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Latest On Erik Karlsson

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Erik Karlsson wants the trade speculation to calm down. After expressing that he wouldn’t consider taking a “hometown discount” to stay with the Ottawa Senators when he becomes an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2019, and then being one of the players asked to submit his “no-trade” list on the weekend, rumors have run wild. Karlsson wants to put an end to that, and in speaking with Arash Madani of Sportsnet tried his very best.

This is the place I want to win with. I want to win in Ottawa. That’s where I’ll always be. It’s going to be my home, no matter where I end up playing when I get older, if that ever happens. So that’s the thing: I want to be where home is. I’m comfortable at home, I like it at home and Ottawa is home. Not only the organization, but the community and all my friends as well. That’s something that’s very important to me. Then, all the other stuff, they will just follow.

Karlsson regrets speaking about his future contract negotiations, but when they came during an anchor-like plummet to the bottom of the standings by the Senators they rang with a note of truth and expectation. The Senators have lost 11 of their last 12 games, including a 5-0 pummeling at the hands of San Jose on Saturday night. Ottawa was outshot 50-25 in the game, and now sit lower than all but the Buffalo Sabres in the Atlantic Division.

Still, despite many outlets (PHR included) suggesting it may be time to consider a move, Karlsson doesn’t appear to be on the block. In fact, Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun cites two league sources that tell him Karlsson hasn’t been discussed at all in trade talks with GM Pierre Dorion. Garrioch instead suggests that the trio of Mike Hoffman, Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Cody Ceci represent the “three best options that will bring return.” Hoffman was also among the group asked for their no-trade lists, while Pageau and Ceci have been linked to trade talks in the past.

The biggest decision still lies with Karlsson, who has 136 regular season games remaining under contract with the Senators. Whether they can even afford his next huge contract will be a huge factor in what happens during the end of this deal, as Dorion will surely get as many assets as possible if he realizes there is no extension coming. The two sides are able to negotiate on a new deal once July 1st, 2018 rolls around, a day circled on the calendar of many Ottawa fans.

Major Three-Way Trade Falls Through

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As TSN’s Darren Dreger artfully puts it,  “things get complicated when big trades don’t go down.” It’s a rare occurrence in hockey that substantial details regarding a would-be deal are leaked, but such was the case yesterday. Late last night, Dreger reported that a massive three-team deal between the Colorado Avalanche, Ottawa Senators, and Nashville Predators had fallen through. Now, as Dreger says, teams are in “damage control” today as they try to clean up the mess that a rumored trade of this magnitude.

The specifics of the deal are allegedly this: Matt Duchene, the topic of trade rumors for the last year, would have gone to Ottawa. Kyle Turris, who the Senators have struggled to re-sign to their perceived fair value before he hits free agency this summer, would have gone to Nashville (probably with some additional considerations). Presumably, the bulk of the return headed to Colorado would then have come from the Predators. Some are speculating that one of Nashville’s “big four”, Mattias Ekholm, may have been involved in the deal, but considering that Avalanche GM Joe Sakic was the one who reportedly nixed the deal, unhappy with his return, it seems unlikely that Ekholm was part of the final offer.

So what now? It’s long been known that a) Duchene does not want to be in Colorado and is likely to be moved eventually and b) that Senators GM Pierre Dorion has taken a liking to Duchene and has been working to acquire him since this summer. Even without Nashville as part of the deal, this is a trade that can get done with a meeting of the minds. Ottawa has intriguing prospects like Thomas Chabot, Logan Brown, Colin White, and Filip Chlapik that have to interest a rebuilding Colorado squad, while roster players like Cody Ceci and Jean-Gabriel Pageau will inevitably enter the conversation as well. In the meantime though, these trade rumors will make the prospect of re-signing Turris at all, never mind below market value, a tough task for Dorion. Duchene deal or not, Turris’ days seem numbered in Ottawa.

Snapshots: Streit, Sharks, Three Stars

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Mark Streit has decided to call it quits after he couldn’t make it in the NHL this season. The 39-year old defenseman has retired from professional hockey according to the Swiss Ice Hockey Federation. Streit was signed by the Montreal Canadiens this summer, but was eventually waived and came to a mutual termination of the deal.

It’s interesting that Streit’s news was announced by the national program, as many assumed he would suit up for the Swiss Olympic team in the upcoming Pyeongchang Games.  If it is the last we see of Streit, it’s the end of a fantastic career that includes 786 games, a Stanley Cup and the honor of being the first Swiss-born captain in the NHL.

