Senators want to keep Methot safe in draft

Vegas will have lots of defence as trade fodder

Pierre Dorion was taking one last shot at trying to wheel and deal with the Vegas Golden Knights before they officially make their selections in the expansion draft Wednesday afternoon.

Though the Ottawa Senators general manager didn’t have a side deal in place with Vegas GM George McPhee to try to keep veteran defenceman Marc Methot from being taken by the Knights in the draft late Monday night, it’s believed Dorion rolled the dice again Tuesday to see if the two sides could find common ground.

If they can’t — and it was still being worked on Tuesday night — then Methot, one of the club’s top defenders and captain Erik Karlsson’s partner for the past five seasons, will be eligible to be taken by the Knights if they’re willing to pick up the final two years of a contract that will pay Methot $4.9 million per season.

Though McPhee set a deadline of midnight Monday for all teams to get side deals in place, the Knights don’t need to give their final list to Central Registry until 1 p.m. Thursday, which means there’s still time to make changes if Vegas is willing to stray from its selfimposed deadline.

The Senators have made it clear they want to keep Methot in the fold, but not at any price. Several teams have told Postmedia those that have made side deals with McPhee to keep their players have paid a lot and let’s face it, they’re still going to lose an asset in the expansion draft, so it becomes even more expensive.

Many teams have given up their first-round selections in 2017 to ask Vegas not to touch certain players in the expansion draft. There is speculation among league executives that, in Ottawa’s case, that one of the asks may have been the club’s 2018 pick next year because The Senators still trying to make a deal with Vegas GM George McPhee to try to keep defenceman Marc Methot. the Senators are scheduled to draft No. 28 Friday in Chicago.

Make no mistake, Methot is an important player for the Senators.

He plays a lot of big minutes, blocks shots, does a good job in his shutdown role, and is from the area. If the Senators can find a way to keep him that they consider reasonable, then Dorion will pull the trigger on the deal in a minute.

The question is: Will the Knights take Methot if he’s available?

McPhee has lots of options on defence and he absolutely should select the 31-year-old because he’s a minute-muncher who will have no issue earning the trust of coach Gerard Gallant. But does Vegas want a defenceman earning that kind of money when he may be gone by the time the club is competitive?

Of course, if Methot is available and the Knights do select him, they could always make a deal with another team, shipping him elsewhere to get another asset in return.

The Oilers, Kings, Flames, Sabres, Leafs, Avalanche and Stars are all looking for reliable help on the back end.

“We’re going to have to move some defencemen because we’re going to claim a bunch,” McPhee told reporters in Vegas Tuesday.

There’s no shortage of leadership available to the Knights in the expansion draft and the club could opt for a younger, cheaper defenceman like Fredrik Claesson, who is making $650,000 on an extension he signed last spring. There’s also blueliner Chris Wideman, who struggled in the playoffs, but was used regularly during the season.

The club’s depth on defence has been well documented. Top prospect Thomas Chabot, a standout with the St. John Sea Dogs in the QMJHL last season, will be at the club’s development camp next week at the Canadian Tire Centre and he’s expected to earn a job in training camp.

Then, there’s 6-foot-6 defenceman Ben Harpur, who spent most of last year with the club’s AHL affiliate in Binghamton.

He could start the year in Belleville next season, but the 22-year-old played a regular role in the nine postseason games he has played and has shown that he can be a regular at this level.

One way or another the Senators know they’re going to lose a player in this expansion draft.

The expansion rules are such that Vegas is being given the chance to be competitive right away, which means the club will have a shot at pretty much one of every team’s top four defencemen.

That wasn’t going to stop Dorion from making one final push to keep his intact.

“I just want everyone to try to help Tim’s family,” Braidwood said. “That’s what this should really be about. Instead of leaving a comment, contact his family. I know they set up an account. Help them any way that you can and let’s try to leave it at that. And you know, nobody wanted this.”

Hague was knocked out in his previous boxing match in December.