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Zack Smith Dislocates Thumb, Out Three Weeks

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The Senators will be without center Zack Smith for the next three weeks as a result of a dislocated thumb, Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch reports (Twitter link).  The injury was sustained on Friday against Colorado in the first of their two games in Sweden.

Mar 28, 2015; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Ottawa Senators center Zack Smith (15) warms up before playing against the Toronto Maple Leafs at Air Canada Centre. Mandatory Credit: Tom Szczerbowski-USA TODAY SportsThis will mark the second time this season already that he has been out of the lineup after Smith missed three games back in October due to an upper-body injury.  He had played on Ottawa’s new-look top line on Friday alongside recent acquisition Matt Duchene and winger Mike Hoffman but that line will have to change for a few weeks yet.  Smith has played in a dozen games with the Sens this season and while he has yet to score, he has collected six assists along with 11 penalty minutes.

As a result of the injury, Nick Paul is set to make his season debut after being recalled earlier in the week.  It was recently noted that teams have been calling about his potential availability so it will certainly be interesting to see how he is deployed.

While their winger depth is weakened for the time being, they should get some good news in the near future as winger Bobby Ryan is expected to return within the next week or so and he could be a candidate to skate in Smith’s spot alongside Duchene and Hoffman when he gets the green light to return.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

NHL Commissioner Says New Arena “Vitally Important” To Ottawa Senators Future

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Before the first game of the Colorado Avalanche-Ottawa Senators series in Stockholm, Sweden (which Ottawa won 4-3 in overtime) NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman took to the podium (video via Sportsnet) to speak with the media. When asked his thoughts on a new, downtown arena in Ottawa Bettman didn’t hesitate.

A new arena, a downtown arena I think is vitally important for the long-term future, stability and competitiveness of the Senators and the process is ongoing. I think asking Mr. Melnyk or the Senators as to the status of that would be more appropriate than asking us, however we believe there needs to be a solution long-term.

Ottawa currently plays at the Canadian Tire Centre in Kanata, a good thirty minutes outside of the downtown core and inaccessible by many modes of public transportation. There has been complaints about the arena’s location for some time, and this summer Bettman and Senators’ owner Eugene Melnyk went to speak with Ottawa mayor Jim Watson about a proposed downtown arena project. Melnyk’s financing group wants to build a new rink in the LeBreton Flats right down along the Ottawa River, serviced by transit and within walking distance of much of the city.

In August, Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Citizen wrote about the proposal, including a timeline of early 2018 for a decision to hopefully come down. While Bettman didn’t answer anything to do with the timeline so far, it’s clear that he supports Melnyk’s group in their pursuit of a downtown arena. With the Senators in the midst of some of the best hockey in the organization’s history and with a true franchise player in Erik Karlsson, a move downtown can only help their popularity and success in the region.

Teams Calling On Senators’ Nick Paul

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After completing the biggest trade of the season so far, the Ottawa Senators have some new faces in town. One of them is the incoming Matt Duchene, but another is 22-year old forward Nick Paul, a recent recall from Belleville of the AHL. Paul had recorded five assists in eleven games this season for the baby-Sens, but had regularly been one of the most dominant players on the ice.

Nick PaulNow, the team has to see what they have. Paul played in just one game last season, and afterwards GM Pierre Dorion called his year “disappointing.” Don Brennan of the Ottawa Citizen profiled Paul’s work this summer to improve his game, and how he struggled with added pressure in 2016-17. Some of that pressure comes from the fact that he’s the last remnant of the Jason Spezza trade of 2014.

Dorion spoke recently to Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun, saying that he’s “anxious to see how Nick Paul will play” given his recent success in Belleville, before making another deal to help his club up front. Darren Dreger of TSN agrees, reporting that teams have been calling the Senators to ask about Paul as a potential trade target. The Senators know that they need to find out what they have before moving on, but that doesn’t necessarily mean he’ll be sticking around even if he shows he’s ready for the NHL.

