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At Least Five Teams Are Interested In Mike Hoffman

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At least five teams have shown interest in Senators winger Mike Hoffman, Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch reports.  Interestingly enough, not all of them are teams that are expected to be buyers in the next couple of weeks either as the Sabres are among the group that also includes the Blues, Devils, Hurricanes, and Sharks.

Hoffman is having a quieter year offensively than he has had the last couple of seasons but he still sits second on Ottawa in scoring with 37 points (15-22-37) in 54 games.  He also has two years left after this one on his contract with a cap hit just shy of $5.2MM so if the Senators do decide to move him, they’ll be justified in a high asking price.  Garrioch notes that the team is torn on what to do as they know they can get a strong return in a trade but he has started to show some chemistry recently with Matt Duchene who has one more year left on his current deal.

Senators Notes: Dorion, Anselmi, Karlsson

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Armed with a new three-year extension, Ottawa Senators general manager Pierre Dorion has a tough task ahead of him, but he has already said that change is coming. He has stated that he has been listening to offers for the entire team with the exception of captain Erik Karlsson, winger Mark Stone and defenseman Thomas Chabot after a tough season which sees them in seventh place in the Atlantic Division after a season in which they went to the Eastern Conference finals last season.

The Ottawa Citizen’s Bruce Garrioch writes the real question is how big of a change will Dorion want to make at the deadline or during the offseason. Names have surfaced range from Mike Hoffman, Zack Smith, Jean-Gabriel Pageau, Ryan Dzingel, Cody Ceci, Dion Phaneuf and Johnny Oduya.

“The phone is always busy,” Dorion said. “We’ve put ourselves in the position that we are and people know that last year we had a lot of players that were key components to us getting to the final four teams. I think other teams are looking at us. We have the assets, but we’re going to make good hockey deals and that’s very important for this organization.”

The Senators are looking for established young players, who have NHL experience already as well as high-end prospects and picks. Of course, the team is unlikely to trade their whole team away either.

“These next three weeks are very important for the team that we need to set in place for the following years,” Dorion said. “At the same time, branding something, telling people exactly what our plan is, isn’t the best course of action. There will be changes that will be made.”

  • Tom Brennan of The Ottawa Sun writes that the Ottawa Senators front office mayhem continued last week when they announced that president and CEO Tom Anselmi would be vacating his role. The scribe believes he resigned three weeks ago, because of what one source described as “craziness.” In 24 months, the Senators have gone through two presidents, three chief financial officers and three chief marketing officers. With the team struggling in attendance, hiring Dorion to an extension might have been one of the smartest moves owner Eugene Melnyk has done in quite a while and shows that he wants stability within the organization.
  • The Ottawa Sun’s Ken Warren writes that with the news that the Senators are taking a step back and trying to rebuild the team will only hasten the departure of Karlsson. Why would Karlsson want to stay on a team with front office instability and has already admitted they intend to rebuild? On top of that, Warren believes the team likely doesn’t want to commit $80-$100MM. It looks more likely the team would be more likely to shed salary.
  • In the same article, Warren also points out that Dorion still has a lot to prove as general manager. While he’s drafted well, some of Dorion’s moves have been questionable, including trading prospect Jonathan Dahlen for fourth-liner Alexandre Burrows, whose contract is only holding the team back. Exposing defenseman Marc Methot in the expansion draft didn’t help as he was a great partner to Karlsson. The scribe also adds that he believes the team overpaid for both Pageau and Smith.

Snapshots: Blues, Thornton, Lewis, Lightning

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In a mailbag column, The Athletic’s Jeremy Rutherford writes (subscription required) that while the Blues have been linked with a number of high-profile teams such as the Ottawa Senators, Buffalo Sabres, Montreal Canadiens, Edmonton Oilers and the New York Rangers, it’s unlikely the team will make a big move for a big name forward with years on his contract like a Max Pacioretty or a Mike Hoffman despite recent rumors to the contrary.

Due to the high trade demands being made for these players, Rutherford believes that trading a top prospect for a player who has a large contract to fit into their salary cap space doesn’t make a lot of sense as the team wants to have as much flexibility when free agency arrives this summer. Instead, the scribe believes the team needs to go the rental route and acquire a player (for a much cheaper price) so the team can make their run.

