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Senators Notes: Draft Picks, Nilsson, Free Agency

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Are the Ottawa Senators ready to take the next step in their rebuild and begin trading futures to add help in the present? The Ottawa Sun’s Bruce Garrioch writes that Senators GM Pierre Dorion is listening to all offers for his numerous draft picks. The Senators own a whopping 13 picks in the 2020 NHL Draft, including three first-round picks and four second-round picks. In a draft class that is considered especially deep, there is a lot of value in those early picks. While No. 3 and No. 5 overall are certainly safe, No. 28 overall and any of the second-rounders could be in play. Dorion is not going to move all five of those picks, but could easily move one or two to bring in immediate help to his roster. Considering that this off-season will also see many teams looking to cut salary, the Senators could land a very good player (or two) by moving their high picks to a team that has no choice but to sacrifice the present and in Ottawa finds the opportunity to invest in the future.

  • Among the pressing roster needs that Dorion could address by dealing a pick is an addition in goal. Garrioch notes that there are concerns around the organization about presumptive starter Anders Nilsson, who has not skated since February as he deals with concussion repercussions. While Dorion is “confident” that Nilsson will be ready for the start of the season, there may still be an impact on his play. If he falters, the team does not have any NHL-proven options behind him, with youngsters Marcus Hogberg, Filip Gustavsson, Joey Daccord, and Kevin Mandolese making up their pro depth. As a result, the team may be forced to add a goalie to serve as a short-term fix. If they don’t want to fill that need on the trade market, there are also plenty of options on the free agent market.
  • A draft day trade and acquiring a goalie would be significant additions by the Senators, but they will be far from done after those moves are made. Ottawa has just eight players signed to one-way contracts for next season with maybe five or six entry-level players who will likely be on the season-opening roster. That leaves plenty of work for Dorion and company to do to fill out the roster. The team has a laundry list of restricted free agents to sign, up to nine of whom will be or at least could be on the NHL roster. Even if all of that adds up to a 23-man roster, the team also has to be wary of the $60.2MM, which they currently fall $22M under. The Senators will likely need to explore the trade and free agent markets for a few more additions before they can call their off-season complete.

Senators Talking With Ron Hainsey, Matthew Peca, And Scott Sabourin

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Although Craig Anderson won’t be returning to the Senators next season, he isn’t planning on calling it a career just yet.  He told Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch that he still has some goals that he wants to achieve and that he won’t be overly picky about where he lands.  While it’s unlikely that the 39-year-old will have a significant market, there should be some interest from teams that are looking for a veteran second netminder.  Before this season, he had made at least 40 appearances in four straight years and with an expectation that 2020-21 will be more compact than normal, having a backup that’s capable of handling more than a typical number two workload will be more important than usual.  Anderson posted a 3.25 GAA along with a .902 SV% in 34 games with Ottawa this season.

  • Still with the Senators, the team is in discussions with pending unrestricted free agents Ron Hainsey, Matthew Peca, and Scott Sabourin on new deals, Garrioch reports in a separate column. Hainsey logged over 20 minutes a night on Ottawa’s back end this season and would give them a bit of stability on a relatively young back end but would likely need to come cheaper than the $3.5MM he made this season to stick around.  Peca was acquired at the deadline from Montreal while Sabourin was converted to an NHL deal just before the season started and both would likely be vying for a depth role if they re-sign.

Senators Loan Filip Gustavsson To Sodertalje

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The Senators have found a place for another one of their prospects to play while they wait for the 2020-21 season to begin.  The team announced (Twitter link) that they have loaned goaltender Filip Gustafsson to Sodertalje of HockeyAllsvenskan in Sweden.  In a separate tweet, GM Pierre Dorion released the following statement:

We commend Filip for joining our growing list of prospects making the decision to pursue opportunities to play games in Europe this fall. This is another good development opportunity and we look forward to tracking Filip’s progress.

The 22-year-old played in 24 games last season with AHL Belleville, recording a 3.23 GAA along with a .889 SV%.  Gustavsson was also recalled to Ottawa twice this season but didn’t get into any game action.  He was originally drafted in the second round by Pittsburgh (55th overall in 2016) and was part of the three-way trade with Vegas and Pittsburgh near the 2018 trade deadline that saw Ryan Reaves go to the Golden Knights and Derick Brassard to the Penguins.