Paul is with the team as they prepare to take on Colorado in a pair of games in Stockholm, Sweden which could easily turn into a showcase for the young forward. If he does get into the lineup you can bet the NHL will take notice of his play. Whether he stays with the Senators or is turned into a trade asset, it’s clear that this season is the chance for Paul to really show what he can do.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Snapshots: Flames, Hammond, Ekman-Larsson

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Tanner Glass has cleared waivers and been assigned to Stockton of the AHL, leaving room for the Calgary Flames to activate Jaromir Jagr prior to their game tonight. Glass signed a one-year, one-way deal with the Flames this summer but is at best a 13th forward used in especially physical matchups. It won’t surprise if the 33-year old is back up before long to serve in that role.

Jagr though will jump back into the lineup after a long layoff, and will look to recapture the early success he had found with his new team. The legendary winger’s already exquisite possession numbers were off the charts in his first five games for Calgary, and he should help the team continue their current win streak. Jagr is just 51 games behind Gordie Howe for the most all-time, a record he could break should he stay relatively healthy for the rest of the year.

  • Andrew Hammond was clearly a salary dump by the Ottawa Senators in their recent trade, to help even out the salary difference between Matt Duchene and Kyle Turris. Now, James Gordon of The Athletic reports that Colorado will look to flip Hammond somewhere else around the league. Hammond will remain with the Belleville Senators on loan until that happens, but it may not be so easy. “The Hamburgler” as he is so affectionately nicknamed, is owed $1.5MM this season and carries a $1.35MM cap hit. Though last year was a struggle for him before going down to injury, he’s played well early on for Belleville.
  • Oliver Ekman-Larsson has somehow become the center of much trade speculation, but Arizona Coyotes GM John Chayka wants to put an end to that. Speaking with Craig Morgan of AZ Sports, Chayka again said he won’t trade the All-Star defenseman, and revealed “I haven’t had a single conversation about Oilver that has lasted more than five seconds.” Ekman-Larsson is a free agent after next season and would be one of the top names on the market.

Poll: Who Won The Matt Duchene-Kyle Turris Trade?

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Matt DucheneYesterday brought the culmination of several weeks of work for the front offices of three separate franchises. Ottawa, Colorado and Nashville consummated the biggest trade of the season, and the first three-team trade in several years. Kyle Turris ended up on the Predators and Matt Duchene on the Senators while Colorado finally got their haul of prospects and draft picks. Nashville only made the deal contingent on a Turris contract extension, which came in the form of six years at $6MM per season. That deal will keep the 28-year old center in Nashville until 2024, and immediately improves their depth down the middle.

Colorado GM Joe Sakic has been criticized for months as the Duchene saga lingered on and on, as he seemed to be over-valuing him in trade. Duchene clearly wanted out of Denver, and it was frustrating for many to watch him struggle in front of the media for so long. Still, Duchene went about his work and showed early this season he was still an elite player. That allowed Sakic to stick to his price tag, which eventually resulted in quite the haul.

Ottawa on the other hand had been pursuing Duchene for quite some time, with GM Pierre Dorion saying he first approached Sakic about him at the 2016 GM meetings. The Ontario-born center has just one year on his contract after this one, but has elite upside and could help the Senators take the next step in the playoffs. Already they found themselves in the Eastern Conference finals last season, and if Duchene can get back to the nearly point-per-game player he has been at times throughout his career they could go even further.

So who really won this trade? All three could claim victory, but there are risks on each side. Cast your vote and explain in the comments why.

Who won the Kyle Turris-Matt Duchene trade?
Colorado 55.45% (783 votes)
Nashville 29.46% (416 votes)
Ottawa 15.08% (213 votes)
Total Votes: 1,412

[Mobile users click here to vote!]

Six-Year Extension “Never On The Table” Between Turris, Ottawa

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In a press conference introducing Matt Duchene this morning, Ottawa Senators GM Pierre Dorion explained why an extension was never completed with Kyle Turris. Dorion believed it was never about the value of the contract, lauding praise on Turris for his play and everything he did in Ottawa, but announced that there was “never going to be movement from seven or eight years.” Turris of course signed a six-year extension with the Nashville Predators, but Dorion admits that length was “never put on the table” for the Senators.

In response to another question, Dorion reports that the Turris camp never requested a trade. He felt it was a “no-brainer” and even admitted he had a plane ready for Duchene on Friday night—when the first deal originally fell apart—and wanted him in the Senators’ lineup on Saturday.

