Ottawa Senators Acquire Ville Pokka From Chicago Blackhawks
After clearing waivers today, Chris DiDomenico is on his way to Chicago. The Ottawa Senators have traded the forward to the Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for defenseman Ville Pokka. Both players can immediately be sent to the minor leagues, since that was where they were assigned when the trade occurred.
DiDomenico was finally slipped through waivers after being claimed and then re-claimed by Tampa Bay and Ottawa earlier this season. With that came some flexibility, and Chicago has decided that was enough to pull the trigger to bring him into the Rockford picture. Whether he’ll get time at the NHL level is unclear, but he can now be moved up and down for the time being.
Pokka on the other hand has yet to make his NHL debut, and didn’t look likely to make it anytime soon for the Blackhawks. The 23-year old defenseman was selected 34th-overall by the New York Islanders in 2012, and has shown good offensive ability in the minor leagues. Unfortunately, that has come with a lot of struggles in the defensive end and a lack of any real consistency on the ice. That sort of wildcard is exactly the kind of risk Ottawa is willing to take as they try to build their club back up.
Interestingly, DiDomenico is scheduled to be an unrestricted free agent this summer and won’t help the Blackhawks at the NHL level in any meaningful way unless they re-sign him (provided the team doesn’t go on an incredible hot streak and slip into the playoffs this season). Whatever value he’ll bring this season to Chicago or Rockford was apparently enough to give up on Pokka, who clearly had been passed over several times by other prospects in the organization. Pokka is a restricted free agent and could become a Group VI UFA in 2019 if he isn’t given an extended opportunity at the NHL level between now and then.
Jeff Glass, Chris DiDomenico Placed On Waivers
Thursday: Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports that both Glass and DiDomenico have cleared. Both players can now be assigned to the minor leagues. The Blackhawks have done so, recalling Berube to take his place in the Chicago crease. DiDomenico is on his way to the Belleville Senators, where he has 14 points in 25 games this season.
Wednesday: Goaltender Jeff Glass has been placed on waivers by the Chicago Blackhawks, likely signalling a return to the crease for Corey Crawford or Jean-Francois Berube. Chris DiDomenico has also been waived by the Ottawa Senators, after the team made a trade last night acquiring two forwards. Korbinian Holzer, on waivers yesterday, has cleared.
Glass, 32, was a wonderful story in Chicago this season, finally getting a chance at the NHL after more than a decade in the minor leagues. Selected in the third round in 2004, Glass made his NHL debut on December 29th and played in 14 games for the team while they dealt with injuries. After starting out quite strong, his play has slipped in his last few outings and doesn’t look quite good enough to be a full-time solution at this level. Crawford is travelling with the team, but if he’s not ready to return from his injury Berube could be called upon from the minor leagues.
DiDomenico must be getting used to the waiver process, as he was already claimed and re-claimed earlier this year, swapping between the Senators and Tampa Bay Lightning. The team will try to sneak him through once again to give themselves some roster flexibility, but it’s not out of the question that he’ll be claimed. The 28-year old forward has 10 points in 24 games this season.
Minor Transactions: 02/15/18
The Canadian Olympic team got off to a better start than their US equivalent, beating the Swiss team 5-1 in their opening game this morning. Wojtek Wolski and Rene Bourque both tallied two goals in the win, showing that they still have some high-level hockey left in them after a long professional career. As the Olympics continues, we’ll keep track of all the NHL’s minor transactions right here.
- The Ottawa Senators have recalled Ben Harpur from the minor leagues, giving them an extra defenseman for their game against the Buffalo Sabres later tonight. Harpur was recently extended by the team for two more years, as he obviously figures into their plan on the blue line. The 23-year old has a single point in 20 games with the Senators this season.
- Brendan Lemieux has been loaned back to the Manitoba Moose of the AHL. The Winnipeg Jets are preparing for their matchup tomorrow against the Colorado Avalanche, and have several players nursing injuries. Lemieux has played very well for the Moose this season, recording 28 points in 30 games and has made a physical impact during his nine games with the Jets. The 21-year old is part of the future in Winnipeg as a bottom-six winger who carries some scoring upside.
- Reid Duke has been activated from injured reserve and sent to the Chicago Wolves, finally ready to start his professional career after being the first player ever to sign with the Vegas Golden Knights. Duke was injured in training camp and hasn’t played all season.
- Colorado has returned winger Rocco Grimaldi to San Antonio of the AHL. He had been recalled yesterday in case winger Matt Nieto was able to play. The diminutive forward has three points in six games with the Avalanche this season along with 24 in 40 minor league contests/
Analysts Weigh In On Phaneuf Trade
After the trade that sent Dion Phaneuf to the Los Angeles Kings, analysts from around the hockey world weighed in on their thoughts of the trade. The deal also brought Nate Thompson from Ottawa in exchange for Marian Gaborik and Nick Shore. Here are the thoughts of some scribes around the league.
