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Quotable: Senators GM On Trade Market, Team Needs

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Ottawa Senators general manager Pierre Dorion expects trade talk to pick up in the next couple of weeks and is expected to gauge what the market looks like at the GM meetings set to take place in Toronto on Tuesday, writes Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun.

While Dorion was looking to add defensive depth both in the offseason and in training camp, he suggested that getting that doesn’t appear to be as much of a concern at the moment:

“Specifically I’m really happy about the play of Freddy Claesson coming up and I’ve always talked about adding depth on defence so I’m really happy about that and I don’t feel as much of a need as I did in training camp especially with the emergence of the way Chris Wideman and (Mark Borowiecki) have played.”

[Related: Senators Depth Chart]

Over the offseason, the team added center Derick Brassard and head coach Guy Boucher and the expectation was that the Sens would become an even higher scoring team after finishing ninth in the league in that regard in 2015-16.  However, that hasn’t been the case early on as the team has just 33 goals (excluding two awarded for shootout victories) which ranks them 27th in the league so far.  Despite that, Dorion won’t be actively pursuing another scorer and hopes that as the team adapts to Boucher’s new system, the goals will eventually come on their own:

“People are going to look at our scoring.  For me, to play good defensive structure we had to sacrifice goals early on but at the same time we’re winning games and that’s what matters the most. It’s not like any of the guys who have produced here in the past are in the tail end of their careers. They’re all still in their prime and they’re all still all going to be able to produce.”

With goaltender Andrew Hammond nearly ready to return, Dorion plans to sit down with Hammond and go over the options.  The team could ask him to play with their AHL affiliate for a couple of weeks on a conditioning stint but even if they don’t, the GM reiterated that they’re comfortable carrying three netminders (joining Craig Anderson and Mike Condon) for the foreseeable future.  A trade isn’t out of the equation either as Dorion is reportedly gauging the market on Hammond as well.

Senators Testing The Market On Andrew Hammond

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The Ottawa Senators are testing the market regarding backup goaltender Andrew Hammond, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports (Twitter link).  Hammond noted recently that he is close to being ready to return to game action after missing the last two weeks with a lower body injury.

The 28 year old has played in two games with the Senators so far this season, posting a 0-1-0 record with a 4.50 goals against average and a .793 save percentage.  Those are both well down from his career averages which are much stronger, a GAA of 2.25 and a SV% of .925.

Sep 27, 2016; Buffalo, NY, USA; Ottawa Senators goalie Andrew Hammond (30) during the game against the Buffalo Sabres at KeyBank Center. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Hoffman-USA TODAY SportsHis best run in the NHL came back in 2014-15 where he won 20 of 23 decisions after coming up late in the year to propel the Sens to a highly improbable postseason appearance.  That earned him a three year deal with a cap hit of $1.35MM; 2016-17 is the second season of that contract.

With the uncertainty surrounding Craig Anderson due to his wife’s cancer diagnosis, GM Pierre Dorion made a trade with Pittsburgh earlier this month to bring in Mike Condon to give them extra depth.  Condon has allowed just a single goal in two starts in Ottawa while stopping 58 of 59 shots.  He also has a cap hit of the league minimum $575K; those two factors could have him ahead of Hammond in the pecking order moving forward.

In the meantime, the team will soon have to decide whether or not to ask Hammond to accept a conditioning assignment.  Given how little he has played so far this season, that might go a long way towards shaping what type of value he might have on the trade market as teams will likely want him to shake off any potential rust before making a move for him.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Cole Schneider Recalled By Buffalo Sabres

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According to John Vogl of the Buffalo News, the Sabres will recall forward Cole Schneider prior to tonight’s game against the Ottawa Senators. No word on a corresponding move, though as reported earlier Ryan O’Reilly is questionable and Tyler Ennis is out.

Schneider is an established AHL scorer off to a blistering start this season with the Rochester Americans. Fifteen points in ten games leads the club and ties him for the league lead. A three time 20-goal scorer, he’s proven his offensive ability at the lower level and now much try to prove that he can contribute in the NHL.

The Sabres currently find themselves at the bottom of the Atlantic Division and looking for a way to score more goals; they currently rank 29th in goals for with just 25 in 12 games.

Atlantic Notes: Leafs Skate, Soshnikov, Blunden

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In a scene from a mid-90’s sports movie, the power went out at Maple Leafs practice today as the team was put through a hard practice by head coach Mike Babcock. The Leafs lost 7-0 to the Los Angeles Kings last night and, as Morgan Rielly put it (via Pierre LeBrun)“I think we all understood if we didnt skate last night we were going to skate today.” The young Leafs were on a three game winning streak before getting dismantled by the experienced Kings.