The team already is without their 2018 first-round pick which they traded for Brayden Schenn, so moving a top prospect could set the team back long-term. The team should look into a player such as Rick Nash, Michael Grabner or Patrick Maroon as options as they likely won’t cost them one of their top prospects in Jordan Kyrou, Robert Thomas or Klim Kostin.

  • The Athletic’s Kevin Kurz (subscription required) writes that alarms should sound after San Jose Sharks center Joe Thornton refused to say that he will definitely be back this season. That’s a surprise considering he is a player who last year played through torn MCL and ACL injuries during the playoffs. Historically, he’s been a player who goes out on the ice no matter how hurt he is, so the idea that he might not be back this season suggests the injury is worse than people think. Could he have already played his last game as a San Jose Shark?
  • Fox Sports West Patrick O’Neal tweets that Los Angeles Kings forward Trevor Lewis was sent back to Los Angeles to be re-evaluated after being injured in Friday’s game against the Florida Panthers. While indications are that the injury isn’t serious, head coach John Stevens wanted to have him evaluated after he sustained a serious crash against the boards.
  • Tampa Bay Times’ Joe Smith writes that the rumors of a potential Ottawa Senators-Tampa Bay Lightning deadline deal refuses to go away. He writes that there have been a number of rumors, including talk of Erik Karlsson, and points out that Ottawa’s chief scout is expected to be at the Tampa Bay game tonight.

Senators Sign Pierre Dorion To A Three-Year Contract Extension

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The Senators announced that they have signed general manager Pierre Dorion to a three-year contract extension, one that keeps him under contract through the 2021-22 season.  Dorion is in his second season at the helm of the Sens after taking over for the late Bryan Murray back in April of 2016 but he has been with the team since 2007 in several different roles, including chief amateur scout and director of player personnel.

While Dorion’s first season as GM went quite well with Ottawa making a run to the Eastern Conference Final, 2017-18 hasn’t been anywhere near as successful.  The Senators currently sit seventh in the Atlantic Division with just 47 points and are expected to be sellers at the trade deadline.  Owner Eugene Melnyk clearly believes Dorion can bring them back to contention but in the press release, he hinted at some short-term pain to come:

“Today’s announcement reflects a renewed commitment to scouting, drafting and development. It may require changes to our lineup. Rest assured, we will only tolerate pain with an endgame in mind: building an organization that wins – at all levels – year in and year out.”

Additionally, the team announced that team president/CEO Tom Anselmi has left the organization after just one year with the Sens.  No reason was given for his departure.

Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch was first to report (Twitter link) that an extension for Dorion was to be announced while TSN’s Darren Dreger first reported (via Twitter) that Anselmi would be leaving the team.

Ottawa Senators Sign Ben Harpur To Two-Year Extension

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The Ottawa Senators are busy working on their future as the trade deadline approaches, and have signed Ben Harpur to a two-year extension. The one-way deal is worth a total of $1.45MM, and will take him through the 2019-20 season. The salary breakdown is as follows:

  • 2018-19: $650K
  • 2019-20: $800K

Harpur, 23, was set to be a restricted free agent this summer after his entry-level deal expired. The fourth-round pick from 2013 has played just 31 NHL contests to this point, 20 of them coming this season as the team looked for an answer on their bottom pairing. Still looking for his first NHL goal, Harpur has collected two assists in his short career.

A rangy 6’6″ defenseman, Harpur has shown an ability to close gaps quickly with his long reach and aggressive play style. Though he can be caught out of position at times in the defensive end, his physical presence is a big factor and fits nicely into the way Ottawa likes their left-side defensemen to play. Whether he actually locks down a full-time position there is still to be seen.

The Senators have two defenseman hitting unrestricted free agency this summer in Johnny Oduya and Chris Wideman, along with new contracts owed to RFAs Cody Ceci and Fredrik Claesson. It’s unlikely that all four will be back, while others like Dion Phaneuf or even Erik Karlsson could be on the move before the beginning of next season. Harpur will hope his new one-way deal will make the Senators give him a chance, along with the fact that he will no longer be waiver-exempt next season.

