National Post (National Edition)

Senators’ decision on rookie Formenton looming ... or is it?

- Don Brennan

OTTAWA • It’s now time to make a decision on where Alex Formenton will spend the rest of the season.

Or is it?

Against the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday night, the Senators rookie suited up for his ninth game of the campaign, which was significan­t because, after playing a 10th, his entry-level contract would kick in. In that case, Formenton would become a restricted free agent after the 2020-21 season.

More significan­t, however, is the 40-game mark. Once he sticks around that long, Formenton will have an accrued NHL season under his belt. At that point, it would count as the first of seven seasons in which he is under team control. So if he plays more than 39 games this season, he’ll be eligible to become an unrestrict­ed free agent on July 1, 2025.

If you think the Formenton situation is keeping coach Guy Boucher up at night, think again. As of Thursday morning, he had not talked to GM Pierre Dorion about the 10-game mark that the fleet winger was fast approachin­g.

“We haven’t had any dis- cussions about that ... zero,” said Boucher. “I’m coaching the player that’s here right now, and I’m not pretending I’m making player personnel decisions. Right now, he’s doing really well. He had his best game last game (Tuesday in Arizona). He was everywhere. He got the second star of the game. And his first goal. That line looked really good last game, so we’re looking forward to seeing him in the lineup (Thursday), for sure.”

As for Formenton, he’s trying to stay focused on playing the game, not the business part of it.

“Coming into this ninegame mark, I just wanted to keep playing my game and work hard,” the 19-year old said Thursday. “I think our main focus is just having my head in the game and on hockey. You don’t really want to mess up your head too much about the nine games.”

The question remains: Which course is better for Formenton’s developmen­t? Before Thursday, he was averaging just 11:41 of ice time per game. Is that enough? Probably.

If the decision is made to send him to back to his junior team, the London Knights will be getting the Senators’ fastest skater.

“Every day I’m here I feel like I’m growing,” said Formenton. “Just practising every day with these guys and playing game by game, I feel I’m learning a lot from these older guys.”

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