  • Also from practice today, Nikita Soshnikov was absent according to David Alter of NHL.com. With a groin injury, the coaching staff didn’t want to put him through the high-tempo practice. Soshnikov only just returned from injury a few games ago, but has contributed two points already and saw time with Auston Matthews during the loss.
  • Despite saying that Craig Anderson would be the starter whenever he was with the team, Mike Condon will start for the Sens tonight, according to head coach Guy Boucher. Condon recorded a shutout in his first game for the Sens last week.
  • Mike Blunden will be recalled from Binghamton to play tonight for the Senators, though no word has been given on who he’ll be replacing. The 29-year old has four points in nine AHL games thus far.
  • According to Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times, Jonathan Drouin is working out on his own, and still has no timetable to return to the Lightning. Drouin was injured a week ago on a hit from Calvin de Haan. Coach Jon Cooper says he’s “gradually coming along” in his recovery.

Jacob Trouba Signs Two-Year Deal With Winnipeg

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The Winnipeg Jets announced that they have re-signed defenseman Jacob Trouba to a two-year deal worth an AAV of $3MM with the Winnipeg Jets. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman was first with the report.  The contract will pay him a prorated $2.5MM this season and $3.5MM in 2017-18.  The restricted free agent had been holding out all season hoping for a trade to a different club where he could play a bigger role on his preferred right-side.

Jacob TroubaWhile this does not rule out a trade completely – as we saw with Kyle Turris just a few years ago – the Jets may have convinced Trouba that playing this year is more important than finding the perfect situation. The defenseman would have been ineligible to play had he not signed by December 1st.

The former first-round pick is considered a potential top-pairing defenseman able to play in all situations, and is currently blocked by both Dustin Byfuglien and Tyler Myers on the right-side. Believing he’s deserved of more minutes and a core role, many teams had inquired on him this summer and into the first part of the season.

Again, this doesn’t mean he won’t be dealt this season, in fact he may become even more desirable for teams who were worried about him demanding a long-term deal. Now with the cost certainty for the next two seasons, a club can fit him in under their payroll structure.  Teams like the Maple Leafs or Canucks now who have big contracts expiring over the next couple of seasons may find room and pick up the phone once again.

As Trouba likely realized, holding out is rarely helpful to a player’s case. While his hope was clear from the beginning, a strong front office can hold on and take any leverage you may have away from you. We saw it with Jonathan Drouin last season, who eventually made good with the club and has become a strong part, and the aforementioned Turris who was forced to sign a similar bridge deal before being dealt to the Ottawa Senators.

If Trouba can get back to playing, and prove that he’s the puck-moving shutdown defender that he’s looked like in the past, many teams around the league will be after him. At a $3MM hit this year and next, he’d be a welcome addition to almost any blueline.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Atlantic Notes: Canadiens, Senators, Lightning, Red Wings

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How are the top four teams in the Atlantic Division really doing?  There have been some surprises like Montreal’s red-hot start doused by a 10-0 drubbing at the hands of the Columbus Blue Jackets. The Ottawa Senators have played great defensively. And the Detroit Red Wings will need a lot more effort wise should they want to make a 26th consecutive playoff appearance. For now, let’s take a closer look at the top four teams in the division.

  • Montreal Canadiens (9-1-1; 19 points; 1st place)

The Habs have benefitted from the return of Carey Price, who has been sparkling between the pipes, registering a 6-0 record, a .964 save percentage, and a goalie point share of 2.3. Al Montoya was fine through Friday night until he surrendered 10 goals in a ghastly game against Columbus. Shea Weber has also been a bright spot, making Marc Bergevin look smart early after the blockbuster trade netted him for P.K. Subban. Weber has ten points (4-6) in 11 games, and leads the Habs in average ice time, logging nearly 26 minutes per night.

  • Ottawa Senators (7-3-0; 14 points; 2nd place)

The Sens have looked strong early, riding a three game winning streak through Friday despite playing a brutal game of musical chairs in net. Craig Anderson has been tending to his wife during a health concern and has been in and out Ottawa, understandably. Andrew Hammond suffered a lower body injury that will keep him out for at least a week. Despite this, the Sens have charged on, and contribution from Erik Karlsson, Kyle Turris, and Ryan Dzingel have helped. Though some think they’ll come back to earth, Guy Boucher has done well early on.

