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Ridly Greig, Dylan McIlrath To Have Hearings With Department Of Player Safety

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The surest sign that NHL hockey is back is that the Department of Player Safety is hard at work. After the league saw preseason open this weekend, two players are already expected to receive suspensions. Ottawa Senators forward Ridly Greig and Washington Capitals defenseman Dylan McIlrath will both receive hearings today for their plays over the weekend.

Greig’s incident happened partway through the second period of Ottawa’s game against the Winnipeg Jets, when he got his stick up in the face of Pierre-Luc Dubois. The result was a five-minute major penalty and a game misconduct, ending the prospect’s night a little early. Dubois had been skating toward him to attempt a hit, when Greig extended the shaft of his stick forcefully up and into the Jets’ forward’s head. With the new focus on cross-checking, the league is obviously not going to look the other way this season.

The 19-year-old Greig has received several stick-related suspensions in the WHL. In fact, twice previously he has been suspended in the first game of the junior season. A first-round pick in 2020 he also scored in Ottawa’s game, showing just how effective he can be if he manages to play on the right side of the line.

McIlrath meanwhile was ejected from the Capitals’ game against the Boston Bruins at the start of the third period for a head shot on Steven Fogarty. The match penalty results in an automatic review from the DoPS and will certainly result in a suspension. Given he hasn’t played in the NHL since the 2019-20 season there’s no guarantee he ever truly “misses time” in the NHL, but this isn’t totally unexpected from McIlrath. The 6’5″ defenseman was a high draft pick because of his physical style, but has struggled to fill anything other than a sort of pseudo-enforcer role at the NHL level. In his 66-game career, he has five points and 121 penalty minutes.

Salary Cap Deep Dive: Ottawa Senators

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Navigating the salary cap is one of the more important tasks for any GM.  Teams that can avoid total cap chaos by walking the tightrope of inking players to deals that match their value (or compensate for future value without breaking the bank) remain successful.  Those that don’t see struggles and front office changes.

PHR will look at every NHL team and give a thorough look at their cap situation heading into the 2021-22 season.  This will focus more on players who are regulars on the roster versus those who may find themselves shuttling between the AHL and NHL.  All cap figures are courtesy of CapFriendly.

Ottawa Senators

Current Cap Hit: $59,048,333 (under the $81.5MM Upper Limit and minimum cap threshold)

Entry-Level Contracts

D Erik Brannstrom (one year, $863K)
F Alex Formenton (one year, $748K)
F Joshua Norris (one year, $925K)
F Shane Pinto (two years, $925K)
F Tim Stutzle (two years, $925K)

Potential Bonuses
Brannstrom: $450K
Formenton: $107.5K
Norris: $850K
Pinto: $600K
Stutzle: $2.5MM
Total: $4.508MM

Norris is going to be the next big contract on the horizon for the Senators.  He was one of the top rookies in the league last season and should spend all of the upcoming season in a top-six role at the very least.  Impact centers get paid quickly and if they move to sign him to a long-term deal, he could jump into the $7MM range assuming he has a strong sophomore season.  Stutzle, another long-term building block, had some ups and downs in his rookie campaign but the high-end potential is certainly there.  If he progresses as expected, he could also be looking at a similar price tag on his next deal.  Pinto certainly didn’t look out of place late in the season and should see extended NHL action this year.  How he fares in that should determine if he’s heading for a long-term deal of his own or something shorter.  As for Formenton, the speedster split last season between Ottawa and AHL Belleville.  He should be able to lock down more of a regular spot in 2021-22 but is likely heading for a short-term second contract.

Brannstrom was the centerpiece of the Mark Stone trade back in 2019 although he hasn’t yet been able to lock down a full-time NHL role let alone show signs of the offensive upside he has displayed in the minors.  He should push for a regular spot this season but he’s also waiver-exempt which could make him the odd one out in training camp.  In either scenario, a bridge deal makes more sense for him.  Considering the bigger contracts they have on the horizon for Norris and Stutzle, they’ll need some shorter-term deals to balance those out anyway.