Ottawa now heads into their next few weeks with one player locked up on the blue line, but several decisions still to make.

Alex Burrows Suspended Ten Games

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When Alex Burrows was invited to a in-person hearing with the NHL Department of Player Safety, it became known that the Ottawa Senators forward could be suspended more than five games. While the Senators squared off with the New Jersey Devils last night, Burrows got tangled up with Taylor Hall and seemed to intentionally and maliciously knee Hall in the head repeatedly. Player Safety saw the play the same way and tonight handed down a ten-game suspension for Burrows. Player Safety summed up the altercation as follows:

“In short, for the sole purpose of retribution, Burrows drags an unwilling opponent to the ice, punches him several times, then uses his knee pad to violently inflict more punishment on his opponent’s head… This is a dangerous and unjustifiable attack that runs the risk of severe injury and such plays will not be tolerated by the Department of Player Safety.”

This ten-game ban, more than 12% of the 82-game season and exactly one third of Ottawa’s remaining games, is the longest suspension of the season in the NHL. It’s no surprise that Burrows is the culprit, as the veteran forward has one of the more tarnished reputations in the league when it comes to dirty play. (Remember he bit Patrice Bergeron in the 2011 Stanley Cup Final). In fact, Burrows has already been fined $5,000 earlier this season for roughing, though that’s nothing compared to the $135,000 he is now set to lose.

Burrows does have the right to appeal the suspension, first to commissioner Gary Bettman and then to a neutral arbitrator, but such challenges are rare in the NHL and even more so is unlikely to be successful, given the clear graphic nature of the offense. Burrows will have to sit for ten game, unable to return to the Ottawa lineup until March. For the bottom-dwelling Senators, Burrow’s absence won’t mean the difference between making the playoffs or not. However, it does make last year’s trade, in which the Sens gave up promising prospect Jonathan Dahlen, that much harder to swallow.

 

Snapshots: Devils, Koekkoek, Jerabek

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The New Jersey Devils have been a better story than anyone expected this season, jumping from the first-overall pick in June 2017 to third place in the Metropolitan Division as we sit here today. That unexpected success though often comes with hard decisions come the trade deadline, a situation Devils GM Ray Shero is familiar with.

When speaking with Mike Morreale of NHL.com, Shero was clear that he would not deviate from the long-term plan he had for the Devils before the season. He believes that his team will avoid the rental market at their current costs, but will stay open to “hockey deals” over the next few weeks. Shero of course already added Sami Vatanen in a surprising move earlier this season, trading away long time Devils forward Adam Henrique.

  • Slater Koekkoek was afforded a rare opportunity to log some higher minute totals while Victor Hedman was out for the Tampa Bay Lightning, and GM Steve Yzerman believes he showed well in his limited exposure. Yzerman told Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet as much, who, in his latest 31 Thoughts column, suggested that the Ottawa Senators were among teams showing interest in the young defenseman. Koekkoek was selected 10th-overall in 2012 but has never been able to establish himself as a full-time NHL player. Scheduled to become a restricted free agent in the summer, perhaps the Lightning will look to give him another opportunity elsewhere.
  • Speaking of opportunity, that’s all Jakub Jerabek wanted when he signed a contract with the Montreal Canadiens last offseason. Jerabek, 26, left the KHL after one excellent season in order to come to North America, and has acquitted himself well in his debut with Montreal and the Laval Rocket of the AHL. Eric Engels of Sportsnet reports that Jerabek very much enjoys playing in Montreal, and though no contract negotiations have taken place just yet, the player would welcome them at some point. Because of his advanced age, Jerabek was forced to sign just a one-year deal with the Canadiens, and will be an unrestricted free agent in July.

Alex Burrows Waives Right To In-Person Hearing

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Alex Burrows had been offered an in-person hearing with the Department of Player Safety to defend his actions in last night’s Ottawa-New Jersey game, but has decided to decline that option and instead will speak over the phone. Because they offered him the in-person meeting, the NHL retains the right to suspend Burrows for more than five games.

Burrows was involved in an incident in front of the Ottawa net last night when he was tangled up with Taylor Hall. When the two players ended up on the ice, Burrows seemed to try and land blows with his knee to Hall’s head.

