Pressure cooker
Dorion should know by this week what he has to do with Duchene, Stone and Dzingel
The calm before the storm? All was quiet Sunday as the Ottawa Senators enjoyed a day off after a 5-2 victory over the Winnipeg Jets at Canadian Tire Centre Saturday afternoon with a performance led by goals from unrestricted free agents Mark Stone, Matt Duchene and Ryan Dzingel.
With the NHL trade deadline set for Feb. 25 at 3 p.m. EST now only two weeks away, there will be clarity this week on whether the Senators are going to sign any or all three players or if general manager Pierre Dorion will begin listening to offers to see what he can get in return.
A fan base is waiting with bated breath to see what’s going to happen with Stone, Duchene and Dzingel. However, if they’re not going to sign with Ottawa then the Senators can’t lose them for nothing. The organization has to get assets in return.
While the Senators have put their best foot forward to try to keep Stone and Duchene as building blocks during this rebuild, their optimism surrounding the duo is tempered. More discussions are planned
before the players and the club make a final decision on what the next move will be.
As for Dzingel, the Senators may decide to try to keep him after learning what Stone and Duchene are going to do, but there’s a good chance the 26-year-old winger will be moved, especially if he’s looking for a long-term deal in the $5.5-to$6 million range as has been speculated.
At this point, it’s anybody’s guess what may happen and don’t forget anything can change.
But if the Senators do decide to move any of the trio before the deadline then Dorion may want to charge up his cellphone and buy an extra battery or two because there is going to be no shortage of interest from the contenders who want to bulk up for a run to the Stanley
Cup in the spring.
“Pretty much any playoff team could use them,” a league executive said Sunday. “The cost (in return) and signing potential will be the (determining factor) for most teams.”
The asking price for Stone and Duchene is going to be big if the Senators get to that point. Both could be difference makers for a team looking to go a long way this spring and there’s going to be a bidding war as teams try to prevent each other from loading up for the stretch drive.
The Winnipeg Jets, Nashville Predators, Calgary Flames, New York Islanders, Vegas Golden Knights, Minnesota Wild, Boston Bruins and Pittsburgh Penguins are among the teams that are going to be shopping.
Actually, just about put all
the playoff contenders on this list because they’re all going to make a pitch. The Senators will likely want three pieces in return in separate deals for Stone and Duchene — including a first-round pick.
There are also lots of clubs looking for help on the blue line and teams have called about restricted free agent defenceman Cody Ceci.
The asking price for Dzingel is believed to be a first-round selection.
Though Stone has been tight-lipped about his negotiations and Duchene has maintained he hasn’t made a decision whether he wants to stay or not, if they go to the market it won’t take long before word leaks out Dorion and the hockey department are listening to offers.
“There are guys they’re trying to sign and we have no
idea what’s going to happen with that,” said winger Zack Smith, who scored his sixth of the season against the Jets. “It will be interesting to see (what happens) and it’s always a tough time because we’ve got a good group of guys.
“Some of the guys whose names are being thrown around are big parts of the team to say the least. It’s tough, but we’ve just got to wait and see. It’s the nature of the beast when you’re not winning and you’re not in the playoffs. There’s not much we can do, but try to get better each day.”
The Senators will skate Monday morning to prepare to face the Carolina Hurricanes at home before leaving for a lengthy fourgame road trip and coach Guy Boucher continued to say the players are trying to tune out all the speculation.
“We don’t manage it. We don’t talk about it. That’s outside stuff. We talk about how we’re going to play,” Boucher said Saturday. “We talk about who’s going to play with who, who’s on the power play, who’s on the penalty kill? All that stuff here is stuff that doesn’t help a player play well.
“I know it’s your jobs (to ask) and it’s normal, but my job is the complete opposite. It’s about managing what we control on the ice and the players have been extremely professional and very focused. I haven’t seen any change in their approach so we definitely don’t want to change that.”
That doesn’t mean changes won’t be made.