Jean-Gabriel Pageau Signs Three-Year Contract

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The Ottawa Senators have locked up one of their playoff heroes, signing Jean-Gabriel Pageau to a three-year, $9.3MM contract. The deal, which will allow the two sides to avoid arbitration, will be structured as follows: Jean-Gabriel Pageau

  • 2017-18: $2.6MM
  • 2018-19: $3.3MM
  • 2019-20: $3.4MM

Pageau was scheduled to have a hearing on July 28th after filing for player-elected salary arbitration, but will instead sign a three-year deal that will take him to unrestricted free agency at 27. That expiry date could prove huge for Pageau, as at 24 he has already developed into a solid role player for the Senators.

Over the past two years, Pageau has played in all 164 games and registered 76 points giving Ottawa a solid third center option behind Kyle Turris and Derick Brassard (or Mika Zibanejad in 2015-16). Deployed in a somewhat defensive role, he’s received Selke votes in both seasons as one of the best defensive forwards in the league and has improved every season in the faceoff circle, winning a team-leading 54.8% of his draws last year.

In the playoffs he showed he could be a top performer, recording 10 points in 19 games including a four-goal performance in Game 2 against the New York Rangers, an overtime win that saw him skate over 28 minutes.

A $3.1MM cap hit is a nice raise for Pageau, who was coming off just $900K per season on his second contract. That number is a fine price to pay for him as a player, but does add to the increasing salary tied up at center for the Senators. With Brassard ($5MM), Turris ($3.5MM), Zack Smith ($3.25MM) all in the fold, it will be interesting to see how things play out. The Senators also have Colin White, a natural center, knocking down the door for a chance at the NHL, while they brought in a depth option in Nate Thompson this offseason on a two-year deal. Several of these players have experience at the wing, though who will shift off the middle is still unclear.

With the Senators now having just $7.6MM in cap space, the team still has Ryan Dzingel to sign as a restricted free agent. Other than that it’s unlikely that they do anything further to add salary, as the team normally operates under an internal budget that is below the cap ceiling. That may have changed slightly with the long playoff run in 2016-17, but with attendance issues even in the postseason it wouldn’t be surprising to see them shedding salary instead of adding it before the season begins.

Craig Morgan of AZ Sports was first to report the two sides had settled on a contract.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

RFA Arbitration Hearings Begin Soon

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Although it’s likely that many of these restricted free-agents come to terms with their teams before the hearing dates, the list of set dates has been released. Last year, only one RFA actually made it to their date without a deal. We should see more players actually make it to the arbitration process this year, but how many is unclear. It could be zero, or it could be five.

That said, these arbitration hearings begin in only 11 days, so the crunch is on. Teams will hope to hammer out details with players they hope to lock in for longer than two years. PHR published a preview highlighting players most likely to see a massive pay-raise, but arbitration by its nature can be rather capricious.

According theScore’s Cody Wilkins, the set dates are as follows:

 

July 20 – Tyler Johnson (Tampa Bay), Colton Parayko (St. Louis), Tomas Tatar (Detroit)

July 21 – Ryan Dzingel (Ottawa), Michael Chaput (Vancouver)

July 22 – Micheal Ferland (Calgary), Viktor Arvidsson (Nashville)

July 24 – Austin Watson (Nashville), Brian Dumoulin (Pittsburgh)

July 25 – Joey LaLeggia (Edmonton), Mika Zibanejad (NY Rangers), Ondrej Palat (Tampa Bay)

July 26 – Jordan Martinook (Arizona), Ryan Spooner (Boston)

July 27 – Robin Lehner (Buffal0), Marek Mazanec (Nashville)

July 28 – Jean-Gabriel Pageau (Ottawa)

July 31 – Matt Nieto (Colorado)

August 1 – Connor Hellebuyck (Winnipeg), Reid Boucher (Vancouver)

August 2 – Calvin de Haan (NY Islanders), Kevin Gravel (Los Angeles)

August 3 – Nate Schmidt (Vegas), Nino Niederreiter (Minnesota)

August 4 – Mikael Granlund (Minnesota), Conor Sheary (Pittsburgh), Nathan Beaulieu (Buffalo)

Offseason Keys: Ottawa Senators

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While expansion was the early headline in what will be a busy NHL offseason, there are still several other storylines for each team in the months to come. Here is a closer look at what lies ahead for the Ottawa Senators.

The Senators made a big impression in their first season with head coach Guy Boucher and GM Pierre Dorion at the helm.  Although they didn’t win the Atlantic, they took care of business in the first two rounds before falling to the Cup-champion Penguins in the Eastern Final.  With a lot of players in need of new deals, Dorion will have a lot to accomplish this offseason.  Here are some of the key highlights.

Decide Phaneuf’s Future

While it was understandable that defenseman Dion Phaneuf was believed to be on the block prior to the Expansion Draft, it’s a bit more intriguing that his name has still been out there.  Defenders are in high demand and with it being a shallow free agent market, there are teams still showing interest.

