Ottawa Senators Will Not Re-Sign Chris Neil
After nearly two decades with the Ottawa Senators organization, Chris Neil has been told he will not be returning to the team next year according to Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Citizen. He does want to play another season, meaning he’ll have to find work on the open market when he becomes an unrestricted free agent on July 1st. It was clear that there is no frustration between the two sides, mutually agreeing to part ways. 
Neil, 37, was drafted by the Senators 161st-overall in 1998 as a tough kid with some scoring chops out of the OHL, and quickly made a name for himself in the IHL after turning pro. With more than 300 penalty minutes in both of his minor league seasons, Neil also showed he could chip in on the score sheet and proved it in the NHL with 10 goals as a rookie in 2001-02. Over his career he turned into the prototypical enforcer for the new NHL, able to skate and play well enough to contribute more than just a 30-second bout and five minute major each night. In 1,026 career regular season games, Neil registered 250 points and 2,522 penalty minutes.
When he becomes an unrestricted free agent, it will be interesting to see how many teams would be willing to bring him aboard. He suited up for 53 games for the Senators this season, registering four points and seeing the fewest minutes of ice time in his whole career. He can still get under the skin of an opponent with the best of them, but didn’t fit into Guy Boucher’s stifling defensive trap well enough to deserve any real role on the team. Somewhere else, he may find a spot adding some veteran leadership and experience while “protecting” a young lineup. Steve Ott‘s one-year deal with the Red Wings could be a good place to start as a comparison, which earned the aging pest $800K last season.
If he can’t find a role, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Neil move into some sort of coaching role eventually as many “tough guys” do. Garrioch writes that there has even been talk between Neil and the Senators about a role in the past, though it’s unclear if there would still be interest. Neil and his family have made a big impact on the Ottawa community, including taking over as co-chairs of Roger’s House, a children’s palliative care center, after Mike Fisher was traded to Nashville. Whether or not he’s ever connected to the Senators organization again, his impact on the people there will last much longer than his playing career.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Dion Phaneuf Not Expected To Waive NMC
Even though he was asked to waive his no-movement clause in order for the Ottawa Senators to protect a different defenseman, Bob McKenzie of TSN reports that Dion Phaneuf is expected to refuse the request. He will not waive, and thus will require automatic protection in the expansion draft should he remain on the roster when the protection lists are submitted on Saturday evening.
Phaneuf is one of the most interesting cases among players asked to waive, as his contract only contains a limited no-trade clause that allows him to block deals to all but ten teams. That’s how the Maple Leafs executed the previous deal that sent him to Ottawa, and how the Senators could potentially move him again in order to protect someone else. Currently, the team will have to choose between Marc Methot and Cody Ceci for the final defensive slot if they go with the 7-3-1 protection method, with Chris Wideman and Mark Borowiecki having cases of their own.
Ottawa could go with the eight skater protection method, but that would leave several interesting forwards available. Obviously the team hoped that Phaneuf would waive the clause, assuming his contract would be protection enough against selection. As we discussed back in February when it was first suggested that the team would ask him, there is no guarantee that Vegas would pass up a former Norris finalist and Maple Leafs captain even with his hefty cap hit. The 32-year old Phaneuf comes with a $7MM cap hit for the next four seasons, but his actual salary drops to $5.5MM by the final season.
The Senators will now have to figure out which direction they take. Do they move Phaneuf (if they can) and take whatever asset they can get for him, or risk watching another good defenseman walk out the door for free. There is always the option of making a side-deal with Vegas, something that many teams around the league may have to do.
Keith Yandle, Dion Phaneuf Asked To Waive No-Movement Clauses
With the Expansion Draft fast approaching, many players are expected to be approached themselves about waiving the No-Movement clauses attached to their contracts as their teams look to strategically navigate the strict expansion process. In his weekly “30 Thoughts” article posted this afternoon, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman states that he has heard that two big-name defenseman, Dion Phaneuf and Keith Yandle, have already been asked for such a waiver by their respective teams.