Turris’ extension takes another name off the free agent market, as he would have been one of the top available players this summer. Well on his way to another successful offensive season, Turris has nine points in 11 games and could receive even more scoring chances in the Nashville system.

Interestingly, when Turris spoke with Nick Cotsonika of NHL.com he had a different outlook on negotiations with the Senators, saying that “it was very apparent things weren’t going to work out with Ottawa.” Turris also explained that a six-year deal wasn’t pushed forward from their camp either, making it clear that the two sides were headed for a breakup one way or another. Duchene will be under contract for the Senators for an additional year, while Nashville adds to their center depth on a long-term contract.

Reaction To Duchene, Turris, 3-Team Deal

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A lot of reaction has come across from sportswriters on Twitter after the three-way trade in which the Ottawa Senators got Matt Duchene, the Nashville Predators acquired a newly extended Kyle Turris and the Colorado Avalanche got Samuel Girard, Vladislav Kamenev, Shane Bowers, Andrew Hammond, Ottawa’s 2018 first-round pick (top-10 protected), Nashville’s 2018 second-round pick and Ottawa’s 2019 third-round pick. Take a look:

  • Elliotte Friedman, who was the first to break the story, tweeted that Nashville is obviously cashing it all in for the 2018 season, while Ottawa quite obviously badly wanted Duchene.
  • TSN’s Pierre LeBrun tweets that the Predators spoke with Turris’ camp this afternoon and had four conversations over three hours before finally agreeing on an extension.
  • Ottawa Suns’ Don Brennan tweets that the Senators definitely got the best player, but they paid a steep price of two first-round picks a third-round pick and Turris to get Duchene. There was a lot of question about whether Duchene was worth all that.
  • James Mirtle of The Athletic tweets general manager Joe Sakic’s comments on the trade, “We feel this trade brings us some top prospects as we continue to build for both the short and long-term future. We’ve said all along that we wanted to be patient and wait for the right deal, and this is the opportunity we feel is best for the organization.”
  • TSN’s Jason Brough writes that the real winner of the trade is Nick Bonino, who goes from being sheltered by Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin to now being sheltered by Ryan Johansen and Turris.
  • Sportsnet’s Jeff Marek tweets that the hidden part of the Duchene trade is that Colorado’s, now without Duchene, will be one step closer to getting defenseman Rasmus Dahlin, currently believed to be the top prospect in the 2018 NHL Draft.
  • The Tennessean’s Adam Vingan writes that the addition of Turris gives the franchise the best center depth in franchise history as Turris should fit perfectly on the team’s second line, which will force Bonino to move back to the team’s third line once he’s healthy and force Colton Sissons to center the fourth line. Calle Jarnkrok can now move to the wing.
  • NHL Network’s E.J. Hradek tweets now that the Predators have locked up Johansen, Turris and Bonino at center to go with their depth on defense, Nashville should dominate the West for many years to come.
  • Denver.com’s A.J. Haefele writes that while the Avalanche got a lot of good prospects, they really didn’t walk away with any blue-chip prospects. He does point out that Girard is close, but a grade on this trade still comes down to who the team drafts in the coming years with those picks.
  • BSN Denver’s Adrian Dater tweets that Colorado defenseman Erik Johnson had just one thing to say about the trade. “He didn’t want to be here.” Dater adds that he believes that J.T. Compher is likely to replace Duchene as team’s second-line center.
  • Postmedia’s Michael Traikos tweets that Nashville general manager David Poile doesn’t get enough credit for all his moves, including acquiring Filip Forsberg from Washington, Johansen from Columbus, P.K. Subban from Montreal and now Turris from Ottawa.
  • The Ottawa Sun’s Bruce Garrioch writes that while the Senators did give up a lot to get Duchene, Ottawa general manager Pierre Dorion wanted Duchene badly and refused to allow this trade to slip by the team.
  • NHL.com’s Dan Rosen tweets that Girard is expected to join the Avalanche on the team’s trip to Sweden, suggesting that Girard will stay with Avalanche this season and not return to his junior team.

