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Snapshots: Senators Arena, Pysyk, Öhgren

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Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia is reporting that new Ottawa Senators owner Michael Andlauer estimates that a new arena in Ottawa would cost around $900MM and must make economic sense in order for it to happen. A new Ottawa arena has been an ongoing saga in the City of Ottawa for nearly a decade and according to some economists, it should be the first order of business for the new owner.

The Senators have played in the Ottawa suburb of Kanata since 1996 in a building that felt out of date shortly after it opened. The team has been lobbying for quite some time to get a new venue in Ottawa’s downtown core but has yet to be successful in breaking ground on a new arena. Previous owner Eugene Melnyk came close in 2016 when he tried to make a deal to build a new arena on federal land, but ultimately fell short of his goal. With the Senators now firmly under Andlauer’s control, it should be interesting to see if the Senators are finally able to break ground on a new building in a more central part of the city.

In other notes:

  • Pittsburgh Hockey Now is reporting that defenseman Mark Pysyk saw his attempted comeback hit a roadblock yesterday as he was injured in a pre-season game with the Pittsburgh Penguins. Pysyk has been trying to catch on with the Penguins for this season as he plays out training camp on a PTO. The 31-year-old missed all last season after signing with the Detroit Red Wings and hasn’t played a full season since he posted three goals and nine assists with the Buffalo Sabres in 2021-22. No information on Pysyk’s status or injury has been released at this time.
  • Färjestad BK announced today that Minnesota Wild prospect Liam Öhgren will be leaving Sweden to travel to Minnesota to undergo testing on an undisclosed injury. The injury has kept the 2022 19th overall pick off the ice this season and the Wild have opted to get a second opinion on the nature of his injury. Öhgren signed his entry-level contract last summer and has been on loan in Sweden since then. He was expected to make the jump to North America for the 2024-25 season, but with the uncertainty surrounding the injury, little is known about Öhgren’s playing future.

Michael Andlauer Says Salary Cap Needs To Be Sustainable

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  • New Senators owner Michael Andlauer spoke to the team’s salary cap situation and unsigned RFA Shane Pinto. He told the Ottawa Sun’s Bruce Garrioch that, “We’re at the cap. We have a problem signing Shane Pinto because we are at the cap. At the end of the end of the day, it’s about sustainability and making sure we have enough money in the coffers to pay our players and making sure we’re sustainable”. He went on to emphasize that player success drives fan interest, which then drives the money ownership can put back toward the players. While these comments likely don’t impact the chances of Pinto re-signing, they could limit the upside of his cap hit.

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Peter Chiarelli Could Join Ottawa's Front Office

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Could long-time NHL executive Peter Chiarelli be on the move again?  Long-time Senators reporter Brent Wallace reported on his podcast recently (video link) that Chiarelli has moved to Ottawa and is likely to join the Sens in some capacity.  He actually started his career with Ottawa as their Director of Legal Relations before moving to Boston and later Edmonton as their GM.  Chiarelli has spent the last four seasons in St. Louis, the last two of which were as their Vice President of Hockey Operations.  Wallace notes that Chiarelli has ties to new owner Michael Andlauer whose purchase was formally approved on Thursday.  He has already made one front office hire in bringing back Cyril Leeder and it looks like more could soon be coming.

Ottawa Senators Officially Sold To Michael Andlauer

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5:00 PM: The NHL has now officially announced that Andlauer’s purchase of the Senators has been unanimously approved by the NHL’s Board of Governors.

1:08 PM: Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun reported that, per his sources, Michael Andlauer and partners are set to officially sign for the sale of the Ottawa Senators on Thursday. This concludes what’s turned into a bit of a saga, following the Senators’ official offering of the club 10 months ago.

A slew of potential future owners of the Senators came forward in those 10 months, including a bidding group led by music artists Snoop Dogg and The Weeknd and one involving actor Ryan Reynolds. Other names rumored to be involved at one point or another included Toronto-based brothers Jeffery and Michael Kimel, founders of Harlo Entertainment.

