No rest for Sens’ front office
OTTAWA — The off-season for the Ottawa Senators will officially kick off Monday morning at the Canadian Tire Centre.
And, like every off-season, there is no shortage of work to be done with the NHL expansion draft set for June 21st and the entry draft on June 24-25 in Chicago.
While the Senators’ players spent Saturday addressing the media on locker cleanup day at the rink, GM Pierre Dorion and coach Guy Boucher will have their say in an 11 a.m. wrap-up press conference.
Yes, Dorion and Boucher will look back on the club’s most successful season in a decade with a trip to the Eastern Conference final against the Pittsburgh Penguins, but the reality is this the time of year both have to roll up their sleeves and get to work to ensure the Senators don’t take a step back next season.
Though it’s Dorion’s job to shape the roster and give Boucher players to work with, the coach has a big say because he’s got to use the personnel. Dorion has shown through several negotiations he’s a dealmaker so don’t expect contract standoffs.
Here’s a look at important decisions for Dorion in the offseason:
UNRESTRICTED FREE AGENT FORWARDS: The Senators are expected to sit down with veteran wingers Chris Kelly, Chris Neil and Tommy Wingels this week to talk about their future. Judging by the way Boucher employed them during the postseason, it would be surprising if any of the trio is back. If Kelly and Neil want to keep playing — and both indicated Saturday they do — then they’ll likely have to do it elsewhere. There has been talk about Neil joining the club’s front office in the past but nothing like that has been mentioned lately and he needs to determine if he’s ready to retire. As for Wingels, he was a pure rental when acquired from the San Jose Sharks and will likely test the UFA waters on July 1.
The Senators want to keep UFA winger Tom Pyatt, who is one of Boucher’s most trusted soldiers, but the two sides weren’t on the same page when talks were halted by Dorion in March so that everybody could focus on the playoffs. The Senators brought Pyatt back to North America from Switzerland, he’s had success with Boucher so it would be surprising if he doesn’t get a deal done here.
GOALTENDING: Heading into the final season of a multi-year contract, Craig Anderson is getting better with age. The expectation is the 36-year-old Anderson will sign a one-year extension in the summer. He’s comfortable here, has had success in the six years he’s been here and it makes sense for both sides.
Yes, backup Mike Condon is a UFA and could move on but he’s indicated he wants to stay. Acquired from the Pittsburgh Penguins for a fifth-round pick, Condon reminded reporters on the weekend he nearly ended up back in the American Hockey League to start last season. He’s got a good situation here. No, the two sides weren’t close to a contract before the playoffs but you have to think something gets done.
Gone — and just about forgotten — is goalie Andrew “The Hamburglar” Hammond. He missed most of the year with several ailments, spent the latter part after hip surgery at his home in Ohio, and is likely finished.
The Senators can buy out the final season of his $1.5 million contract with a cap hit $500,000 peryear for the next two years (thanks to capfriendly.com) or see if somebody will pick up part of his salary on a minor-league deal.
JEAN-GABRIEL PAGEAU: This will be the most interesting negotiation. He had great success in the playoffs which should be make for interesting talks with his Toronto-based agent Craig Oster of Newport Sports. After making $1.1 million last season, Pageau, 24, has rights to arbitration so he’s going to get a deal done. The Senators need to decide if they want to do something long-term or take the approach they did with Mike Hoffman by letting an arbitrator decide. You have to think teams are going to look at Dorion’s contract dilemma and call to express interest in a trade as well. Expect these talks to be fluid. Ryan Dzingel is an RFA but he should sign the qualifying offer because he’s not dealing from a position of strength.
EXPANSION DRAFT: The Senators issues have been welldocumented especially on the back end. Asking veteran defenceman Dion Phaneuf to waive his ‘nomove’ clause to allow the club to protect Marc Methot makes the most sense. The Senators don’t want to lose Phaneuf and the guess is they’d get re-assurance from Vegas they won’t. The deadline to make the request for any player to waive his‘no move clause is June 12th at 5 p.m., and the player has 48 hours to accept or deny. The talk is Vegas will take a look at blueliners Fredrik Claesson and Chris Wideman in the expansion draft.
The club also has to decide whether to protect winger Bobby Ryan after his tremendous playoff run. The popular thinking is he’ll be exposed because he can be.