- Continuing with goaltending news, Bruce Garrioch of TSN reports that the Ottawa Senators have recalled Leevi Merilainen from their AHL affiliate Belleville Senators, as Mads Sogaard will be out of the lineup with an illness. Although the Senators have dealt with a goalie carousel this season, this will mark Merilainen’s first official call-up to the NHL, although it remains to be seen if he will play in any games. In his first and only start in Belleville, Merilainen recorded a shutout.
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Senators Rumors
Derick Brassard Undergoes Season-Ending Surgery
The news isn’t great for Senators center Derick Brassard. After being injured in Thursday’s victory over Philadelphia, head coach D.J. Smith told reporters including Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch (Twitter link) that Brassard has undergone surgery to repair a fractured fibula. In a separate tweet, Garrioch adds that the recovery timeline is at least six to eight weeks and that Brassard had a plate put in.
It’s certainly a tough end to the season for the 35-year-old. Brassard had been a quality depth contributor for the Sens this year, chipping in with 13 goals in 62 games, his highest goal total since the 2019-20 campaign. Perhaps more impressive is that he was able to do so while logging just 12:11 per contest, his lowest ATOI since his rookie year back in 2007-08.
Brassard had to settle for a training camp PTO last fall but was able to earn himself a one-year contract at the league minimum. Having bounced around considerably in recent years – Ottawa is his eighth different team since 2018-19 – he’s someone whose ability to earn a contract for next season was already in question. Unfortunately, an injury like this certainly doesn’t help in that regard. Accordingly, it’s quite possible that Brassard will have to settle for a tryout once again if he looks to try to extend his 16-year NHL career any further.
Meanwhile, TSN’s Claire Hanna relays (Twitter link) that defensemen Travis Hamonic (lower body), Thomas Chabot (upper body), and Jakob Chychrun (hamstring) won’t accompany the Sens on their upcoming three-game road trip. Of the three, Smith noted that he’s hopeful that Hamonic will be able to return by the end of the season so it appears Chabot and Chychrun have seen their 2022-23 campaigns come to an end.
Ottawa Senators Recall Jacob Bernard-Docker
The Ottawa Senators have recalled defenseman Jacob Bernard-Docker from their AHL affiliate, the Belleville Senators, per a team announcement. The 2018 first-round pick last played in the NHL in January, and in total has played in 13 games for Ottawa this season.
Bernard-Docker’s last stretch of NHL action came between January 16th and 21st, when he played in four games and got between 21 and 14 and a half minutes per game.
He’s registered just one point in his 13 games this year, but it’s important to note with Bernard-Docker that offense isn’t the priority. He’s more of a stay-at-home defender who earns his keep by playing a positionally sound crease-clearing game.
He’s done that to this point in the AHL, playing as a top-pairing defenseman for Belleville. What he hasn’t been able to do, though, is find a way to stick in the NHL consistently.
He was afforded an extended developmental runway at the University of North Dakota and performed well there, but as the Senators have been in need of capable NHL defensemen Bernard-Docker has been passed over in favor of other options in the past.
Eligible for restricted free agency in the offseason, this recall is an important opportunity for Bernard-Docker to leave a lasting, positive impression on the Senators organization.
Bernard-Docker will be eligible for waivers next season, meaning the time when the Senators need to make a choice as to whether he’s in their NHL plans is rapidly approaching. However many NHL games this recall earns Bernard-Docker will be his chance to make that choice a lot easier.
Injury Notes: Buchnevich, Thomas, Chabot, Cole
The St. Louis Blues will be without top forward Robert Thomas tonight against the Chicago Blackhawks with an upper-body injury, the team announced Wednesday. Thomas scored a goal in the Blues win over the Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday, and has had a strong season, with 17 goals and 46 assists for 63 points in 70 games. Thomas is now one of the core pieces up front for the Blues, and is set to begin an eight-year contract with an AAV of $8.125MM, which could soon be a bargain for a player of Thomas’ caliber. Thomas is third on the Blues in points this season.
- Sticking with the Blues, they will also be without winger Pavel Buchnevich tonight against Chicago. The winger will miss the game with an upper-body injury. He had a goal and an assist against Vancouver on Tuesday, and is second on the Blues in scoring with 25 goals and 41 assists for 66 points in 59 games. Buchnevich scored 57 goals in his final three seasons with the New York Rangers, but has 55 goals for the Blues in the past two seasons, making the acquisition look like a boon for the Blues.
- Ottawa Senators defensemen Thomas Chabot will not play tonight against the Philadelphia Flyers, according to Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun. Chabot played on Monday for the Sens, recording an assist in the 5-2 win over the Florida Panthers. As the Sens try to make a late playoff push, losing Chabot on the blueline won’t help matters. He has 11 goals and 30 assists this season in 68 games.
- Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Ian Cole will return to the lineup as the team hosts the Washington Capitals, according to Eduardo A. Encina of the Tampa Bay Times. The veteran defenseman missed Tuesday’s game against the Carolina Hurricanes and returns as the Bolts are set to host the Washington Capitals tonight.
Thomas Chabot Out “A Couple Weeks”
The Ottawa Senators may be without star defenseman Thomas Chabot for the rest of the season, after head coach DJ Smith told Claire Hanna of TSN that he’ll miss a couple of weeks with an upper-body injury. The Senators’ final game of the season is April 13, just over two weeks from now.
That is, of course, unless they pull off a miraculous run over the last eight games to secure a playoff position. Ottawa sits five points back of the Pittsburgh Penguins but has several other teams – the Florida Panthers, Buffalo Sabres, and Washington Capitals – also chasing that final spot. They would need to play considerably better than the 3-6-1 record they have over their last ten and now would have to do it without their most reliable defenseman.