But in the end, it was a part-owner of the Montreal Canadiens that stepped forward with the winning bid. As part of his journey to own the Senators, Andlauer had to complete a sale of his 10 percent stake in the Canadiens – with majority owner Geoff Molson purchasing those shares.

Andlauer’s bidding group includes Anna and Olivia Melnyk – daughters of the late Eugene Melnyk who will maintain a 10 percent stake in the team – Ottawa-based businessman Jeff York, the Ottawa real estate-based Malhorta family, the Toronto-based investment group Yorkville Asset Management, owners of Alinea Group Holdings Paul and Michael Paletta, and Rocco Tullio: the owner of the Oshawa Generals.

The group came together to offer a $950MM (USD) bid, $150MM more than a Forbes valuation that was cited by many outlets during much of the sale’s journey. This marks the highest price an NHL team has ever sold for.

Andlauer and his team are expected to announced as the official fourth owners in franchise history at a press conference on Friday, barring any last minute hiccups, per Garrioch.

Ottawa Senators Sign Djibril Touré To Entry-Level Deal

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The Ottawa Senators have made their first official signing of the Michael Andlauer era. Late-blooming defenseman Djibril Touré has signed a three-year entry-level contract with the club.

Senators general manager Pierre Dorion issued the following statement regarding the signing:

Djibril’s growth over the last two years has been remarkable. He’s come a long way, from playing in the CCHL as recently as two seasons ago, to earn this contract. He’s a rangy defender who skates well and who has shown consistent improvement in his game.

This signing is an intriguing one, especially given that Touré has only one season of OHL hockey under his belt. Ranked 178th by NHL Central Scouting for the 2023 draft, Touré went undrafted in the 2023 process. Touré is clearly a player the Senators have been tracking, though, and after an impressive showing with the Senators in the prospect tournament in Buffalo he earns his entry-level deal.

The biggest reason as to why Touré is an intriguing player is undoubtedly his size. Touré stands six-foot-seven, and as a result has the type of reach and overpowering physical ability that can make life miserable for opposing attackers. He also is quite a bit more mobile than one might expect of someone his size, and Touré’s skating is at times genuinely impressive.

While he didn’t put up a ton of offense in his lone season for the Sudbury Wolves (16 points in 57 games) Touré’s abilities in his own end should give him a chance to succeed as a professional.

With this entry-level deal in hand, he’ll be able to take the ice for the Belleville Senators in the AHL this fall. He’ll look to continue to develop his game with an eye on eventually making a push for an NHL call-up.

Joshua Norris Tweaks Shoulder Injury, Still Practicing In Full

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  • Ottawa Senators forward Joshua Norris was seen wearing a non-contact jersey as the team opened camp. The forward has been rehabbing from shoulder surgery in January and reportedly “tweaked” something at a recent team practice. General manager Pierre Dorion said that Norris pushed off wanting to wear a non-contact jersey but the team wants to be extra cautious. However, Dorion also shared that if the regular season started tomorrow, Norris would be in the starting lineup. That’s encouraging to hear, as Norris was held out of all but eight games last season, after recording 35 goals and 55 points in 66 games during the 2021-22 campaign. Norris will likely slot into the Senators’ top-six when they open up the regular season, although continuing to see how he progresses from this shoulder injury will be worth monitoring.

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Senators, Shane Pinto "Not Far Apart" In Negotiations

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  • Things are still progressing on the Shane Pinto front for the Ottawa Senators. The RFA remains without a contract as training camp looms in a matter of hours now, but general manager Pierre Dorion tells TSN’s Claire Hanna he’s getting “creative” in freeing up cap space to sign the young center. Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch also chimed in today, reporting the Sens and Pinto aren’t far apart on a new deal but that many moving parts (i.e., creating cap space via trade) still need to get worked out. While it’s anyone’s guess if Pinto will be in attendance for the first day of training camp, it does seem the wheels are in motion to make things work, and it won’t be too much longer before he reports, new contract in hand.

