Duclair hits market as deal not reached
Anthony Duclair is headed for unrestricted free agency.
As the clock struck zero on qualifying offers for restricted free agents, Senators general manager Pierre Dorion confirmed Wednesday night the high-scoring winger was among three players who didn't get a qualifying offer from the organization.
The 25-year-old Duclair had 23 goals and was an NHL all-star last season with 40 points but the two sides just couldn't come to an agreement.
Defenceman Andreas Englund and winger Jayce Hawryluk also were not given qualifying offers at the 5 p.m. deadline.
Dorion said the Senators tried to get Duclair signed but couldn't get a contract in place. The free-agent market opens at noon Friday and Duclair will be able to see what's out there.
Of course, this is somewhat stunning news because Duclair does have rights to arbitration and could have received a high award there. He made US$1.65 million last season.
“I don't really want to get into the specifics of the negotiations,” Dorion said Wednesday night.
“All I will say on this was that Anthony chose to represent himself. We told him from Day 1 that it's not easy to represent yourself. We offered him a substantial raise over what he made last year and it's unfortunate we couldn't come to a contract agreement.
“We don't close the door on anything, but he (chose to) explore unrestricted free agency.”
If the Senators had gone to arbitration, they would have been able to walk away on an award that was $4.5 million or higher. It's hard to say what happened in the negotiations, but clearly the Senators felt they had reached their ceiling in these discussions and decided not to go any further.
Acquired from the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2018 as part of the Ryan Dzingel deal, Duclair had reignited his career here.
Coach D.J. Smith gave him opportunities to play in every situation last season.
Duclair will have the chance to go somewhere else and have success and there should be no shortage of interest.
The Senators issued qualifying offers to forwards Connor Brown, Chris Tierney, Nick Paul, Rudolfs Balcers, Filip Chlapik and J.C. Beaudin. Defenceman Christian Jaros also received one, along with newly acquired goalie Matt Murray and prospect Joey Daccord.
Brown, Tierney, Paul and Murray have rights to arbitration, but if they file it just means they'll be at camp whenever it gets under way.
SENATORS LOVE PLAYERS I N GRAND F ORKS
The Senators will have no shortage of presence at the University of North Dakota.
After taking Sanderson at No. 5 overall, the Senators selected blueliner Tyler Kleven with the 44th overall selection in the second round.
The club wanted Kleven; it dealt the No. 59 and No. 64 picks to the Toronto Maple Leafs to move up and get him.
He will play alongside Ottawa prospects Jacob Bernard-Docker and Shane Pinto at UND. In fact, Kleven, a rugged blueliner in his first year at the school, is Sanderson's roommate.
“I honestly had no idea where I was going in the draft,” Kleven said.
“I know they've picked Sanderson, Bernard-Docker and Pinto in the past and I know they really like our style of play here at North Dakota.
“They'll be good additions to the roster down the road.”
Kleven wasn't sure where he'd get selected or by whom and was at the rink on campus when he got the news.
“It's been pretty stressful for the last 24 hours because I didn't know if I was going to go in the first round or second,” Kleven said.
“Once I got my name called, it was a huge relief. I was thankful to be surrounded by my family and share that moment with them.”
Defenceman Christian Wolanin also went to school at UND and has a big chance to make the Senators this season.