The news on Phaneuf is not unexepected; in fact many people have suspected all season long that the Ottawa Senators may ask the veteran to waive his No-Movement clause. The Senators have too much forward depth to apply the eight-skater protection scheme for the Expansion Draft and must instead use the 7-3 scheme. Thus, only three Ottawa defenseman can be protected. All-world blue liner Erik Karlsson is an obvious lock and presumably the other two spots would go to shutdown two-way man Marc Methot and young Cody Ceci if Phaneuf does choose to waive. If he doesn’t, the Sens would face a difficult choice between the two or would be forced into striking a trade over the next week. Phaneuf’s situation is interesting in that he actually outscored Ceci and Methot combined in 2016-17 and he has was more or less a complete success in his first full season in Ottawa, capped off by a strong playoff. The ideal scenario for Ottawa is to retain all three defenseman, but after the season that Phaneuf had, as well as his status as a well-known player, it could entice the Golden Knights and a waiver could mean the Senators end up losing their second-best defenseman. On the other hand, exposing Ceci, and to some extent Methot, would almost ensure losing either of them as well.
The situation with Yandle is a much bigger story. The Florida Panthers acquired Yandle’s negotiating rights from the New York Rangers around this time last year and inked him to a massive seven-year, $44.45MM contract. Yandle bypassed free agency and potentially more money to become the long-term partner of Calder-winner Aaron Ekblad and, at age 30, seemed poised to be a Panther for the rest of his career. Now it seems that might not be true. After just one year, Florida appears open to moving on from Yandle. The Panthers face a difficult expansion scenario on defense with, like the Senators, too many promising forwards to protect four defenseman. Even if they could, Florida would really like to protect five: Ekblad, Yandle, Jason Demers, another 2016 free agency splurge, and young play-makers Alex Petrovic and Mark Pysyk. All five defenseman meet the number of games needed (40 this past season or 70 over the past two seasons) to qualify for the one-defenseman exposure quota, but Petrovic and Pysyk are impending restricted free agents and the other half of the exposure criteria is term remaining on a contract. Thus, only Ekblad, Yandle, or Demers could fill the quota, unless Petrovic, Pysyk, or Jakub Kindl were re-signed just to be exposed. With Ekblad untouchable and Yandle having a No-Movement clause, at this time Demers is the only choice to be the sacrificial lamb. Vegas will surely have some interest in the 28-year-old righty, whether it be to lead their own defense or to flip to another suitor. However, by asking Yandle to waive his clause, it appears that Florida is instead leaning toward keeping Demers to themselves. Why? In his first season with Florida, Yandle did play in all 82 games and recorded 41 points, a good season by any measure, but it was in fact the worst production of any full season to date for the 11-year veteran. The Panthers may be worried that, at 30-years-old, Yandle is already on the decline, while Demers and his cap hit of nearly $2MM less for four more years may be a better investment. It will be interesting to see whether Yandle indeed waives his clause or not, but make no mistake: like Demers, if Yandle is exposed he will be an easy choice for Vegas to select to either highlight their blue line or trade to a contender.
Derick Brassard, Brandon Dubinsky Require Surgery
Tuesday June 6th: Brassard underwent successful labrum surgery and started in on his four to five month recovery time. While GM Pierre Dorion announced that the Senators “remain hopeful that [Brassard] will be ready for the start of the 2017-18 regular season” it’s now almost exactly four months to opening night, meaning Brassard will at least miss all of training camp.
Tuesday May 30th: Two more forwards have been revealed to have serious injuries, as both Derick Brassard of the Senators and Brandon Dubinsky of the Blue Jackets will be out several months. According to Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia, Brassard will undergo surgery to repair a torn labrum and faces a four to five month recovery, while Dubinsky has already had wrist surgery and will be out for three months. 
Obviously the news is worse for Brassard, whose timeline will likely cause him to miss at least all of training camp if not the start of the 2017-18 regular season. After being traded from the New York Rangers last summer, Brassard’s offensive production took a step back under notoriously defensive-minded head coach Guy Boucher. With only 39 points in 81 games, Brassard nevertheless put up an excellent possession season as the Senators #2 center.
In the playoffs, Brassard stepped up his game and scored 11 points in 19 games, tied for second on the team among forwards. He currently has just two seasons remaining on his current deal before hitting unrestricted free agency, making any loss of time next season even more painful for the Senators.