The move will at least allow Gustavsson to get some playing time while waiting for the AHL season to get underway which won’t come until December at the earliest.  As part of the agreement, he will return to Ottawa when training camps get underway.

Ottawa Senators Buy Out Bobby Ryan

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After clearing waivers on Saturday, the Senators announced that they have officially bought out the final two seasons of Bobby Ryan’s contract. GM Pierre Dorion released the following statement on the move:

This was a decision that required a lot of consideration. Bobby’s long been a deserving fan favourite in Ottawa. While we’re appreciative of his efforts on the ice, it’s outweighed by how proud we are of him for the courage that he has demonstrated off of it. As we continue to take strides in our rebuild, this decision was one that we felt was best for the organization. We wish he and his family the best as he moves forward.

The Masterton Trophy winner had two years remaining on a seven-year, $50.75MM contract he signed back in 2014 ($7.25MM AAV). The buyout saves the Senators $3.67MM in each of the next two seasons, but apply a $1.83MM penalty for the following two. The full cap hit will now be as follows:

  • 2020-21: $3,583,333
  • 2021-22: $3,583,333
  • 2022-23: $1.833,333
  • 2023-24: $1,833,333

Ryan, 33, had been with the Senators since the 2013-14 season, scoring 107 goals and 266 points over 455 games. This year he suited up just 24 times, leaving the team for a chunk of the season to deal with his addiction problems. Upon his return, he provided one of the most emotional moments of the year when he notched a hat trick in his first game back in Ottawa.

Coming into the league as a dominant presence for the Anaheim Ducks, Ryan recorded 30 or more goals in four straight seasons, hitting a career-high of 71 points in 2010-11. His deteriorated play in recent years made this an easy choice for the Senators though, one that was even discussed in years prior as his goal totals fell. The simple fact was that he can no longer provide the kind of value required for a $7.25MM cap hit, especially as finances are tightened league-wide.

That said, Ryan now becomes an unrestricted free agent that is able to sign a new contract with whatever team he chooses. For a much lower cap hit, perhaps someone believes they can bring back some of his production. After all, Ryan did score four goals in eight games after returning from the Player Assistance Program.

For the Senators, it’s not so much about the cap space (as they have more than they’ll ever need) but the actual salary owed. Ryan was due $7.5MM in each of the remaining two seasons, a total of $15MM that will be reduced to $11.3MM after the buyout.

His removal from the roster will also provide more minutes for the young Senators core, a group that is actually quite impressive. Not only do they have one of the best prospect systems in the league already, but Ottawa also has seven picks in the first two rounds and thirteen overall this year.

TSN’s Darren Dreger was the first to report that Ryan’s deal was being bought out.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Snapshots: Entry Draft, Daccord, Koivu

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The NHL Entry Draft is just around the corner and the Ottawa Senators will be almost living at the (virtual) podium. Ottawa owns seven picks in the first two rounds including the third and fifth overall selections. Jeff Marek gave his thoughts on that fifth pick in today’s 31 Thoughts podcast for Sportsnet, including some interesting names that may be in play.

Five’s gonna be interesting. I’m told there are three different beliefs in that organization.

There is the “let’s take a defenseman here.” There is a belief that that would be Jake Sanderson, Geoff Sanderson’s kid. There is another belief within the organization that they are thin on the right side as it comes to prospects after players like Drake Batherson. That Jack Quinn, who was a 50-goal scorer two-way player with the Ottawa 67’s, the local boy, might be the right fit for Ottawa…and then the wildcard in all of it is the goaltender.

Yaroslav Askarov, that goaltender Marek mentions, is one of the more interesting prospects to follow in the draft given the wide-ranging opinions on where netminders should be taken in the draft. In the same podcast, Elliotte Friedman suggests that even the New Jersey Devils would consider Askarov at seven, despite having Mackenzie Blackwood in the organization already.

  • The Arizona Coyotes have named Brian Daccord special assistant to the general manager and director of goaltending operations. Daccord comes to Arizona by way of Toronto after spending the last several seasons with the Maple Leafs. Father of Ottawa Senators goalie prospect Joey Daccord, Brian comes with plenty of experience in professional hockey including seven years as the goaltending coach for Adler Mannheim in the DEL.
  • Mikko Koivu’s time in Minnesota may be over, but that doesn’t necessarily mean his playing career is done. Koivu told reporters including Michael Russo of The Athletic that he is returning to Finland to start training as if he is playing in 2020-21, though he hasn’t made a decision on his future just yet. Koivu, 37, scored just four goals in 55 games for the Wild this season and has played in nearly 1,100 games over a long career.