One Year Remaining, Non-Entry-Level

D Josh Brown ($1.2MM, UFA)
G Anton Forsberg ($900K, UFA)
D Nick Holden ($1.7MM, UFA)
D Victor Mete ($1.2MM, RFA)
F Nick Paul ($1.35MM, UFA)
F Zach Sanford ($2MM, UFA)
F Chris Tierney ($3.5MM, UFA)

Tierney has been in trade speculation dating back to last season and that won’t change anytime soon as he’s unlikely to be in Ottawa’s long-term plans.  He’s a serviceable middle-six center who is probably better off on the third line but players like that have landed similar contracts to the one he has recently.  A big raise is unlikely but neither is a big dip this summer.  Sanford, acquired in the Logan Brown trade, has been a capable bottom-six winger but unless he has an uptick in production with his new team, it’s unlikely he’ll be able to get much more than his current price tag on the open market.  Paul hasn’t been able to make the most of his increased playing time the last couple of years but as a physical player that can play both the wing and down the middle, he’s someone that’s probably going to garner a fair bit of interest which could push his next AAV past the $2MM range.

Holden was acquired as a salary offset in the Evgenii Dadonov trade this summer and is likely to have a similarly limited role with the Senators as he did with the Golden Knights.  Barring a surprisingly strong season, he’s someone that is more of a candidate to land a PTO than a raise.  Brown also is expected to play a depth role which doesn’t bode well for his first chance in unrestricted free agency.  That said, he’ll only be 28 next summer so he should be able to land a guaranteed deal but at this point, it probably won’t be more than this one.  Mete impressed after coming over from Montreal on waivers and will be looking to earn a top-four role for the first time since his rookie season.  That will determine if he can potentially double his AAV in that situation or whether he’ll be a non-tender candidate with him having arbitration eligibility again.

Forsberg was claimed off waivers three times last season but held his own when called upon down the stretch with Ottawa, earning this new deal.  If he can establish himself as a quality backup, he could double his price tag or more but having been more of a third-stringer in his career, the likelier scenario is that he winds up in a similar spot next season which would come with a bit of a dip in pay.

Two Years Remaining

F Connor Brown ($3.6MM, UFA)
D Michael Del Zotto ($2MM, UFA)
F Austin Watson ($1.5MM, UFA)
D Artem Zub ($2.5MM, UFA)

Brown’s offensive output has increased with Ottawa as he has been used in a bigger role than he was with Toronto but it hasn’t come at the expense of his defensive play.  All of a sudden, he has become a strong two-way player.  His ice time may dip as younger players move up the depth chart but for the time being, his deal is a nice bargain and the longer he plays at that level, the more expensive he’s going to be two summers from now.  Watson makes perhaps a bit much for someone that’s primarily on the fourth line but it certainly isn’t a big overpayment and with the cap space they have, it’s one that they can certainly afford.  It’s hard to see him getting more on his next deal, however.

Zub had to wait a bit to get into the lineup but when he did, he quickly became an important part of their back end which earned him this two-year extension.  Given that he only has 47 career NHL games under his belt, pegging his value on his next contract will be tough; it’ll go up if he can stay in the top four but if he winds up settling in as more of a third-pairing option, he might be in tough to land a raise.  Del Zotto’s contract came as a surprise to many for someone that has had to settle for discount deals the last two seasons but the Sens believe he can be a capable veteran to hold down a spot while their prospects develop.  He’ll be 33 when his next deal gets signed and it’s hard to imagine he’ll get more than this.

Three Years Remaining

G Matt Murray ($6.25MM, UFA)

When Ottawa acquired Murray early on the second day of the 2020 NHL Entry Draft, they were hoping that they found not only their goalie of the present but also potentially their goalie of the future.  But things didn’t go swimmingly for him as he followed up the lowest save percentage of his career with an even lower one in his first year with Ottawa.  Yes, the Senators weren’t a great team but his struggles certainly contributed to that.  In terms of AAV, only five goalies have a higher one than Murray but so far, he hasn’t provided an adequate level of goaltending let alone a high-end showing for someone making more than most starters do.

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Blues Acquire Logan Brown

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Logan Brown’s desire for a fresh start is well-known and he has gotten his wish.  The Senators have sent the center along with a conditional fourth-round pick in 2022 to St. Louis in exchange for winger Zach Sanford.  The draft pick will not transfer if Brown plays in 30 regular season games with the Blues this season.  Both teams have confirmed the deal.

Brown was a first-round pick of Ottawa (11th overall) in 2016 but despite showing flashes of upside in the minors, he has yet to establish himself in the NHL.  He had nine points in 13 AHL contests with Belleville last season but only got into one game with the Senators in 2020-21 and has just 30 career NHL appearances over his three professional campaigns.  The 23-year-old recently re-signed a one-year, two-way contract worth the league minimum of $750K and will be a restricted free agent against next summer.