The catch here, of course, is Phaneuf’s contract which isn’t exactly a bargain.  He has four years remaining with a $7MM cap hit and the expectation is that the Sens would have to either retain some salary or take a sizable contract or two in return.  Regardless of what the interest level in the 32 year old is, Ottawa’s willingness (or lack thereof) to retain or match money will go a long way towards determining whether a trade gets done.  Phaneuf also carries some say as he has a 12-team no-trade list.

While Ottawa has some youngsters that are close to making it, it would still be a bit surprising to see the team lose both Phaneuf as well as Marc Methot in the same offseason.  Accordingly, it’s realistic to expect that if they do decide to deal the veteran blueliner (and as things stand, the thought is he’s more likely to stay though that could change depending how the UFA market plays now), they’re going to be looking for a left shot defender in any potential trade return.

Extension Talks For Turris

Oct 28, 2016; Calgary, Alberta, CAN; Ottawa Senators center Kyle Turris (7) skates during the warmup period against Calgary Flames at Scotiabank Saddledome. Mandatory Credit: Sergei Belski-USA TODAY SportsCenter Kyle Turris has been one of the better bargains league-wide in recent years.  He has been Ottawa’s top pivot while only carrying a cap charge of $3.5MM.  Unfortunately for the Senators, that bargain will soon be coming to an end as he will be eligible for unrestricted free agency next summer and will be eligible to sign an extension as of July 1st.

Having hit the 55 point plateau in three of the last four seasons, Turris is going to be in line for a substantial raise.  As a team that typically spends well below the cap ceiling, finding room within their budget will become the biggest question here.

Dorion has done well to build up some depth down the middle with Derick Brassard, Zack Smith, and Jean-Gabriel Pageau but there’s no doubt that if Turris were to depart in 2018, that group would be a weakened unit.  This one may not be on the top of the bucket list at this stage of the summer but it’s something that the Sens will likely want to address sooner rather than later.

New Deal For Pageau

After re-signing Mike Condon earlier today, Pageau is the most notable of their remaining free agents, restricted or unrestricted.  While he didn’t produce as much during the season as he did in 2015-16 (33 points compared to 43 the year before), he still filled an important middle six role while being well above average at the faceoff dot, checking in at 54.8%.

And then there was his postseason run where Pageau scored eight times in just 19 games, further bolstering his reputation as a player with a knack of scoring some key, timely goals.  That playoff performance makes his RFA case a lot more intriguing and he does have arbitration eligibility as well.

Pageau sits two years away from unrestricted free agency status and is coming off his bridge deal now, one that carries a qualifying offer of $1.1MM.  He should easily surpass that on this contract regardless of whether it’s a long-term or a short-term one.  Smith inked a four year, $13MM extension midseason and while those were all UFA years, that should be in the range of a new deal for Pageau.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Snapshots: Wild, Senators UFA Talks, Islanders Dangling Picks

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While Minnesota has been heavily discussed in trade speculation dating back to the pre-expansion roster freeze, GM Chuck Fletcher told TSN’s Pierre LeBrun (Twitter link) that there is nothing imminent on the trade front.

Even with the Expansion Draft having passed, there have been plenty of suggestions that the Wild would still look to move one of their blueliners and that while Jonas Brodin is the most sought after, the one that would be more likely to go is Marco Scandella.  Friday, Michael Russo of the Star-Tribune suggested via Twitter that the asking price for Scandella was a package that included a first round pick.

Fletcher also noted to LeBrun that he doesn’t foresee there being any cap issues with the roster they currently have.  That alone is intriguing as the team already has $61.5MM committed for next season to 15 players per CapFriendly with Mikael Granlund and Nino Niederreiter both in line to land big deals this summer.

Elsewhere around the league:

  • Senators GM Pierre Dorion plans to speak to the agents for pending unrestricted free agents Mike Condon, Tommy Wingels, Tom Pyatt, and Viktor Stalberg this weekend to see if they can reach a deal before the negotiation window opens up, notes Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun. The scribe adds that progress had been made with several of the UFAs before talks were put on the backburner for the Expansion Draft. Dorion indicated to Garrioch that the team is comfortable with Andrew Hammond as their backup goaltender next season if they’re unable to come to terms with Condon on a new deal.  On top of dealing with those free agents, Dorion is hopeful to get talks started with pending RFA Jean-Gabriel Pageau soon.
  • After adding several high draft picks in the trade of Travis Hamonic to Calgary, Islanders GM Garth Snow acknowledged to reporters, including Puck Daddy’s Greg Wyshynski, that he is “100 percent” looking to move those picks for another established talent though he noted that he doesn’t expect anything to happen in the next coming days. Captain John Tavares is entering the final year of his contract in 2017-18 and is believed to be waiting to see what the team looks like for next season before deciding on whether or not to sign an extension.  Snow has already added some scoring help on the wing with the acquisition of Jordan Eberle earlier this week and another big addition up front would give the Isles a much stronger attack.

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