Chabot, 26, recorded the second double-digit goal season of his career this year, potting 11 while racking up 41 points in 68 games. The smooth-skating defenseman averaged close to 25 minutes a night, a number that is actually down from his last few years. That’s likely because of the improvements to his supporting cast, including the recent arrival of Jakob Chychrun, who, unfortunately, will also miss a couple of weeks with a lower-body injury.
In better news for the Senators, it appears Ridly Greig may not be out for the season after all. Smith told Hanna there is “not as much risk as we originally thought” and that Grieg is back skating. He has not been cleared yet, and if there is any risk at all, the Senators won’t rush back the young forward.
Ottawa Senators Bidder Has Claim To LeBreton Flats Land
TSN Insider Chris Johnston is reporting that an interesting detail has emerged in the sale process for the Ottawa Senators. Johnston says that the Algonquins of Ontario are part of the First Nations group bidding on the Senators, and they currently have a land claim on the piece of property at LeBreton Flats that could be the future site of the next Ottawa Senators arena.
LeBreton Flats is the property in downtown Ottawa that has long been discussed as the most desirable spot to put the Senators next building. The land is currently run federally, meaning that should the First Nations group win the bidding for the Senators, some interesting opportunities could open up. Graham Robertson and the group he is partnered with met with Senators management today and remain in pursuit of the club in what is now the second phase of the sale process.
Injury Updates On Talbot, Chabot
- Bruce Garrioch of The Ottawa Sun reports some positive and negative injury news for the Ottawa Senators. Cam Talbot is ready to return to the lineup for the first time since March 4 when he injured his oblique. However, the team’s top defenseman Thomas Chabot’s status is questionable. He left the team’s most recent game after jamming his wrist and though he returned to the bench he was not able to return to the ice. The team won’t give an official update until tomorrow.
Minor Moves: Hirose, Ferguson, Woll
Taro Hirose has been called up as an emergency loan to the Detroit Red Wings, according to CapFriendly. Hirose will see his first NHL action of the season if he appears in a game for the Wings, but has played sparingly with Detroit for parts of the past four seasons. He has just four goals and 16 assists in 57 career NHL games, but has been over the 50-point plateau in the AHL the past two seasons, including 15 goals and 39 assists for 54 points in 64 games this season. The Red Wings host the Pittsburgh Penguins tonight.
- Also among minor league transactions, goaltender Dylan Ferguson was sent down to the AHL by the Ottawa Senators, according to CapFriendly. Ferguson signed with the Senators earlier this month, and played well in two games with Ottawa, his first NHL action since 2017-18. He registered a .940 save percentage in those two games, and has a .935 save percentage in six games with the Belleville Senators this season. He also played five games for the Toronto Marlies before signing with Ottawa, and carried an .888 save percentage in those tilts. Ferguson held down the fort for the Sens on March 20, stopping 48-of-49 shots in a 2-1 win over the Pittsburg Penguins.
- Goaltender Joseph Woll was sent to the Toronto Marlies by the Toronto Maple Leafs, according to CapFriendly. Woll has played well in a short stint for the Maple Leafs, winning three of four games played with a .934 save percentage while allowing just eight goals in that span. He last played Sunday, stopping 23-of-25 shots in a 3-2 Maple Leafs win.
Gary Bettman Discusses Ottawa Senators Sale Process
NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman met with reporters today in Ottawa prior to the Florida Panthers taking on the Ottawa Senators. The Ottawa Sun’s Bruce Garrioch is reporting that Bettman told reporters that there are six bidders in phase two of the Senators sale process, and several of them are strong groups.
Postmedia has reported several times that the Senators sale process likely won’t be completed until late in April, but beyond that it could take into the early summer for all the paperwork and approvals to be completed for the sale. Bettman did comment today that this phase of the process could take up to six weeks which would likely push it into early May. He also added that finalizing any agreement would take at least two to three months leading him to speculate that it could be mid to late summer for a deal to be complete. Bettman added that in the second phase the bidders will be coming to Ottawa to meet the front office, tour the building, and do more due diligence than in the first round of bidding.
Several of the bidders will be in Ottawa over the next few weeks, including arguably the most high-profile bidder The Remington Group. The Markham based group is led by Christopher Bratty, along with the owner of the OHL’s Oshawa Generals Rocco Tullio. It also includes Canadian-born actor Ryan Reynolds.
The NHL and Bettman must be happy with the level of interest this process has garnered for a team that has struggled to be relevant for more than a half decade. It has been reported in several media outlets that the final sale price could be in the range $900MM to $1BN. Not bad for a team that is just two decades removed from being bought out of bankruptcy, and has struggled both on and off the ice for quite some time.
Bettman kept his cards close to his chest and offered precious little in terms of new information. One thing he did say that should be music to the ears of Senators fans was that “The one thing that everybody should be comfortable with, and I’ve said this repeatedly, if this team is moving, the only place it’s moving is downtown. It’s not leaving Ottawa. The Senators will be here no matter who buys the club.”
Mathieu Joseph Will Be Game-Time Decision
- Winger Mathieu Joseph will be a game-time decision for the Ottawa Senators tonight, says Bruce Garrioch of TSN and the Ottawa Sun. Joseph last played on March 12, leaving a game against the Calgary Flames after just a handful of shifts with a lower-body injury. The 26-year-old has scored three goals and added 14 assists in 47 games for the Sens this year, averaging 14:05 per game.