As for Sanford, he has been a capable depth scorer for the Blues over the last few seasons, notching at least eight goals in each of his three full seasons in St. Louis.  Injuries to other forwards allowed him to play a bigger role in 2020-21 as he logged nearly 15 minutes per game in ice time (a career high) while collecting ten goals and six assists in 52 contests.  The 26-year-old is in the final year of his contract that carries a $2MM AAV and Sanford will be an unrestricted free agent next summer.

The key to the trade from St. Louis’ perspective is the cap space.  The move allows them to get back into salary cap compliance as they were projected to be over the $81.5MM Upper Limit before the swap.  If Brown pans out, he will be a cheap roster piece for the Blues and if he can’t crack the roster, they’ll get the fourth-rounder for Sanford’s services.  As for the Sens, Sanford should be a nice addition to their bottom six forward group.  As they look to get back into the playoff picture this season, he’ll be a useful veteran on a young team and if they’re out of the mix by the trade deadline, Sanford is someone that could be flipped to a playoff contender.

Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch was the first to report that the two teams were finalizing a trade for Brown.

Training Camp Cuts: 9/25/21

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While the bulk of training camp cuts will come later in camp – regular waivers don’t even open up until Thursday – some teams will make roster moves early on.  We’ll keep tabs on those here.

Calgary Flames (via team release)

F Lucas Ciona (to Seattle, WHL),
F Cole Huckins (to Acadie-Bathurst, QMJHL)
D Cole Jordan (to Moose Jaw, WHL)
F Rory Kerins (to Soo, OHL)
D Greg Moro (to Stockton, AHL)
F Ilya Nikolaev (Tri-City, USHL)
F Reid Perepeluk (to Stockton, AHL)
G Carter Serhyenko (released to Prince Albert, WHL)
G Connor Ungar (released from ATO to Red Deer, WHL)
D Cameron Whynot (to Halifax, QMJHL)
D Koletrane Wilson (to Stockton, AHL)
F Ben King (released from ATO to Red Deer, WHL)

Carolina Hurricanes (via team release)

G Patrik Hamrla (to Rimouski, QMJHL)
D Bryce Montgomery (to London, OHL)
F Bobby Orr (to Halifax, QMJHL)
F Justin Robidas (to Val-d’Or, QMJHL)
D Ronan Seeley (to Everett, WHL)

Detroit Red Wings (via team release)

G Jan Bednar (to Acadie-Bathurst, QMJHL)
G Sebastian Cossa (to Edmonton, WHL)
F Cross Hanas (to Portland, WHL)
D Oscar Plandowski (to Charlottetown, QMJHL)
F Pasquale Zito (to Windsor, OHL)
F Cameron Butler (released from ATO to Niagara, OHL)
F Luke Toporowoski (released from ATO to Spokane, WHL)
F Cooper Walker (released from ATO to Guelph, OHL)

Edmonton Oilers (via team release)

F Jake Chiasson (to Brandon, WHL)
F Matvey Petrov (to North Bay, OHL)
F Tyler Tullio (to Oshawa, OHL)
F Brady Burns (released from ATO to Saint John, QMJHL)
F Drew Englot (released from ATO to Regina, WHL)
G Ethan Kruger (released from ATO to Brandon, WHL)
F Henry Rybinski (released from ATO to Seattle, WHL)

New York Rangers (via team Twitter)

F Jayden Grubbe (to Red Deer, WHL)

Ottawa Senators (via team Twitter)

F Carson Latimer (to Edmonton, WHL)
D Ben Roger (to London, OHL)
D Chandler Romeo (to Hamilton, OHL)

This post will be updated throughout the day.

Remaining RFAs Training Together As Season Approaches

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If you navigate to the restricted free agent page on CapFriendly, only five names remain unsigned for the upcoming season. Two of them are New York Islanders players–Anatoly Golyshev and Kieffer Bellows–who are both already in training camp even though the team has not officially announced new contracts. The other three, Elias Pettersson, Brady Tkachuk and Quinn Hughes, are having their own kind of training camp in Michigan. Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic reports that the three are now skating together as they continue to wait out their contract negotiations.

