comes after Senators goalie Anton Forsberg had to be stretchered off the ice during last night’s game due to a lower-body injury. He will be out indefinitely with MCL tears in both knees.
In addition, Senators GM Perre Dorion announced that rookie blueliner Jake Sanderson would miss a minimum of ten days (and likely two weeks in total) with an upper-body injury.
Mandolese’s recall comes as the Forsberg injury puts the Senators’ difficult goalie situation into an even more dire state. Veteran Cam Talbot is already on injured reserve and expected to miss another week, according to Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch.
The team already has 2019 second-round pick Mads Sogaard on the active roster on an emergency loan, and now Mandolese heads to the active roster as well having previously started games this season at both the AHL and ECHL level. He has a .879 save percentage at the AHL level this season and a .927 in the ECHL.
With both Sogaard and Mandolese up in the NHL, the AHL Senators are now forced to rely on minor-league veteran Antoine Bibeau, as well as ECHL trade acquisition Logan Flodell, who has an .800 save percentage in the AHL so far.
The loss of Sanderson, though, is perhaps even more discouraging given the success he has had in his rookie season. The Senators are interested in playing meaningful, competitive hockey down the stretch even though their playoff hopes remain in long-shot territory.
Losing Sanderson, who has helped their penalty kill and overall defensive game, for two weeks will likely hurt them in the standings if the Senators’ other defensemen can’t pick up and capably fill the minutes he leaves.
Anton Forsberg Out Indefinitely With Torn MCL
02/12/23: Senators general manager Pierre Dorion announced that Forsberg has torn his MCL in both his left and right knee, and will as a result be likely out for the rest of the season. This announcement comes as a devastating blow for both the 30-year-old netminder and the Senators as a team.
Such a significant, season-ending injury is always horrible news, and it’s made especially so since Forsberg was in the midst of another solid season. While his save percentage had declined from last season’s .917 mark (he has a .902 in 28 games this season) that decline was more of a product of the play in front of him than any decline in talent on Forsberg’s part. Public sources such as Moneypuck.com are still bullish on Forsberg’s performance, with him ranked 16th in the entire NHL in goals-saved-above-expected, above Darcy Kuemper, Stuart Skinner, and Ville Husso, among others.
He’ll now have to focus on his recovery rather than stopping pucks, with the aim of returning to full health by the start of the 2023-24 season so that he can help the Senators get off to a strong start and possibly even get into the hunt for a playoff spot.
02/11/23: Saturday’s matinee against Edmonton didn’t go well for Ottawa as they dropped a 6-3 decision. On top of that, goaltender Anton Forsberg had to be stretchered off the ice after suffering what appeared to be a knee injury just before the sixth goal was scored. Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch noted postgame that an update on Forsberg isn’t expected until Sunday.
Forsberg has been a nice story for the Senators as he was picked up on waivers in 2021 (the third time in barely two months he had been waived and claimed) and has played his way into a regular role between the pipes. Last season, he had a 2.82 GAA along with a .917 SV% in 46 appearances, earning himself a three-year contract extension along the way. Things haven’t gone as well this season, however, as he entered today’s action with a 3.13 GAA and a .905 SV% in 27 games.
On top of Forsberg being injured, Cam Talbot remains out of the lineup with a lower-body injury for at least a few more days so the short-term starting role will fall to rookie Mads Sogaard. Ottawa now sits nine points out of the final Wild Card spot so they will have their work cut out for them if they want to get back into the mix.
The Senators will need to recall a goaltender in advance of their next game on Monday against Calgary. There are two options in Kevin Mandolese and veteran Antoine Bibeau. The 22-year-old has split the season between AHL Belleville and ECHL Allen and has a save percentage of just .879 with the Baby Sens. Bibeau, meanwhile, just made his first appearance today in the minors after missing more than two months due to an injury. However, the 28-year-old has considerably more professional experience and even a handful of NHL appearances over the years and might be a better option to partner with an inexperienced Sogaard for the time being.