  • Tampa Bay Lightning (6-4-1; 13 points; 3rd place)

The Bolts have scored a lot of goals–but they’ve also been fishing the puck out of the net. After jumping out to a 5-1 start, the Lightning have gone 1-3-1 since and suffered from Ben Bishop looking very human with a pedestrian .891 save percentage. Though some of this can be chalked up to struggles and on the blue line, Bishop is in a contract year and isn’t doing enough to help himself–or the Bolts should they look to deal him away instead of losing him for nothing. Steven Stamkos continues to be dominant, putting up 13 points (7-6), while Nikita Kucherov is tied with him (3-10).

  • Detroit Red Wings (6-5-1; 13 points; 4th place)

Sure, they’re fourth, but the Red Wings record is probably the weakest of the any team in the Atlantic. The Bruins have two games in hand, and are only a point behind while the Leafs and Panthers are two points behind, with a game in hand. The Sabres, last in the division, are only three points out of the Wings’ spot. Thomas Vanek was a bright spot until a hip injury sidelined him for 2-3 weeks, but the defense has been abysmal. Worse, the Red Wings are coughing up leads in the third period. Personnel decisions have been questionable, too. The deployment of the OMG line–Steve Ott, Drew Miller and Luke Glendening–has been lampooned by many while younger players, such as Andreas Athanasiou, continue to get limited ice time. The Red Wings can’t afford to sit back should they want to make another playoff appearance. The division–and conference–are much better.

Lineup Updates: Backes, Carrier, Stone, Russell, Edler

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News and notes from around the NHL this morning:

  • The Boston Bruins announced that they expect David Backes back tonight in their tilt against the New York Rangers. Backes—the Bruins’ prized free agent signing this summer—has been out since October 24th with an elbow injury. The forward underwent surgery last week and sat out the past few games as he recovered. The Bruins did not want to rush Backes back, citing a need for complete recovery and to prevent infection. Surprisingly, the surgery was Backes’s first in his eleven-year career, reports CSN NE’s Joe Haggerty.
  • The Buffalo Sabres called up prospect William Carrier from the Rochester Americans early Friday morning, reports the Buffalo News’ John Vogl, in anticipation of tonight’s game against the Ottawa Senators. Carrier is having an excellent season in Rochester, scoring 3G and 1A in seven games.
  • Mark Stone returns to the lineup for the Ottawa Senators in the same game, says the team. Stone missed the Sens last game with a neck injury, but it was not severe enough to sideline him for more than a game. Stone has 1G and 4A in 9 games for the Senators after returning from a pre-season concussion.
  • The Edmonton Oilers will be without Kris Russell tonight as he sits with an undisclosed injury, reports Bob Stauffer of AM 630 CHED. Russell is still looking for his first goal of the season, but his defensive play has anchored the Oilers as they lead the Pacific Division. The new-look Edmonton defense featuring Adam Larsson and Russell allows the team to move the puck quickly to its highly-skilled forwards, something the team has lacked in years past.
  • The Vancouver Canucks announced that Alex Edler is day-to-day with an injury and will not suit up tonight against the Toronto Maple Leafs, reports Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friendman. Edler only has one goal on the season but is logging over 24 minutes a night. The Canucks have lost seven straight after winning their first four games to start the season.

Craig Anderson Returns To Senators

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Ottawa Senators goaltender Craig Anderson returns tonight against the Buffalo Sabres, reports the Ottawa Sun’s Bruce Garrioch. Anderson left the team for a second time this month following his wife Nicholle’s cancer diagnosis. The Sens reassigned goaltender Chris Driedger back to Binghamton to make room for Anderson.

Anderson initially left the team in October when his wife was first diagnosed, but returned after the Sens backup goaltender Andrew Hammond went down with an injury. Anderson posted two wins in his brief return, including an emotional shutout against the Edmonton Oilers. He then left the team again to be with his wife while the Senators announced that there was no timetable for his return.

It may not be a coincidence that tonight’s return is the same day as the NHL promotes Cancer Awareness day, and his presence is sure to garner extra attention. Anderson’s play, however, deserves attention regardless of what event the NHL is promoting. Anderson boasts a 6-1-0 record with a .924SV% and a 2.24GAA. And while it is a small sample size, his performance provides Ottawa with the goaltending stability necessary for the young team to progress.