Pettersson joined Hughes there as the Vancouver Canucks deal directly with representative Pat Brisson on new deals for the young stars. As recently as Tuesday, the super-agent told Rick Dhaliwal of CHEK TV that he and the club were speaking every other day, working to get deals done as soon as possible. But it’s now a couple of days into camp and the two most important players on the Vancouver roster are not even in the country.

In Ottawa, things are moving forward without Tkachuk, the team’s best forward and likely their next captain. GM Pierre Dorion once again told reporters including Wayne Scanlan of Sportsnet that the negotiations were “productive and positive,” but the 22-year-old is now missing from camp in an all-important year for the Senators. The team is looking to turn the corner on their rebuild and Tkachuk is the player that needs to lead them there.

A week ago, Justin Bourne of Sportsnet wrote a column detailing his viewpoint on missing the start of training camp. He makes the case that the early part of the season is the most crucial, because of the trust it builds between the coaching staff and roster. While neither Vancouver nor Ottawa have rookie head coaches trying to get the respect of the room, they are both teams that are by no means guaranteed a playoff spot or even a competitive season. Any disruption to the start of the year could cascade throughout the entire schedule.

For now though, all the players can do is train on their own and wait for a resolution. Thomas Drance of The Athletic writes that it will have to be Pettersson that signs before Hughes, because of the latter’s status as a 10.2(c) RFA that cannot be signed to an offer sheet. If they signed them in the reverse, it would open a window for another team to swoop in and offer something to Pettersson that would be difficult to match under the Canucks’ current cap situation.

At this point, there are no more comparables to be signed, as these are the three pillars left standing. The only real pressure point coming now is the start of the regular season, certainly not something either side wants to wait for.

Training Camp Notes: Kane, Toews, Senators

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Today marked the first day of training camp for the majority of teams across the league. With the first preseason tilt just two days away now, teams are getting fired up and ready to go see at what level players in their organization are able to perform. One team whose offseason led to much fanfare was the Chicago Blackhawks, and the health status of both of their stars were hot topics of discussion today. NBC Sports Chicago’s Charlie Roumeliotis reports that a nagging injury to star winger Patrick Kane, an undisclosed matter that had appeared before the start of the Edmonton bubble in 2020, hasn’t healed completely. However, neither Kane nor others in the organization are concerned about his ability to play through the matter, as Kane himself remarked today that he’s “optimistic with where [he’s] going.” A great sense of mysteriousness still veils whatever the nagging issue is, as the nature of the injury has yet to be reported.

More notes from today’s opening of training camps:

  • After missing the entirety of 2020-21 due to Chronic Immune Response Syndrome, it was reported earlier in the offseason that Chicago Blackhawks Jonathan Toews was expected to return to play this year. Roumeliotis reports that after summer workouts, Toews rejoined the team today for his first formal practice since 2020. It would be a huge add for Chicago to get their captain back into the fold after an offseason that saw them forge a deeper team throughout. While Toews’ practice today went well, he hopes for but won’t guarantee an opening night appearance when their season opens in Colorado on Wednesday, October 13.
  • The contract negotiation saga of Brady Tkachuk has largely been an arduous, open-to-the-public process that continues to plant nervousness in Senators fans. It’s come to a head in recent days, as training camp has now begun without Ottawa’s best forward in the fold. The Ottawa Sun’s Bruce Garrioch reports that in his absence, they’ve kept the other two-thirds of his line together in Josh Norris and Drake Batherson. While it’s anybody’s guess on who could fill that role during play if Tkachuk misses the start of the season, head coach D.J. Smith used forward Nick Paul in that first-line left-wing role today. Potentially a sign of things to come, it’s still anything but a guarantee.

Could Structure Be The Main Holdup In Brady Tkachuk's Contract Talks?

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  • In his latest 32 Thoughts column, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman wonders if the delay in discussions for Senators restricted free agent Brady Tkachuk is more about structure than actual dollars. Year-to-year distribution has become more important with a high escrow rate now while it declines in future years while signing bonuses and trade protection are always important elements in talks for core players.  Tkachuk is only eligible for trade protection in the UFA-eligible seasons of a long-term agreement and he’s four years away from getting to that point.

