Headlines

  • Columbus Blue Jackets Acquire Matt Duchene
  • Ducks, Jakob Silfverberg In Agreement On Five-Year Extension
  • Minnesota Wild Trade Charlie Coyle
  • Flyers Acquire Cam Talbot
  • Anaheim Ducks Fire Randy Carlyle
  • Auston Matthews Signs Five-Year Extension
  • Previous
  • Next
Register
Login
  • MLB Trade Rumors
  • Hoops Rumors
  • Pro Football Rumors

Pro Hockey Rumors

  • Home
  • Teams
    • Atlantic
      • Boston Bruins
      • Buffalo Sabres
      • Detroit Red Wings
      • Florida Panthers
      • Montreal Canadiens
      • Ottawa Senators
      • Tampa Bay Lightning
      • Toronto Maple Leafs
    • Central
      • Chicago Blackhawks
      • Colorado Avalanche
      • Dallas Stars
      • Minnesota Wild
      • Nashville Predators
      • St. Louis Blues
      • Winnipeg Jets
    • Metropolitan
      • Carolina Hurricanes
      • Columbus Blue Jackets
      • New Jersey Devils
      • New York Islanders
      • New York Rangers
      • Philadelphia Flyers
      • Pittsburgh Penguins
      • Washington Capitals
    • Pacific
      • Anaheim Ducks
      • Arizona Coyotes
      • Calgary Flames
      • Edmonton Oilers
      • Los Angeles Kings
      • San Jose Sharks
      • Vancouver Canucks
      • Vegas Golden Knights
  • About
  • Contact Us
  • Advertise
  • Partners
    • MLB Trade Rumors
    • Hoops Rumors
    • Pro Football Rumors
Go To MLB Trade Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Decisions On Ottawa’s Impending Free Agents Expected This Week

February 10, 2019 at 9:30 am CDT | by Zach Leach 2 Comments

The NHL Trade Deadline is right around the corner and no team is under more pressure to figure out what their position will be than the Ottawa Senators. The Senators are in the unenviable position of having to both work on extensions and field trade offers for three of the most prolific unrestricted free agents of the 2019 market. Forwards Mark Stone, Matt Duchene, and Ryan Dzingel are currently ranked No. 2, No. 3, and No. 8 respectively among all impending free agents in scoring and have all established themselves as elite players and core pieces. While Ottawa would prefer to keep the trio, the rebuilding team cannot afford to let any of them walk as a free agent because they were unable to come to terms on a new contract and too indecisive to make a move before the deadline.

During last night’s “Headlines” segment of Hockey Night in Canada, Sportsnet insider Elliotte Friedman reported that it was his understanding that the Senators would have a decision made on the availability of Stone, Duchene, and Dzingel by “about 10 days out before the deadline hits” on February 25th. This hypothetically gives the Senators one more week to discuss new contracts, followed by one weeks to talk through trade scenarios. In other words, Ottawa GM Pierre Dorion should either be announcing extensions or reaching out to teams with asking prices by the end of the week.

It has long been expected that the Senators would talk through contracts with Stone and Duchene first and then work on Dzingel once they have more clarity on their long-term future. As the Sportsnet team expanded on the topic, Chris Johnston added that he feels Duchene could be the linchpin of the whole situation. Johnston believes that Duchene enjoys living and playing in Ottawa, near family and friends, and is open to staying with the Senators. In fact, Johnston even threw out the possibility that Duchene could be traded at the deadline, the return on which would help the Sens in the rebuilding process, and then re-sign with the team this summer. Colleague Nick Kypreos also notes that many expect Ottawa’s initial extension offer, rumored to be in the ballpark of eight years and $64MM, to be the largest total amount Duchene will receive in a contract offer. As the top free agent center, he may get an offer with an AAV higher than Ottawa’s $8MM per year, but it will be limited to seven years maximum, if that. Kypreos believes this could also point to Duchene staying with the Senators.

