- Despite a disappointing and injury-marred season, the Senators will tender a qualifying offer to center Logan Brown, reports Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch. The 11th-overall pick in 2016, Brown has just 26 career NHL games under his belt, only one of which came this season while injuries limited him to just 13 more with AHL Belleville. A change of scenery has been speculated as something that might be beneficial for Brown and with him unlikely to be protected in expansion, he could be an intriguing project for Seattle to take a look at.
Senators Rumors
Melnyk: Hoping To Finalize Arena Plan In Next Few Years, Open To Gatineau If Plans In Kanata Fall Through
Mark Giordano has been a fixture on Calgary’s back end for well over a decade and has gone from a role player to a top-line fixture while taking over as their captain. However, Seattle’s expansion draft is on the horizon and the Flames could be inclined to protect players that are going to be around a little longer than the 37-year-old in Rasmus Andersson, Noah Hanifin, and Chris Tanev who all have at least three years left on their respective deals. Accordingly, Sportsnet’s Eric Francis suggests that Giordano would be a viable target for the Kraken who would be able to afford the $6.75MM on his deal for next season where he’d be a valuable mentor (and perhaps a late-season trade chip). For his part, Giordano acknowledged that “there are certain situations where you have to be an adult about it and know there are certain things that have to happen”, suggesting that he seems to see the writing on the wall.
More from the North Division:
- Canucks center Brandon Sutter’s preference is to re-sign with Vancouver this offseason, notes Thomas Drance of The Athletic (Twitter link). The 32-year-old certainly hasn’t lived up to the $4.375MM cap hit on the deal he signed after joining Vancouver but he can still be an effective role player, scoring nine goals this season while winning 55.5% of his faceoffs. A significant pay cut is coming one way or another but given his fit on the team, it’s understandable that Sutter may want to stick around.
- Ottawa’s arena situation has been a concern for a few years now after the LeBreton Flats development fell through but it has been off the radar lately. However, team owner Eugene Melnyk indicated in a recent appearance on the Bob McCown Podcast (audio link) that he’s hoping to commit to a new plan within the next few years. His preference is to stay in Kanata but he indicated an openness to considering Gatineau, Quebec as a potential fallback.
Ottawa Senators Extend Clark Bishop
The Ottawa Senators have signed Clark Bishop to a one-year, two-way contract extension. The 25-year-old forward was set to become a Group VI unrestricted free agent this offseason after failing to reach the required number of games played for restricted free agency. That won’t matter now, as the Senators have brought him back on a deal that will carry an $800K salary in the NHL and a 200K salary in the AHL.
Senators GM Pierre Dorion released the following statement:
Clark proved to be a versatile player for us this past season. He possesses good speed, has a great work ethic and showcases a continuous willingness to play in hard areas. We’re pleased to reach agreement with him.
Bishop came to the Senators in a trade just before the season began and ended up playing 13 games for the team. He failed to score a goal, but did register three assists and generally held his own. That short audition has obviously impressed the team enough to bring him back, though the two-way deal suggests he isn’t guaranteed a roster spot next season.
Instead, Bishop will likely serve a similar role, sitting somewhere between 14-16 on the forward depth chart. A handful of NHL games should be expected, but it’s hard to see him locking down a full-time roster spot with so many young prospects pushing for playing time. If the Senators want to move him to the minor leagues Bishop will have to clear waivers, but that shouldn’t be much of an issue. He cleared twice this season.
Marcus Hogberg Expected To Return To Linkoping
- Senators goaltender Marcus Hogberg is likely to return to Linkoping of the SHL this summer, suggests SportExpressen’s Johan Svensson. Hogberg played in their system from 2010 to 2017 before heading to North America. Ottawa informed the 26-year-old last week that he would not be tendered a qualifying offer this summer and coming off a poor performance that saw him post a 3.74 GAA with a .876 SV% with the Sens, he’s unlikely to attract much NHL interest. Accordingly, Svensson believes that will bring him to Linkoping who has been in touch with his agent already about a potential reunion.
Extension Talks Underway For Victor Mete, Artem Anisimov Told He Won't Be Back
Among what was a busy day for the Senators yesterday with GM Pierre Dorion’s end-of-season media availability, he told reporters, including Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch, that they are now working on a new deal for defenseman Victor Mete. The pending restricted free agent was claimed off waivers from Montreal at the trade deadline and while his playing time was limited to just over 12 minutes a game over his first five games with them, a good showing plus injuries on the back end saw that number jump to over 23 minutes per contest in their final five games. Mete is owed a qualifying offer of just over $770K but has salary arbitration eligibility which could come into play if they can’t get a deal done between now and the start of free agency in late July.
- Also from Garrioch’s piece, he reports that the Senators has informed veteran center Artem Anisimov that they will not be bringing him back next season but that they will talk to center Derek Stepan and winger Ryan Dzingel. Stepan was expected to help stabilize their forward group before being moved at the trade deadline but a torn labrum ended those plans quickly. Dzingel was brought in from Carolina midseason but wasn’t overly productive with six goals and three assists in 29 games. As for Anisimov, he cleared waivers during the year, suiting up just 19 times along the way although he managed nine points in those contests. Given his limited usage though, it’s certainly understandable that he won’t be back, especially with a young group of forwards that are pushing for roster spots.