Angus Crookshank To Undergo Knee Surgery

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  • Angus Crookshank suffered a major knee injury at the Ottawa Senators prospect camp and will require surgery. The young forward will miss the next four to six months according to GM Pierre Dorion, ending any bid he had of making the club. The 21-year-old Crookshank was a fifth-round pick in 2018, partly because of the competition he faced in the BCHL, but started climbing prospect charts with a strong three-year career at the University of New Hampshire. By the time he was joining the Belleville Senators earlier this year he was on a roll and instantly became a top offensive option for the team. In 19 AHL games, Crookshank registered 16 points, a level of production he’ll have to try to get back to after this long rehab.

Ottawa Senators Sign Tyler Ennis To PTO

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Sep 21: Thomas Drance and Rick Dhaliwal of The Athletic report that the Vancouver Canucks also offered Ennis a PTO and will “continue to monitor” his situation with the Senators. It is important to note that a tryout with one team does not stop a player from signing an NHL contract with another, meaning at any point Ennis could decide to join the Canucks if an offer is put on the table.

Sep 19: The Ottawa Senators are bringing back a familiar face. The Ottawa Sun’s Bruce Garrioch reports that the team will bring veteran forward Tyler Ennis to training camp on a PTO after he spent time with the team in 2019-20.

Last season with the Edmonton Oilers, Ennis struggled to stay in the lineup consistently and was limited to just nine points in 30 games. But while Ennis isn’t the 20-goal scorer of yore, he’s still shown the ability to be a valuable depth contributor at the NHL level. He maybe demonstrated that most during his time in Ottawa, scoring 14 goals and 33 points in 61 games. He was dealt to the Oilers at that year’s trade deadline, but now the Edmonton native will have another chance to show he can make an impact in Ottawa.

It’s hard to imagine Ennis receives anything more than league minimum based on his production last season. Still, Ennis remains a reliable play-driving forward who’s good at helping chance generation in the bottom six. Ottawa’s forward depth may have gotten a slight boost with the signing of Logan Brown yesterday, but the team still needs more bodies to fill out depth roles. Ennis could very well help alleviate this weakness for Ottawa at a bargain-bin price. It’s hard to argue with most any professional tryout contract, but Ottawa could see some serious dividends here if Ennis performs similarly to his 2019-20 numbers.

Latest On Brady Tkachuk

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September 18: The Ottawa Sun’s Bruce Garrioch relays a quote from Ottawa’s Pierre McGuire, who states that the team’s had five discussions with Tkachuk up until this point. McGuire notes that more talks are scheduled in the near future, and that previous discussions between player and team have been on good terms.

September 17: With training camps starting next week, many Ottawa Senators fans remain anxious about the status of restricted free agent winger Brady Tkachuk. The fourth-overall pick in 2018 has become the centerpiece of a young, developing offense that’s looking to potentially make noise in the playoff conversation next year.

There was some hope last week after a report from the Ottawa Sun’s Bruce Garrioch had reported that talks were “positive” and progress was being made. It was also reported in the piece that Ottawa had tabled an eight-year, $64MM offer to Tkachuk, matching Thomas Chabot’s extension from two seasons ago.

But more fuel was added to the rumor mill tonight, as evidenced by a preview of brother Matthew Tkachuk’s interview on an upcoming episode of Sportsnet’s 32 Thoughts podcast. While Tkachuk doesn’t comment on the tonal nature of the talks, he does go so far to say that Brady and the team, to his knowledge, aren’t close on an extension. He also talks about himself and his family’s participation in the negotiations:

I’m in the mix. I’m always there. It’s a family business, nobody wants to deal with the Tkachuks in this. We do it by committee, yeah… Brady might be pulling a classic Tkachuk right now. I mean, [Keith Tkachuk] held out, Matthew held out, and Brady looks like he’s on his way right now.

For any Senators fan, it’s troubling to hear about the increasing possibility that Brady Tkachuk won’t be participating at the start of training camp considering the possibility for an increased absence that it brings. Aside from his standout play-driving ability, Tkachuk’s energizing grit is highly valued on and off the ice for a Senators team that looked to really gel together at the end of last season.

Ottawa’s shown this offseason, in a departure from recent procedure, that they’re willing to give out term and commitment to this young core. They made Drake Batherson the longest-signed forward on their roster, inking him to a six-year $29.9MM deal earlier this month. It signaled to many that a Tkachuk extension could be imminent as well, but that point of view is changing. It’s important to note that, per CapFriendly, the Senators still have $24.5MM in projected cap space for the upcoming season.

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