Dorion not panicking about unsigned Sens Hoffman, Ceci
Relax, everyone. Everything will work out just fine in the end.
At least that was the hopeful message from Senators general manager Pierre Dorion Thursday, while trying to calm the stormy waters surrounding restricted free agents Mike Hoffman and Cody Ceci.
Hoffman filed for salary arbitration on Tuesday. If it goes all the way to arbitration and Hoffman is awarded a one-year contract, he can become an unrestricted free agent next summer.
“Probably next week, we’re going to sit down and talk (with Hoffman’s agent),” said Dorion.
“We can negotiate all the way until (the arbitration date). We still have lots of time to do things. Sometimes I feel there’s a sense of panic and we’ve never lost a player going to UFA. And I can’t see us losing a player like this.”
Back in 2014-15, the Senators locked up Craig Anderson, Bobby Ryan, Marc Methot and Clarke MacArthur, all of whom could have tested the free agent market the following season.
“It’s just a process. It’s not always easy for everyone. But just show patience. At the end of the day, Mike Hoffman is playing for us in 2016-17 and I have faith that he will be here for awhile.”
Dorion acknowledges there has been little discussion with Ceci’s agent, J.P. Barry. There is speculation that Ceci could hold out of training camp if he doesn’t receive what he perceives as a fair contract offer.
“We’re going through a lot of scenarios,” said Dorion. “It has taken a bit longer than maybe expected, but that’s the process. For me, again, he’ll be playing for us when the season starts, whether it’s a single-year contract or a multipleyear contract. We’ve done these contracts in the past ... We have lots of time to sign them. They’ll all be playing Oct. 12 against the Maple Leafs.”