Josh Norris Will Start Camp Wearing Non-Contact Jersey

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The Ottawa Senators’ playoff hopes were dashed last season in large part due to the absence of second-line center Josh Norris from the lineup. A shoulder injury sustained during training camp limited him to just eight games, but the team hoped he’d be fully ready to go this season after shutting him down for the 2022-23 campaign in January. That may not be the case, as general manager Pierre Dorion said today Norris will wear a non-contact jersey to begin training camp after tweaking something partially related to his shoulder during a captains’ skate last week.

Ottawa Senators Sign Egor Sokolov To Two-Way Contract

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The Ottawa Senators have signed winger Egor Sokolov to a one-year, two-way contract, according to a team release. Sokolov will earn the league minimum $775K NHL salary while earning $120K in the minors.

Sokolov was one of two remaining unsigned Ottawa RFAs alongside Shane Pinto and one of just six remaining leaguewide after the Minnesota Wild came to terms with defenseman Calen Addison today. He was on Ottawa’s training camp roster announced earlier today, hinting the two sides would reach a deal before camps kick off Thursday. The 23-year-old will now turn his focus to gearing up for his fourth season playing pro in the Sens organization after they selected him in the late second round of the 2020 NHL Draft. He spent nearly all of last season in the minors, leading AHL Belleville in scoring with 59 points (21 goals, 38 assists) in 70 games.

That continued a trend of strong minor-league production since joining Belleville three years ago, although it’s only led to a total of 13 NHL appearances thus far. He’ll look to at least double that number this season as he battles for a fourth-line role during training camp and, even if he doesn’t make the team, will be one of Ottawa’s first call-up options.

Sokolov not making the opening night roster is a tough scenario to envision despite his limited experience, however. He’s now lost his waiver exemption, meaning any NHL team could snag him on the waiver wire if the Sens attempt to assign him to the minors pre-season. With a cheap one-year, two-way commitment, it’s extremely likely the strong-shooting winger would get claimed.

He’ll be a restricted free agent once again next summer, but this time he’ll have arbitration rights. With Pinto still unsigned, the Senators now have just north of $120K in cap space with a roster of 12 forwards, seven defensemen and two goalies, according to CapFriendly.

Senators Notes: Sokolov, Pinto, Andlauer

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The biggest-name Ottawa Senator who remains an unsigned restricted free agent is undoubtedly center Shane Pinto, though he’s not alone in that status. Forward Egor Sokolov is also without a contract for next season, although that isn’t anticipated to impact his ability to participate in the team’s training camp.

Sokolov was officially named to the club’s training camp roster today, while Pinto was not. And according to Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch, the expectation is that even if Sokolov doesn’t have a deal in place, he’ll still report to training camp tomorrow. Garrioch adds that Sokolov’s camp and the Senator have “continued to talk” on finalizing a new contract. It’s an extremely important preseason for Sokolov, who will be in a battle for an NHL job in Ottawa. He’s waivers-eligible for the first time in his career, and after scoring 109 points across the last two AHL campaigns it’s clear this is a make-or-break training camp for Sokolov’s NHL dreams in Ottawa.

Some other notes regarding the Senators:

  • Garrioch relayed an update from a radio appearance by Senators GM Pierre Dorion today, regarding the status of Pinto. Dorion said he has gone “back and forth with Pinto’s camp this morning ” negotiating an extension, but although he “wants to get a deal done as quickly as possible” he can’t actually put a timeline on when that would happen. It’s possible that the Senators are staring down the prospect of an extended absence for Pinto, something that would be a significant loss for the club. The Senators are desperate to finally escape their rebuild and make the playoffs, but have been prone to slow starts to seasons under head coach D.J. Smith. Being without a strong two-way center who scored 20 goals last season would certainly not help matters.
  • Incoming Senators owner Michael Andlauer told the media today at the Senators Foundation golf tournament that he hopes his purchase of the Senators will officially close by the end of the week. The Senators’ sale process has been a long process, but now it appears that the sale is finally reaching a conclusion, assuming Andlauer’s hopes become reality.

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