For Dubinsky, it will mean a summer nursing his wrist back to full health and trying to get ready in time for training camp. The 31-year old forward had another solid season with 41 points, and once again led the team with 248 hits. His physical style is exactly what the Blue Jackets have modeled their structure after, trying to beat up opponents with four lines of heavy bodies chasing pucks in the offensive zone. He was also the Blue Jackets’ best faceoff man, winning 51.7% of his draws this season. It will be interesting to see how he reacts in the circle next season, as wrist injuries often affect a center’s faceoff ability.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Anaheim Ducks, Paul MacLean Part Ways
Fresh off a playoff elimination at the hands of the Nashville Predators in the Western Conference Final, the Anaheim Ducks don’t seem content to stand pat this off-season. Changes are expected to come this summer, and the first news has come out already. Assistant coach Paul MacLean, whose current contract had come to an end, will not be retained. According to the team, it was a mutual parting of ways.
MacLean, 59, is a former NHL head coach and Jack Adams Award-winner, serving as the bench boss for the Ottawa Senators from 2011 to 2014, leading the team to the postseason twice in three (and a half) seasons. MacLean was fired by Ottawa midway through the 2014-15 campaign. MacLean joined the Ducks that off-season, working under Bruce Boudreau, whom he beat out for the Jack Adams in 2013. After Boundreau was fired and replaced by Randy Carlyle last year, MacLean was retained. However, the team has promised to shake things up and it appears that they felt the best move for the team was to move on from the veteran coach.
MacLean will certainly land on his feet. Beyond Ottawa and Anaheim, MacLean has an extensive coaching resume to lean on. MacLean had previously served as an assistant in Anaheim before, under Mike Babcock with the Mighty Ducks in the early 2000’s, and followed Babcock to Detroit as well. MacLean also has a long, successful history in the minor leagues where, if no NHL opportunities arise, he would surely be welcomed back. MacLean’s son, A.J., is also an assistant coach with the OHL’s Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds, so don’t rule out a move to Canadian major junior either. MacLean will be fine; the Ducks on the other hand are just beginning their re-tool and more news is sure to come this off-season.
Jyrki Jokipakka Will Not Receive Qualifying Offer, Will Play In Europe Next Season
According to Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia, Jyrki Jokipakka will not be given a qualifying offer this summer by the Ottawa Senators. The 25-year old defenseman was arbitration eligible and set to become a restricted free agent, but instead will head to Europe to play in the professional ranks there.
Jokipakka was acquired by the Senators in the Curtis Lazar trade at the deadline from the Calgary Flames, but his Ottawa tenure will come to an end before it even really begins. He played just three games for the Senators down the stretch and never suited up in the playoffs. He was apparently next in line behind Erik Karlsson, but the Ottawa captain played on a fractured foot instead of sitting in the press box.
Traded twice in his North American career, Jokipakka looked like he had an NHL future somewhere. While there is no indication where he’ll play next year, the Finnish defenseman played three seasons for Ilves Tampere of Liiga in Finland before coming over to the Dallas Stars’ system. Perhaps he’ll return to his home country and try to rebuild his game.
Ottawa Senators Sign Christian Jaros To ELC
The Ottawa Senators have brought in another intriguing defensive prospect, inking Christian Jaros to a three-year entry-level contract. The financials of the deal are still unknown. Jaros has played the last three seasons in the Swedish Hockey League, where he recorded 13 points in 36 games this year.
Just 21, Jaros was selected in the fifth round of the 2015 draft and has had two solid development years in the SHL. The 6’3″ 214-lbs defender has both the size and skating ability to compete at the next level. One of his biggest assets, open ice hitting, is something Ottawa Senators fans should be excited about as he can close a gap incredibly quickly and accelerates through the offensive player. His hits are already on highlight reels all over the internet, and many Canadian fans may remember him from the World Juniors when he caught Max Domi in the middle of the ice.
The Senators, who have a blue-chip defensive prospect in Thomas Chabot coming up next season, will have to decide whether to bring Jaros over to North America right away or allow him another development year in Sweden. The Slovakian defender might have an NHL future in the next few years, as his offensive game is also not to be overlooked. Armed with a big shot—that he sometimes has trouble getting off—he could develop into a solid all-around defender with the ability to compliment a more offensive player.