Canada: The New Championship Drought To Watch For

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The Chicago Cubs won the World Series on Wednesday night, their first since 1908, snapping a 108-year championship drought, the longest by any team in North American professional sports history. Back in June, the Cleveland Cavaliers won the NBA Championship, snapping a 52-year drought for a city with three major pro sports teams. So what’s next on the drought-busting checklist?

Sure, there are a few teams and few cities still struggling. The NBA’s Sacramento Kings organization has not won a title in 65 years and never since their move to California. Wednesday night’s losers, the Cleveland Indians, haven’t taken home the hardware in 68 years. Ten NFL teams still have yet to win it all in the Super Bowl era. Yet, with the Cubs and Cleveland off the books, it seems like there’s a void in the championship drought department right now.

It’s time that attention turns not to any one team or city, but to the country of Canada. Canadian teams have combined to go 199 straight seasons without winning a major North American title. In 1993, the country was championship central, with both the Montreal Canadiens and Toronto Blue Jays winning their respective leagues. Since? Nothing.

It’s been 23 years now for the Blue Jays since they were MLB champs. They have come close over the years, but have failed to even take home an American League pennant. Playing in a division that has been one of the strongest in baseball over the past decade plus, which has housed four New York Yankees championship teams and three Boston Red Sox championship teams since 1993,  it’s been an uphill battle for the Blue Jays. Meanwhile, the Montreal Expos, title-less since their inception in 1969, were forced to relocate to Washington, D.C. in 2004 (where the drought continues to this day).

The Toronto Raptors are still seeking that elusive NBA championship. It’s been 21 years since the Raptors and Vancouver Grizzlies brought pro basketball to Canada in 1995, and neither team has been able to get it done. The Grizzlies moved to Memphis in 2000, where they too have yet to find glory. In a league that is unquestionably the most competitively unbalanced, a Raptors team with a lot of talent are still annual underdogs against the likes of the Cleveland Cavaliers and other Western Conference powerhouses.

Of course, the biggest drought-magnifier is the NHL. With seven teams competing in a 30-team league, Canada should have close to a 25% chance to win the Stanley Cup every season. Alas, no such feat has been accomplished in 23 seasons. The odds of that happening: less than 1%. The Toronto Maple Leafs are tied with the St. Louis Blues for the longest championship drought in the league at 48 years. The Vancouver Canucks, established in 1970, have never won the Cup. After Alberta went back-to-back in 1989 and 1990, the Calgary Flames and Edmonton Oilers have not won since. The Ottawa Senators, the 1992 NHL expansion team, has also never gotten it done, and their first season, 1992-93, was the first and last time that they even saw a Canadian champ, with Montreal taking the crown. Both iterations of the Winnipeg Jets are also without a Stanley Cup and Quebec Nordiques fans sat and watched their team move to Denver and establish the Colorado Avalanche dynasty at the turn of the century.

To make matters worse, no Canadian team even qualified for the Stanley Cup playoffs last year, and the Oilers have a league-high ten-year drought of even making the postseason. Canada’s NHL teams are in need of some puck luck, and the Blue Jays and Raptors will take some as well. With the two biggest drought story lines in sports now over, it’s time that North American sports fans turn to the northernmost of the two participating countries. Canada needs a championship, and they need one soon.

If there’s any consolation, the only more tortured fan base than the country of Canada is their closest neighbor to the south, Buffalo, New York. Misery loves company.

Craig Anderson Again Away From Team; Timetable Uncertain

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In a story that sounds like it will be one of the focus points of the season for the Senators (however unfairly), Craig Anderson has again left the Ottawa Senators to be with his wife Nicholle. The goaltender’s wife was recently diagnosed with cancer, prompting the team to go out and get Mike Condon from the Pittsburgh Penguins for exactly this reason.

The 35-year old Anderson recorded an emotional shutout in his return to the net after learning of the diagnosis, and stopped 32 of 33 shots on Tuesday over Carolina. In his career with Ottawa, the veteran netminder now carries a 2.63 GAA and .919 save percentage, both outstanding numbers.

Even though the Senators were forced to give up a fifth-round pick for Condon, a player Pittsburgh had only just acquired on waivers three weeks earlier, it should provide them with some stability behind Anderson while Andrew Hammond nurses a groin injury. Even when Hammond returns, the team might elect to carry three goaltenders for the remainder of the year.

As everyone does when they write about this story, the staff here at PHR would like to extend our thoughts to the Anderson family. Many people’s lives are affected by cancer every day, but usually sports tends to provide relief from serious matters. If you’d like to help, check out #HockeyFightsCancer for donations and support.

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