Ottawa Senators Will Not Re-Sign Craig Anderson

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The Ottawa Senators will be going in a different direction between the pipes next season. Today, while speaking to reporters including Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia, Senators GM Pierre Dorion confirmed that the team will not be extending a contract offer to Craig Anderson (or Mark Borowiecki, whose agent already broke that news). Anderson will become an unrestricted free agent next month when his current deal expires.

Even as he announced that he wouldn’t be re-signing him, Dorion called Anderson the best goalie the Senators have ever had. That’s hard to argue, given Anderson’s place on the all-time Senators goaltending lists. After a decade with the team, he ranks first in games played (435), wins (202), saves (12,447), save percentage (.914, minimum 50 starts), points (11) and second in shutouts (28). While you could argue that Dominik Hasek’s short stint with the team represented the best goaltending play the franchise has ever received, no one else has come close to the consistency that Anderson showed over his ten years in Ottawa.

Now 39 and coming off a poor season, it was obvious the time to move on had come. The Senators are starting to head back up in their rebuild after gathering an elite prospect system and have some young goaltenders who may deserve an NHL opportunity before long. There’s also still Anders Nilsson, who is expected to be ready for the start of next season and a free agent market full of players that could be short-term options.

Anderson, if he wants to continue playing, could be one of those short-term options available for other teams if they believe he can still be an effective backup. He has posted just a .901 save percentage over the last three years though, not exactly evidence of future success at the position.

Still, if this is the end of Anderson’s career it will have been an excellent one. A third-round pick in 1999 and then again in 2001, he would finish with nearly 700 career games. His postseason performances have been excellent, posting a .929 save percentage over 46 appearances and helping the Senators come within a goal of the Stanley Cup Finals in 2017.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Ottawa’s Andreas Englund Signs In Allsvenskan

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The Ottawa Senators may have lost one of their defenseman as Vasterviks IK announced (translation required) they have signed defenseman Andreas Englund, who is expected to hit restricted free agency on Oct. 9. The Ottawa Sun’s Bruce Garrioch reports that the deal has an out-clause in which he can return to the Senators, but only if the team gives him a qualifying offer next month, which is no certainty. The wording on the announcement also suggests the Allsvenskan team hopes to keep him around permanently.

“24-year-old Andreas Englund played in (Ottawa) last season but his contract has now expired so he is now a free agent,” according to the press release.

Englund did manage to play a career high in games played in the NHL this season. He appeared in 24 games for the Senators, who drafted the blueliner in the second round back in 2014. However, the blueliner was also placed on waivers on multiple occasions throughout the year and didn’t see much time on the ice in Ottawa regardless. Englund averaged just 10:54 of ATOI and due to his lack of offensive ability, many believe that he doesn’t have the ability to win himself a permanent spot as a top-six defenseman in the NHL. That, along with a number of new faces on Ottawa’s defense this year, including a permanent role for Erik Brannstrom, a healthy Christian Wolanin and the overseas signing of Artem Zub, there may not be a place in the NHL for Englund, leaving many questions whether the team will hand him a qualifying offer.

Englund has played in the Allvenskan before when he played for Djurgardens Stokholm squad and then followed that year up with two years in the SHL before coming over to North America. He does have some size at 6-foot-4, but lacks significant offensive skill as he managed just three assists in 24 NHL games and went scoreless in 22 AHL games and his career high in AHL scoring has been 14 points (back in 2018-19).

 

Mark Borowiecki Expected To Test Free Agency

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After more than a decade in the organization and endless work in the community, Mark Borowiecki appears to be headed for a breakup with the Ottawa Senators. The veteran defenseman is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent this offseason and as Hailey Salvian of The Athletic reports, he’ll be “testing the waters” and is expected to go in a different direction.

Borowiecki, 31, always seemed like he would be a Senator for his whole career, given the obvious connection he had with ownership and the comments made by GM Pierre Dorion just a few months ago. After Borowiecki was not dealt at the trade deadline, Dorion told TSN radio that he wanted the depth defenseman to be a “Senator for life.” Unfortunately, even then it was easy to be skeptical about those comments given how the team had treated other core players over the years.