The 36-year old forward has been suspended and fine by the league before, and has a reputation of playing close to the line of legality. The telephone hearing will be held this afternoon.

Mark Stone, Patrick Maroon Interested In Signing Extensions

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While many players are worried about which team they’ll be suiting up for in just a few weeks, two are already thinking about inking extensions in the summer. Mark Stone and Patrick Maroon both spoke about wanting to stay in their respective cities, though they may find different outcomes as the deadline approaches.

Mark StoneFirst Stone, who told Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia that he wants to stay with the Ottawa Senators long-term and has little doubt the two sides will come to an agreement when he hits restricted free agency this summer. Stone is in the last season of his three-year, $10.5MM contract and has developed into the Senators best forward on most nights. Despite missing the last seven games due to injury, Stone leads the Senators in scoring with 44 points in 44 games and is arguably the league’s best takeaway artist.

Stone will deserve a huge raise if the Senators want to sign him long-term, as he has just a single season left before being eligible for unrestricted free agency. Turning 26 in May, he could demand a contract along the lines of some of the game’s elite wingers. Depending on how Ottawa feels about their finances as they move towards Erik Karlsson’s 2019 unrestricted free agency, Stone’s contract could come with some substantial hurdles. Bobby Ryan and Dion Phaneuf remain on the books with huge cap hits, and owner Eugene Melnyk has hinted in the past that the Senators would need to cut salary.

Then there is Maroon, who is headed towards unrestricted free agency this summer. According to Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic (subscription required), Maroon’s representatives have already touched base with the Edmonton Oilers to discuss an extension, though if things can’t be completed in the next few weeks one would have to believe a trade could be the result. Even with the Oilers’ recent surge they remain more than ten points out of a playoff spot and have to be looking towards next season and beyond.

Maroon has found his game in Edmonton and developed into an effective player, but with the Oilers heading into Connor McDavid’s eight-year $100MM contract and Leon Draisaitl already earning $8.5MM per season, they have to be very careful with how they divide the rest of their salary cap. Even though Maroon is on pace to come short of his career-high of 27 goals set last season, he should still get a raise on the $2MM cap hit he currently carries.

The fact that Maroon is relatively inexpensive this season—he would come with only a prorated $1.5MM cap hit since Anaheim is still retaining part of his salary—also increases his trade value. Edmonton could potentially use him as a rental at the deadline, only to try and re-sign him in the summer months. That’s a tricky game to play though, as things can change quickly in the NHL, especially if Maroon were to go to a team with a good chance at the Stanley Cup. There’s no telling what could change his mind and cause him to sign elsewhere after hitting the open market.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Snapshots: Lupul, Hinostroza, Ryan

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Joffrey Lupul is technically still under contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs, despite not suiting up for a game in two years. Chris Johnston of Sportsnet relays some of Lupul’s feelings from a recent podcast appearance, which indicates that though he might have some regrets on how his career ended, there isn’t a comeback in the works.

Lupul could technically sign a contract with an NHL club in the offseason as a free agent, but there doesn’t seem to be any indication he will. The 34-year old forward is instead concentrating on his life after hockey, even referring to himself as “retired.” Lupul’s career would end with 420 points in 701 games, including a career-high 67-point campaign in 2011-12 with the Maple Leafs.

  • The Chicago Blackhawks will have a little less roster flexibility after tonight’s game as CapFriendly points out, as Vinnie Hinostroza is set to play in his 80th career game. That means Hinostroza will no longer be waiver-exempt, though he seems to have solidified his place in the lineup anyway. The 23-year old forward has 14 points in 22 games this season for the Blackhawks, and is another example of a smaller player finding success in today’s game. Selected in the sixth round partly due to his size, Hinostroza hasn’t stopped scoring at any level of hockey.
  • If the Ottawa Senators had any plans to try and move Bobby Ryan and his huge contract they might have to wait until the offseason. The 30-year old forward will be out a minimum of three weeks according to Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia, putting a return before the trade deadline in doubt. Ryan does have 20 points in 39 games this season as he’s battled through several injuries, but isn’t the same goal-scoring threat he once was. Owed another $30MM over the next four seasons, his contract has quickly become a huge hindrance on the Senators’ future plans.

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