‘Great feeling’ for Pyatt after signing 2-year deal
Tom Pyatt decided the grass wasn’t greener elsewhere.
The Ottawa Senators winger signed a two-year, US$2.2-million contract extension with the club Monday to avoid going to unrestricted free agency on July 1.
After being brought back to the NHL by the Senators last season after playing for coach Guy Boucher in Switzerland for two years, Pyatt didn’t give any thought to going elsewhere and when the talking period for unrestricted free agents opened Sunday, Pyatt’s only focus was to get a deal done with Ottawa.
“It’s a great feeling to be back for another two years. That’s what I wanted,” Pyatt said Monday from his home in Thunder Bay. “They wanted me back and I wanted to come back. I definitely wasn’t even close to thinking about sniffing around in free agency. I wanted to be back in Ottawa so it’s nice to get another two years here.”
The Senators have been a perfect fit for Pyatt.
Not only has he been able to resurrect his NHL career, he’s earned Boucher’s trust and is given plenty of opportunity to play. He wasn’t sure he’d ever get that chance again when he made the decision to go to Switzerland and now he has the security of a deal that will pay him $1.1 million per season the next two years.
The key for Pyatt’s success is that Boucher is an ally.
“We’ve always had a good relationship and he’s always been great to me. He gave me an opportunity to come back to the NHL, and coming back from Europe that’s what I was looking for,” Pyatt said. “He gave me a huge opportunity, he gave me a chance to make an NHL team and it was just a fun season.
“When I went over to Europe, I was never sure if I was going to play in the NHL again. The Senators gave me a big opportunity last year and it’s turned into two more years so I feel really fortunate right now.”
The fact Pyatt played in Boucher’s system in Switzerland helped his standing here.
“I think every coach sees the game in their own way and maybe every coach has certain players in
mind that fit that vision,” Pyatt said. “I’d had experience with him in the past and this was his first year back too so maybe he wanted a player that he was familiar with.
“It helped me out as well since I knew what to expect from him. When guys come back from Europe, it’s a tough adjustment so it helped me a lot to come to a team that had some form of familiarity. They gave me a big opportunity here and it worked out pretty well.”
Pyatt said the Vegas expansion draft slowed down talks a bit.
“Both sides weren’t really in a rush but it’s a busy month for GMs and there’s a lot going on with the Vegas thing so I fully expected to get something done this week,” Pyatt said. “I woke up this morning to my agent texting me and saying ‘We should get this done today,’ so I was thrilled to be able to get a contract done so quickly.”
THIS ’N’ THAT
Pyatt’s signing strikes one name off the list for general manager Pierre Dorion. The club is working on deals with backup goalie Mike Condon and wingers Viktor Stalberg and Tommy Wingels. The Senators have held talks with Condon’s camp in recent days but he’s been getting lots of interest and has been contacted by more than 10 teams in the last couple of days. The rules allow players to visit clubs that show interest and that may happen for Condon in the next few days but his preference is to stay with the Senators. He’s got a good situation here working with goalie coach Pierre Groulx and Craig Anderson is a good partner. As for Stalberg, his Toronto-based agent Wade Arnott told Postmedia Monday he’s waiting on an offer from the Senators. The Senators want to have Stalberg back and he wants to return but the two sides have to work out the details of a contract for that to happen. A handful of teams have shown interest in Stalberg since Sunday as well ... The Senators issued qualifying offers to centre Jean- Gabriel Pageau, winger Ryan Dzingel, goalie Chris Driedger and defenceman Patrick Sieloff at Monday’s 5 p.m. deadline. They also issued one to defenceman Mikael Wikstrand, who is playing overseas, to retain his rights.