The Los Angeles Times’ Curtis Zupke:
Zupke sees Los Angeles benefitting from a veteran defenseman with playoff experience:
Phaneuf fills a need as a top-four defenseman with leadership and experience. He plays more than 20 minutes per game, in all situations, and he helped Ottawa reach Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals last season. Phaneuf also turns 33 in April and is signed through 2020-21, but the Kings are banking on some immediate dividends.
Garrioch, like many others, looks at the financial ramification of the deal and how the rebuild is on in Ottawa.
Naturally, this is a huge deal for the Senators because they get Phaneuf’s cap hit off the books, though it does have to take Gaborik’s contract in return…This is the start of general manager Pierre Dorion’s promise to build the team back to respectability. The Senators had asked Phaneuf to waive his ‘no move’ clause in the summer so they could protect Marc Methot in the expansion draft, but couldn’t get the deal done. The move will give the Senators flexibility with the roster.
Kevin McGran: The Toronto Star
McGran also examines the financial aspect, indicating that the Sens may end up buying Gaborik’s deal in the end.
There is some cash savings, which is important for Ottawa owner Eugene Melnyk: Phaneuf is due $18.5 million in actual salary in the three years after this one. Gaborik is due $10,825. The Senators have to pay 25 per cent of Phaneuf’s salary, or $4.6 million. So they’re up to $15.4 million, a savings of $3.1 million (plus another half million for the remainder of this year) when comparing Phaneuf to Gaborik.(They’ll save on Nate Thompson, but his ultimate replacement will probably come in around the same dollar value.) One thing that makes sense is a buyout. Gaborik would cost less than Phaneuf. A Robidas Island situation is not likely. The Senators aren’t likely to spend to the cap anyway.
Mendes sees this as the beginning of sell-offs, and echoes McGran in saying that a buyout of Gaborik’s contract is likely.
Based on owner Eugene Melnyk’s recent statement – in which he announced a three-year contract extension for Dorion – it now appears as though the club has a mandate to shed salary and put more of an emphasis on developing younger talent.
The Phaneuf deal is likely the first domino to fall, as the club will save north of $5 million in real dollars over the next few seasons. Those savings could increase if the club opts to buy out the contract of Marian Gaborik this summer, although it’s unclear which route they will take at this point. We could get our first clue later this week if the Senators make Gaborik a healthy scratch for their games against Buffalo and the Rangers.
Minor Transactions: 02/14/18
We finally saw the first crack in the trade market last night, when Dion Phaneuf was sent to Los Angeles in a swap of bad contracts. Could that be the start of a fire sale in Ottawa, or did they just take advantage of a (perceived) opportunity? We’ll have to wait and see, but for now we’ll keep track of all the minor moves that go on around the rosters of the NHL.
- In Ottawa the team has sent Max McCormick to the minor leagues, a move they’ve completed several times recently. This time though, it’s unclear if he’ll be on his way back up after the Senators added a couple forwards last night. McCormick has played in six games for the Senators this season, registering two points.
- According to the AHL transactions page, the St. Louis Blues have returned Tage Thompson to the San Antonio Rampage. This comes after a minor injury that has kept him out of the lineup the last few games. Thompson has shown flashes of his potential as a big scoring winger, but hasn’t yet really put his stamp on the NHL as a full-time player. The Blues don’t play again until Friday, meaning they could recall Thompson in a few days.
Ottawa Senators Put High Price On Derick Brassard
The Ottawa Senators have deemed Derick Brassard available, but only for a very high price. According to Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic, the team is looking for a first-round pick, top prospect and a third piece of some sort in exchange for the veteran center. Brassard is under contract for 2018-19, and does hold an eight team no-trade clause.
Senators’ GM Pierre Dorion was recently extended in Ottawa, after laying out his long-term plan for the franchise with owner Eugene Melnyk. While it’s unclear exactly what that entails, especially regarding the upcoming free agency of Erik Karlsson, making Brassard available indicates a willingness to retool the core of the organization. The team already traded Kyle Turris earlier this season, and now seem ready to move another veteran center. With Zack Smith and Jean-Gabriel Pageau also in the rumor mill, the center depth of the club could be devastated in the next few weeks.
Ottawa is in a fight for the first-overall pick this season, despite some better play of late. They currently sit in 29th place, and Brassard hasn’t been able to do anything to change the outcome most nights this year. Though he does have 14 goals and 30 points, he hasn’t been able to create much on the powerplay and is under 50% in the faceoff dot.
Still, for years Brassard has been a positive possession player. For any team looking to add a solid middle-six center who can drive play while also being responsible in his own end, the 30-year old could be a good fit. His $5MM cap hit is a little high for teams looking to use him in a third-line role, but the actual salary is much lower—a prorated amount of $2MM this season, and just $3.5MM total next.
At Least Five Teams Are Interested In Mike Hoffman
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
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
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
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.