Matt Duchene Traded To Ottawa, Turris to Nashville

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The long-awaited trade, and I mean long-awaited, has finally happened as the Colorado Avalanche have traded their 26-year-old franchise center Matt Duchene to the Ottawa Senators in a three-team trade with the Nashville Predators, according to Elliotte Friedman. Ottawa will send veteran center Kyle Turris to Nashville, while Colorado receives a package of players and picks.

According to Friedman, the Avalanche will receive defenseman Samuel Girard and winger Vladislav Kamenev from Nashville and center Shane Bowers and goaltender Andrew Hammond from Ottawa. The Avs will also receive Ottawa’s 2018 first-round pick (top-10 protected), Nashville’s 2018 second-round pick and Ottawa’s 2019 third-round pick in the deal. Friedman adds that if the Senators 2018 first-round pick falls in the top 10, then it rotates to a 2019 first-rounder instead.

As part of the deal, the Predators have extended Turris with a six-year, $36MM extension that ensures him a long-term place as the team’s second-line center.

Those three teams attempted to complete a similar deal yesterday, but the deal fell through and after it was leaked to the press, many thought the trade could not be revisited. However, with two disgruntled players in Duchene and Turris, the three teams were able to get the deal done. In fact, the team made the trade in the middle of their game with the New York Islanders as Duchene was informed and removed from the game during the first period of action. Ironically, he will join his new teammates in Sweden when they face off against the Avalanche for two games on Nov. 10 and 11.

Duchene, the team’s face of their franchise for the last several years, was the third overall pick in 2009 and has been a key scorer for the team over the past nine seasons. The 26-year-old center has scored 178 goals and 250 assists in 585 games for Colorado. However, as the team has struggled especially over the past three years, combining for 100-126-20 record, the disgruntled center had hoped to be traded, but the high demands of general manager Joe Sakic made it difficult for teams to acquire Duchene. Instead, an entire offseason of speculation only created more drama and when training camp opened and Duchene was still in Colorado, he demanded a trade. Part of the problem was Duchene’s poor performance last year when the team had 56 losses and the center’s numbers were down. He tallied just 18 goals and 41 points last year. Duchene rebounded slightly this year, having put up four goals and six assists in 12 games.

In Ottawa, Duchene replaces Turris, a long-time member of the franchise who has scored 117 goals for the Senators in seven season. Turris, who would have been a free agent next year, wanted a seven-year deal with the franchise and at age 28, the team was hesitant to give him that type of long-term deal, especially when they have already committed a lot of money to aging players such as Dion Phaneuf and Bobby Ryan. Duchene gives the franchise more time as he is locked into his five-year, 30MM deal until after the 2018-19 season. And, at age 26, is a little younger than Turris.

Turris gives the Predators the second-string center they needed. This allows free agent acquisition Nick Bonino to center the team’s third line and Colton Sissons and Calle Jarnkrok to battle it out on that final line. Now locked up for the next six years after this one, Turris should provide stability for the franchise up the middle. He had an impressive year last year, putting up 27 goals and 28 assists for 55 points. So far in 11 games this year, Turris has three goals and nine points.

As for the Avalanche, it looks as if Sakic got exactly what he was hoping for as the team got a large haul for Duchene. The key to the trade was Girard, an offensively-gifted defenseman, who still needs to work on his defense. Sometimes compared to Will Butcher, who the team lost to New Jersey this offseason, he should help stabilize their defense. The 19-year-old blueliner made the Nashville team out of training camp, but has still only played five games with Nashville, which will force Colorado to decide whether to keep him with their team and burn his first year of his entry-level deal or send him back to his junior team and not get him back until his season is over. The Predators second-round pick in 2016 has been impressive on a team loaded with quality defenseman, but has found himself watching games from the press box lately. An elite skater with excellent passing skills, Girard should be a key member of the team’s defense along with 2017 first-rounder Cale Makar.

Kamenev, the Predators’ 2014 second-round pick, has been playing with the Milwaukee Admirals this year and has put up solid numbers with three goals and five assists in nine games so far. Last year, the 21-year-old prospect put up 21 goals and 30 assists for Milwaukee. A solid skater with excellent hands and size (6-foot-2), he could easily fit on one of the team’s lower lines to start off.

