Phaneuf could be on the block
Dion Phaneuf refused to waive his “no move” clause to be exposed in the expansion draft, but that doesn’t mean he won’t be on the move.
Ottawa Senators general manager Pierre Dorion is making his protected list for next week’s expansion draft and, since he doesn’t have the option of exposing the 32-year-old veteran defenceman to the Vegas Golden Knights, sources say he is trying to trade Phaneuf.
If Phaneuf is traded out of Ottawa, the club can protect blueliners Cody Ceci and Marc Methot from being exposed to the Golden Knights.
With the Senators expected to protect seven forwards, three defencemen and one goalie when they turn in their list to the league at 5 p.m. Saturday, the clock is ticking on Dorion to find a dance partner who is willing to take the four years at $7 million annually left on Phaneuf ’s deal.
Though it’s a long shot, there are teams studying Phaneuf and he has submitted a new list of 12 teams where he can be dealt. League sources say Arizona, New Jersey, Tampa Bay, Colorado, Calgary, Edmonton, Buffalo and San Jose are looking for help on the back end and may have varying degrees of interest in Phaneuf.
If the Senators are able to move Phaneuf, they can protect Methot and Ceci along with captain Erik Karlsson in the expansion draft. If Phaneuf isn’t moved, the club will either trade Methot or Ceci by Saturday, lose Methot for nothing or give Vegas GM George McPhee an asset to protect Methot.
Absolutely everything is on the table and Dorion has spoken to 23 teams about possible deals.
“We’re in a situation where we felt that this could happen,” Dorion told reporters Thursday at the Canadian Tire Centre. “Is it trade? That’s a possibility but trades are way easier to talk about than to do.
“At the end of the day, Las Vegas is paying a lot of money to come into this league and to be part of this great product that we put on the ice. They’re going to get someone from our team and from Day 1 we’ve been ready to accept that.
“If we didn’t explore all our options, do our due diligence and look at the trade market ... But at the same time, if you look at a trade, you risk the fact you’re going to lose another asset. Maybe just accept the fact you’re going to lose one asset because they can’t take two players. Maybe as an organization, we lose that player, we move forward and I feel — as an organization — our depth is very good.”
Dorion said he understands Phaneuf’s decision not to waive his NMC.
“With Dion, he loves it here, and he feels this team is headed in the right direction,” Dorion said. “He wants to be a part of it, he’s brought great leadership, great character. If you talk to Erik Karlsson, he’ll be the first one to tell you that Dion has helped him a lot.
“We have to explore all options. If it would have been a forward, I think we would have asked any forward if they had a ‘no move’ clause, if they were willing to move no matter who it was.”
Phaneuf chose his words carefully when speaking to reporters in Toronto on Thursday and didn’t want to get into the details of what transpired between the two sides.
“It’s part of the business. We’ve had some discussions, and that’s been public knowledge, but it’s part of the business,” Phaneuf, who was attending Joe Carter’s charity golf tournament, told TSN.
Asked if he expected to be dealt, Phaneuf said: “I enjoy playing in Ottawa. It’s a great organization, a great city and I’ve enjoyed playing there. The business side is the business side so I really don’t want to talk too much more about that.”
Dorion said it wasn’t a difficult conversation with Phaneuf.
“We talked. Dion’s a pro. He’s been around the league many years,” Dorion said. “It was a manto-man conversation. It was a good conversation. It was explained very well to him our request and why we were making this request.
“It wasn’t the fact we felt he was our fourth-best defenceman, it was the fact we’d like to keep our top four together. (He was told) at your age and salary the likely possibility is Vegas (won’t) take you, but who knows? Maybe Vegas would have taken him. At the same time, my respect for Dion hasn’t changed. I still think he’s a big part of this team and the fact he wants to be here tells me a lot about him.”
Dorion said he has spoken to McPhee a few times in the last couple of weeks but has no idea which way the Knights are leaning on the Ottawa roster. The Senators could give McPhee a draft pick to not touch Methot but there are many GMs around the league who have simply resigned themselves to the fact they’ll lose a player.
“Why would they (tell Dorion what they want)?” Dorion said. “If you’re a good poker player, why would you show you cards? That’s why, when it comes to expansion, you can’t say much. They haven’t tipped their hand and nor should they.”