It’s not just the fact that Borowiecki has been a hard-nosed defenseman with 375 games under his belt for the franchise, but he has become something of a folk hero in the community. While his robbery-foiling happened in Vancouver, there are countless other stories of him helping people in Ottawa in one way or another. His wife, Tara Borowiecki, is actually on the board of directors for the Ottawa-Gatineau Youth Foundation, a charitable organization that used to be known as the Sens Foundation before it split from the franchise.

Borowiecki is coming off a two-year contract that totaled $2.4MM and it’s hard to see him earning a lot more than that moving forward. Even though he’s been a regular in the Ottawa lineup, he still does have poor possession stats and doesn’t contribute much at the offensive end. For a team looking to add some bite to their lineup, he could be an option. Borowiecki has recorded more than 1,500 hits in his 375 games and blocked 120 shots this season for the Senators.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Bobby Ryan Wins Bill Masterton Trophy

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This week, the NHL will be revealing some award winners in the pregame show of a Conference Final game.  Today’s award announcement was for the Bill Masterton Trophy which was won by Senators winger Bobby Ryan.  The other two finalists were Flyers winger Oskar Lindblom and Stars defenseman Stephen Johns.  The award is given to “to the National Hockey League player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to hockey”.

Ryan took a leave of absence from the Senators in November to enter into the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance program and was in there for close to three months.  He had quite the memorable return as in his second game back, he had a hat-trick against Vancouver.  Before the pandemic hit, Ryan had played in eight games, collecting four goals while playing over 16 minutes a night, well above his season average.  While his season ended on a high note, he’ll remember it best for overcoming the alcohol abuse issues that saw him enter the assistance program and for sharing his story publicly.

Lindblom was diagnosed with Ewing’s sarcoma back in December, ending his regular season.  At the time of his cancer diagnosis, he was leading the Flyers in goals with 11 and had 18 points in 30 games.  He was well on his way to recovery at the time of voting and signed a three-year, $9MM contract back in July.  While it was initially believed that he wouldn’t play in Philadelphia’s playoff run, Lindblom recovered quick enough to get into their last two games against the Islanders, playing more than 16 minutes in both contests.  He looks well-positioned to once again be an important winger for the Flyers next season and could be a contender for this trophy next season as well.

Johns returned to the ice after missing 22 games due to lingering concussion trouble that first came about in Dallas’ training camp in 2018.  He made an immediate impact upon his return, picking up an assist in his third game back and a goal in his fourth contest.  Overall, he played in 17 games and logged an impressive 17:40 per game while adding some stability to the back half of their defense corps in the process.  Johns suited up for their first four playoff games (all three Round Robin matches plus the first Qualifying Round game versus Calgary) before being injured.  He remains unfit to play and there is no word on how long he’ll be out.

Golden Knights goaltender Robin Lehner was the recipient of the award last season.  The Willie O’Ree Community Hero Award is next up and will be revealed on Tuesday.

Vitaly Abramov Loaned To Jukurit

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The Ottawa Senators have sent another prospect overseas for the next few months, loaning Vitaly Abramov to Jukurit in Finland. Abramov will return to North America in time for NHL training camp but can get some playing time while he continues his development.

One of the big pieces that came back to Ottawa in the Matt Duchene deal, Abramov was originally a third-round pick of the Columbus Blue Jackets. Picked in 2016 after his outstanding rookie-of-the-year season in the QMJHL, Abramov has done nothing but score throughout his hockey career. His time in the CHL ended in 2018 after 301 points in 185 regular season games and the professional ranks haven’t proven too difficult either. Abramov is coming off a season with the Belleville Senators in which he scored 41 points in 51 games as part of a high-powered offense with Joshua Norris, Drake Batherson, and Alex Formenton (among others).

With three NHL games under his belt and exceptional talent, Abramov is a candidate for full-time minutes with the Senators in 2020-21. The 22-year-old will be entering the final season of his entry-level contract and looking to put up some stats before hitting restricted free agency. Getting a chance to kick things off in Europe will do nothing but help his chances of making the Ottawa roster, especially on a team like Jukurit. Since 2016 when they moved up into the highest division, Jukurit has gone 66-85-29 and missed the playoffs four times. With the kind of offensive skill that Abramov brings, he could very well find himself getting prime minutes with the team’s best players.

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