Bobby Ryan's Cap-Hit May Be Built In Protection For Expansion Draft
- As we wrote about earlier today, Ottawa Senators forward Bobby Ryan may have pushed himself back into the discussion about expansion protection with his standout playoffs. Jared Clinton of The Hockey News doesn’t think so though as he lists Ryan among his players that have built-in protection due to their cap hits. Ryan himself thinks he’s “pretty safe”, telling the media that he doesn’t think Vegas would want his $7.25MM cap-hit. Ryan currently has a no-movement clause of sorts, but it is not the same as say, Dion Phaneuf‘s clause that will force him to be protected should he not waive it. Ryan is not on the list of automatic protection, as his clause only stops movement to the minors. He doesn’t need to waive it to be exposed.
Craig Anderson Will Be Protected From Expansion Draft
Though it doesn’t come as much of a surprise, Ottawa Senators GM Pierre Dorion confirmed today that Craig Anderson will be the goalie protected for the team in the upcoming expansion draft. With Mike Condon set to become an unrestricted free agent, that means the Golden Knights will get a chance to negotiate with him prior to the draft, and also puts into question whether the Senators will look to retain him on a longer-term contract after the season. Anderson has just a single year left on his contract, but at 36 was one of the biggest reasons the Senators reached game 7 of the Eastern Conference final.
While protecting Anderson seems like the obvious choice after his excellent season—the veteran goaltender put up a .926 save percentage despite his personal issues—Condon looks more like the future in Ottawa should they be able to sign him. Dorion mentioned during his press conference that if they can’t sign Condon (which would confirm that they’re trying to) that Andrew Hammond could be in as the backup to Anderson, and though Hammond had a Cinderella-like run when his career started, he had a terrible season fighting injury and is already 29-years old. Dorion admits talks with Condon haven’t gone well so far, but that he will speak to his agent next week.
In terms of other players being protected, Dorion was less forthcoming. He put it simply:
We’re going to lose a player. That’s part of the deal. Las Vegas payed a lot of money to get in this league, and that’s part of the deal. Are you mad about it? No. That’s part of the deal. We’ve got enough depth that I don’t see any radical changes to this team.
There has been much speculation about the possibility of Bobby Ryan being exposed, though when Ian Mendes of TSN asked if Dorion had changed his mind during the playoffs about certain players, the GM said that they have to take everything into account. Ryan exploded in the playoffs after a dreadful season, turning into one of the team’s best forwards. After scoring just 25 points in the regular season, Ryan put up 15 in the Senators’ 19 playoff games and may have done enough to warrant protection once again. Supremely talented, Ryan has the biggest cap-hit on the team and is signed through the 2021-22 season.
Rookie Colin White Draws In For Senators In Game Six
In a decisive Game 6 match-up of the Eastern Conference Final against the Pittsburgh Penguins, the Ottawa Senators have decided to go outside the box. Following an embarrassing 7-0 loss in Game 5, head coach Guy Boucher has made the call that the team needs a different look tonight, and that means rookie center Colin White will get the call. This is the third NHL game for white and, obviously, the first playoff game of his young career. Will he be a game-changer for the Senators?
White may be making his NHL postseason debut, but he’s actually played postseason hockey already this season. White signed his entry-level contract with Ottawa on April 2nd, after his NCAA season with Boston College came to an end. White, the 21st overall pick in 2015, was nearly a point-per-game player for BC this season, with 16 goals and 17 assists in 35 games, and helped to lead the Eagles to finals of the Hockey East conference tournament. However, White’s squad fell to the University of Massachusetts-Lowell, and without the automatic bid, did not have the resume to qualify for the NCAA tournament.
Since then, White has played in just five games – two scoreless outings with Ottawa and three games (with three points) for the AHL Binghamton Senators, who missed the playoffs – and he is now being called on to enter the Eastern Conference Final cold and provide a spark on offense. White’s inclusion is not so much the result of injury, although Alexandre Burrows remains sidelined, but instead a decision of pace and positioning. Ottawa dressed seven defenseman for Game 5, which was undoubtedly their worst performance of the 2017 postseason, and Bocher decided not to continue that practice. He also declined to dress slower physical veteran forwards like Chris Kelly or Chris Neil in favor or the young White, hoping that his youthful energy would help to keep pace with the speedy Penguins. White is a well-rounded prospect with high-end possession ability and good visions and hockey intelligence. However, he’s being thrown into the fire in this situation, as the Senators are desperate for all the help they can get to stay alive tonight.