Ottawa also moved one of their top prospects. Already loaded with Colin White, Logan Brown and Filip Chlapik, the team felt comfortable trading Bowers, their 2017 first-rounder. Picked 28th overall, the 18-year-old center is currently playing for Boston University and has four goals and two assists in 10 games for the Hockey East team. Ottawa also got a break in sending Hammond to Colorado. The 29-year-old former backup goaltender lost his job to Mike Condon last season and was eventually put on waivers and sent to Belleville. Not long after, Hammond suffered a hip injury that required surgery. He will likely be sent to San Antonio, providing goaltending insurance for the Avalanche. It frees up logjam of goalies the team has in Belleville as the team already has 31-year-old Daniel Taylor as the two veterans are holding up the team’s young goalies.

Colorado also will get two extra picks in a strong 2018 draft and now will have two first-round picks, two second-round picks and a third-round pick. The extra third-rounder will have to wait until 2019.

Failed Trade Might Prompt Senators To Move Turris Quickly

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After Friday night’s attempt to deal Ottawa Senators’ Kyle Turris to Nashville in a three-team trade fell through, don’t be surprised if the Ottawa Senators escalate their search for a trade partner to fix this rapidly awkward situation. While no one was surprised that Turris was not available for interview after the team’s 5-4 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights Saturday, the situation has become much more tense in the past 24 hours. Not only that, but the team is

Bruce Garrioch of The Ottawa Sun writes that an extension with Turris is highly unlikely, especially now. And the fact that Turris almost got traded to Nashville suggests the team isn’t planning on trying. Supposedly, he is asking for seven years at $6MM annually, while Ottawa is offering five years at similar money. And while that doesn’t seem like the negotiations are too far off and a bridge could be found, there are definitely questions whether they ought to lock up the 29-year-old center to a long-term deal. They already have 30-year-old Bobby Ryan locked up for four more years after this one at $7.25MM and don’t forget 32-year-old defenseman Dion Phaneuf is signed for three more years at $7MM. To add another long-term deal where all of them could begin to decline at once, could place the team into a hole the franchise might not recover from. They also have to consider long-term extensions for Erik Karlsson and Mark Stone as well.

That leaves the trade option. And Garrioch writes they need to move quickly, because the team can’t afford to let him walk away at the seasons’ end for nothing and Ottawa needs to get as much value as possible for Turris, so they don’t even have the luxury of waiting until the trade deadline.

The obvious deal would be to still make a deal for Colorado’s Matt Duchene, who they were supposed to get in the three-team for Turris, but since a third team was needed to make the deal, it’s obvious that Colorado has no interest in Turris and why would they want a 29-year-old soon-to-be free agent to join their rebuild? Would the Senators move a player like Thomas Chabot and more to acquire Duchene?

The Athletic’s James Gordon (subscription required) writes that Nashville might still be a viable option. They are obviously interested in Turris since they were trying to get him yesterday. However, what will the Senators get back in return? Would they be willing to take a package of young players and hope that their young talent like Colin White and Logan Brown are ready to produce now? However, a trade for youth could also hold up the team’s success another year or two, which won’t help their core of veteran players.

While the questions remain unanswered for the time being, the team’s loss to Vegas today reiterates that the Senators are a playoff bubble-team at best, so changes might be necessary no matter what to improve the franchise’s long-term options.

Kyle Turris Now Asking For Seven Years Instead Of Eight

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While Senators center Kyle Turris has been seeking a max-term contract extension of eight years, Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun reports that his camp is now aiming for a seven-year extension worth roughly $6MM per season.  The team, meanwhile, continues to offer a five-year deal instead.  The timing of this report is certainly interesting considering Turris was believed to be part of a recent three-team trade with Colorado and Nashville that would have had him going to the Predators but the deal fell through.

Turris is poised to be one of the top centers available on the open market this summer if he makes it to free agency and should be able to land a long-term contract wherever he signs.  Will this report affect negotiations between him and the Senators though?  It may be difficult for Turris’ camp to return to the table knowing that the team has been recently including him in trade discussions so that will be certainly something to watch for.

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