If Duchene really is committed to Ottawa long-term, and has bought in to the promises made by owner Eugene Melnyk earlier this week, it would help to convince Stone and Dzingel to stay as well. However, some are not as optimistic about the odds of the trio sticking around as the Sportsnet crew. The venerable Bob McKenzie stated on the latest episode of “The TSN Hockey Bobcast” that he does not expect Duchene or Stone to re-sign with Ottawa and believes they will both be dealt at the deadline. McKenzie notes that the promise of the open market is likely too much for the star forwards to ignore and that neither is convinced that Ottawa’s offers are the best they will get. While McKenzie doesn’t doubt that Dorion and company will continue to work on contract negotiations, he thinks that decisions are already close to being made, possibly even by tomorrow, which marks two weeks out from the deadline. If there’s a silver lining for Senators fans in McKenzie’s forecast, it’s that he admits the Senators will land substantial returns for both players and he did not speak to a Dzingel departure. That may have to do for the Senators faithful as their team navigates this tricky situation.

 

Share 0 Retweet 0 Send via email

Bob McKenzie| Elliotte Friedman| Mark Stone| Matt Duchene| Ottawa Senators| Pierre Dorion| Ryan Dzingel

Deadline Primer: Los Angeles Kings
Main
Minor Transactions: 02/10/2019
2 comments

Comments

  1. grizzled sports vet

    2 weeks ago

    Team owners like Melnyk ruin sports.

    Reply
  2. MacJablonski--NotVegasLegend

    2 weeks ago

    Next brainstorm for Melnyk: make the Sens a “more official” version of an ECHL team! Possible future quote from E.M. : “We’re going to be a 3-line team from now on! It’ll mean way more ice time for everybody, with all players getting the same league minimum contracts ($500/week) and I’ll save a crapload of $$$!!! Win-Win!!! I know what some of you are thinking: YOU CAN’T DO THAT! It’s MY team, so I CAN! And, if you don’t like it, I’ll relocate this team to Houston, before the Coyotes can!”

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Please login to leave a reply.
Log in Register

    Top Stories

    Columbus Blue Jackets Acquire Matt Duchene

    Ducks, Jakob Silfverberg In Agreement On Five-Year Extension

    Minnesota Wild Trade Charlie Coyle

    Flyers Acquire Cam Talbot

    Anaheim Ducks Fire Randy Carlyle

    Auston Matthews Signs Five-Year Extension

    Pittsburgh Penguins, Florida Panthers Complete Four Player Swap

    Toronto Maple Leafs Acquire Jake Muzzin

    Artemi Panarin Will Not Negotiate Extension With Columbus This Season

    2019 Midseason UFA Power Rankings: 1-10

    Recent

    Trade Candidate: Ben Lovejoy

    West Notes: Chiasson, Fabbri, Dahlen

    Deadline Primer: Philadelphia Flyers

    Columbus Will Not Move Artemi Panarin For Draft Picks

    Washington Capitals Acquire, Extend Nick Jensen

    Connor McDavid Suspended Two Games

    Snapshots: Edler, Rangers, Kinkaid

    Jesse Puljujarvi Seeing Specialist, Expected To Be Out Long Term

    San Jose, Florida Complete Minor Deal

    Columbus Blue Jackets Acquire Matt Duchene

    Rumors By Team

    Rumors By Team

    • Avalanche Rumors
    • Blackhawks Rumors
    • Blue Jackets Rumors
    • Blues Rumors
    • Bruins Rumors
    • Canadiens Rumors
    • Canucks Rumors
    • Capitals Rumors
    • Coyotes Rumors
    • Devils Rumors
    • Ducks Rumors
    • Flames Rumors
    • Flyers Rumors
    • Golden Knights Rumors
    • Hurricanes Rumors
    • Islanders Rumors
    • Jets Rumors
    • Kings Rumors
    • Lightning Rumors
    • Maple Leafs Rumors
    • Oilers Rumors
    • Panthers Rumors
    • Penguins Rumors
    • Predators Rumors
    • Rangers Rumors
    • Red Wings Rumors
    • Sabres Rumors
    • Senators Rumors
    • Sharks Rumors
    • Stars Rumors
    • Wild Rumors

    Navigation

    • Sitemap
    • Archives

    PHR Info

    • About
    • Privacy Policy

    Connect

    • Contact Us
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • RSS Feed

    Pro Hockey Rumors is not affiliated with National Hockey League, NHL or NHL.com

    scroll to top
    Close

    Desktop Version | Switch To Mobile Version