Top KHL defenceman Zub expected to sign
Russian free agent Zub should provide steadying influence for young roster
The Ottawa Senators aren’t sure if they’ll get a chance to suit up for the final 11 games of this regular season.
But, they’re taking some time during this break to cast a glance toward next season.
With the NHL schedule on pause because of the spread of the novel coronavirus, much of every aspect of the business has been put on hold. Teams were told on Tuesday to remain in self-isolation until at least April 15.
General manager Pierre Dorion and the club’s hockey operations staff are busy preparing for the day the league does return.
While coach D.J. Smith and his staff have likely spent part of their time away from the rink putting a plan in place for a mini-training camp if the season does resume, Dorion has been working from his home office, and the expectation is sometime in the near future the club will announce the signing of Russian defenceman Artyom Zub.
A 24-year-old unrestricted free agent, Zub has spent the last four years with St. Petersburg SKA in the Kontinental Hockey League.
While his KHL contract doesn’t officially expire until April 30, the belief is Zub has already decided to sign with the Senators and now both sides are simply waiting for clearance from the NHL’s Central Registry to see if it’s OK to make the signing official.
Last Tuesday, TSN’s Darren Dreger reported Zub had pared his list down to two teams and then said he expected him to sign with Ottawa later in the week. As many as 20 teams contacted Zub’s Detroit-based agent Daniel Milstein, and the belief is Zub chose to sign with the Senators because he feels he’s going to get a good opportunity here to play a big role.
Yes, Zub has to adjust to playing the North American game, but the Senators can give him the opportunity to play in the top four after blue-liner Dylan DeMelo was moved to the Winnipeg Jets before the trade deadline. Dorion travelled overseas in January with assistant GM Peter MacTavish to get a first-hand look at Zub, and both men liked what they saw.
Zub was part of the Russian team that won the gold medal in Pyeongchang in 2018 and he was impressive.
“He’s got good size and range,” said NBC’s Pierre McGuire, who saw Zub play in South Korea, in a text message Tuesday. “He plays a simple, smart defensive game, a stabilizing player in his own zone. He’s very solid, useful and mature player. He should be able to crack the top four and it shouldn’t be much of an adjustment for him to play on the small ice surfaces.”
That’s good news for the Senators.
Make no mistake, the Senators have several good prospects on defence — including Belleville’s Christian Wolanin, Erik Brannstrom, Andreas Englund and Max Lajoie.
In the system, the club has Finnish blue-liner Lassi Thomson along with Jacob Bernard-Docker and Jonny Tychonick at the University of North Dakota, plus they’ve got Olle Alsing playing overseas in Sweden.
The expectation is the club will re-sign veteran defenceman Mark Borowiecki, an unrestricted free agent, in the off-season, and Ron Hainsey may also return.
Wolanin is recovering from shoulder surgery that forced him to miss most of the season, and will finish the year in Belleville if the AHL resumes play. He should push for a spot next season, along with Brannstrom.
The Senators don’t need anybody fancy on the back end. They already get that kind of play from Thomas Chabot, and down the road, they expect Brannstrom to play that role. Zub has been described by NHL scouts as somebody who can be a steadying influence because he doesn’t try to do anything he can’t and this is a club that needs to improve badly in its own end.
The club has Mike Reilly and Nikita Zaitsev under contract, as well. Zaitsev and Zub share the same agent, so that should help with his move to North America. The 6-foot-2 Zub had 13 goals and 22 points in 57 games with St. Petersburg this season.
“I feel like he’s going to slide in as a good partner for somebody to fill that hole left by DeMelo. If he signs with Ottawa, he’s going to get the opportunity to play a lot,” a league executive said last week.
“He’s an NHL-ready player. He can come in and play NHL games. You’re not signing a college kid who needs to come in and get stronger or get experience.
“This guy has played at world championships, he’s played for the national team (in Russia). He’s never going to wow anybody, but he’s a right-shot defenceman and he’s an upgrade for a team like Ottawa.”
He’s got good size and range. He plays a simple, smart defensive game ... He should be able to crack the top four.