Snapshots: Hartman, Hamaliuk, Senators
The NHL has issued a $5,000 fine to Minnesota Wild forward Ryan Hartman for a “dangerous trip” on St. Louis Blues forward Sammy Blais. This is the maximum allowable fine amount under the CBA, once the incident was deemed to not deserve a suspension.
The incident occurred partway through the second period in last night’s game. As the puck was dumped into the corner, Hartman pushed his stick into the back of Blais’ leg and caused the Blues player to tumble backward. Hartman was given a two-minute penalty on the play and will have to fork over a few dollars as well.
- Now that his WHL season is over, Dillon Hamaliuk has been added to the San Jose Barracuda roster for the Pacific Division playoffs. Hamaliuk, 20, scored 13 points in 16 games with the Kelowna Rockets this season and will get his first taste of professional hockey down the stretch. The 6’4″ forward signed his entry-level contract with the Sharks way back in October 2019, a few months after being selected 55th overall in the draft.
- The Ottawa Senators haven’t had a captain since trading away Erik Karlsson, but that could be changing soon. At his year-end media availability today, GM Pierre Dorion told reporters including Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia that he will sit down with owner Eugene Melnyk and head coach D.J. Smith to discuss the captaincy, suggesting either early next year or through the season the team will name one.
Marcus Hogberg Will Not Be Qualified
The Ottawa Senators will be moving on from backup goaltender Marcus Hogberg, as GM Pierre Dorion explained today. The team has already informed Hogberg of their decision to not qualify him this offseason, making him an unrestricted free agent.
It certainly makes some sense that the Senators would be moving on, almost regardless of Hogberg’s play. The team has seemingly found its goaltender of the future in Filip Gustavsson, who posted a .933 save percentage in nine games down the stretch and still have Matt Murray locked up for the next three seasons at a $6.25MM cap hit. Add in the re-signed Anton Forsberg and a recovering Joey Daccord and the goalie room in Ottawa is already quite full.
Still, perhaps there is more to unlock in the 26-year-old Hogberg. Selected 78th overall in the 2013 draft, the 6’5″ behemoth was a star in Sweden, posting a .931 save percentage in his final season for Linkoping HC. That 2016-17 season was followed by a trip to North America, where things haven’t quite clicked to this point.
In 42 NHL appearances, Hogberg has just an .894 save percentage and seemed to often lose his net when moving out to cut down an angle. Professional shooters were beating him too often at the NHL level, but there have been more bouts of confidence and success at the minor leagues. Perhaps another team will believe they can tweak some things and get an NHL goaltender out of Hogberg, but it won’t be in Ottawa.
Ottawa Senators Extend Artem Zub
The Ottawa Senators have locked up one of their pending free agents, signing Artem Zub to a two-year contract extension. The deal will carry an average annual value of $2.5MM. Senators GM Pierre Dorion was doing a media availability when Zub’s agent Dan Milstein broke the news, and explained that the Russian defenseman “brought stability” to the team’s blueline this season.
Zub, 25, scored 14 points in his first NHL season, but it was his calm defensive play that stood out. An Olympic gold medalist that had played five full seasons in the KHL before signing with the Senators, Zub quickly became one of the team’s most important players. Though his season-long average ice time sits at just 18:23, that number doesn’t represent how much responsibility he had by the end of the season. In his last five games, Zub averaged more than 23 minutes a night.
Coming off his entry-level contract, Zub was a restricted free agent with arbitration rights. This two-year deal will help Ottawa avoid that, but does leave the 25-year-old as an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2023. At that point, if his play continues, the team will likely have to pay a lot more than $2.5MM per season for his services.
For now, he can continue to be a stabilizing presence in the middle of their defensive group for a reasonable price.
Brady Tkachuk And Drake Batherson Leaning Towards Declining Invites To The World Championships
Senators winger Brady Tkachuk is leaning towards declining an invitation to play for Team USA at the upcoming World Championships, suggests Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch. While he would undoubtedly be a key player for them, he is a pending restricted free agent, something that he acknowledged could be a factor in him taking a pass if he goes that route:
Ottawa Senators Extend Anton Forsberg
Maybe this time Anton Forsberg won’t have to move. The Ottawa Senators have signed the journeyman goaltender to a one-year contract extension for the 2021-22 season. The deal will carry a salary of $900K, giving the team a veteran backup at the position. Senators GM Pierre Dorion released a short statement on the move:
Anton’s addition has been a steadying one for us this season. He possesses a calm and controlled playing style, has good size and ability, is a tireless worker with good habits and is a good teammate. He’s worked hard in practice to earn his playing opportunities and this contract extension.
While deals like this are usually due to expansion draft considerations, that doesn’t appear to be the case for Ottawa. The team already had four goaltenders that meet the exposure requirements, meaning they can pick and choose which one to protect from the Seattle Kraken. They very well could lose one of their young netminders though, meaning Forsberg’s presence could be all the more valuable next season.
Originally signed by the Edmonton Oilers in October to a one-year, $700K deal, Forsberg’s season quickly went off the rails as teams tried to slip him through waivers. He was claimed by the Carolina Hurricanes on January 12, by the Winnipeg Jets on January 15, and then finally by the Senators on March 17. By the time he got to Ottawa he had spent more time in quarantine than on the ice but gave the team some solid performances. In six NHL games this season he registered a .910 save percentage, good enough to earn this extension.
Of course, if the Senators want to send Forsberg to the minor leagues next season he’ll have to clear waivers once again.