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Jacob Bernard-Docker Out One Month, Thomas Chabot Day-To-Day

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Some injury updates are coming in today concerning the Ottawa Senators’ defense, courtesy of Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch. While star defenseman Thomas Chabot is now day-to-day with a concussion, Jacob Bernard-Docker is out for at least one month with a high ankle sprain.

Chabot sustained the concussion in a November 12 game against the Philadelphia Flyers. After being checked into the boards by Travis Konecny, the team placed Chabot on injured reserve the following day. Sportsnet’s Wayne Scanlan reported at the time Chabot’s timeline was at least one week.

It’s unclear when Bernard-Docker suffered the ankle injury. He played the full game yesterday in a 5-1 loss to the red-hot New Jersey Devils, logging 16:46 of ice time and a -1 rating. The young defender has been solid in a bottom-four role, contributing an assist in six games between call-ups from the Belleville Senators.

At least for Ottawa, the Bernard-Docker injury comes after Artem Zub, their best defensive defenseman, was cleared to return to play. Zub’s presence is the highlighting factor for Ottawa’s right side on defense, and he’ll ease the depth issues created by Bernard-Docker’s absence.

With Chabot likely healthy by the time Bernard-Docker is ready to go again, expect Ottawa to assign the latter back to the minors.

Latest On Trade Market For Defensemen

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Mentioning the market for defense in the NHL immediately brings to mind at least two things: Jakob Chychrun and the Ottawa Senators, both as they are separately, and the rumors connecting the defenseman to Canada’s capitol. With Chychrun having been on IR to finish last season and now to start this season, the rumors surrounding the 24-year-old had been a bit quieter than usual, but expected to tick up with his return on Monday.

Tonight on Hockey Night in Canada’s 32 Thoughts segment, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman seemed to confirm this inevitability, expecting talks on Chychrun to begin heating up once the defenseman returns. Another interesting note from Friedman on the Coyotes and their defensemen is the possibility of a trade involving Conor Timmins. A second-round pick in 2017, Timmins’ prospect status has never really been in question, at least for his on-ice performance. Instead, injuries have derailed the 24-year-old’s career. Now on a conditioning stint in the AHL, Timmins appears to be fully healthy and soon to be ready for NHL action, causing Friedman to wonder if Arizona might pursue a trade market for Timmins as well.

A newer name added to the defensemen speculation is San Jose Sharks defenseman Erik Karlsson. Once thought to be unmovable, Karlsson is off to an incredible start, on pace to set several career-bests already, scoring 11 goals along with 17 assists in just 19 games on the season. With four years left at an $11.5MM cap hit after this season, Karlsson will be incredibly difficult for the Sharks to move even with his historic production, but it just may make doing so possible for the rebuilding San Jose squad. According to Friedman, this also from 32 Thoughts, the Sharks haven’t gotten that far yet in any Karlsson talks. As Friedman says, the belief is that Karlsson has not yet been asked to move his no-movement clause, at least not for any specific team.

Friedman adds that he believes the Sharks are currently trying to determine what other teams are willing to do in regards to the rest of the contract. Of course the Sharks and their potential trade partner will have to work out how much, if any, San Jose retains on the remaining contract and what assets they could get back for Karlsson, which would hinge on how much the Sharks would retain.

One team looking for defense that many want to see on the shortlist to acquire Karlsson would be the Ottawa Senators. Their search for a defenseman in the early part of this season has been well documented and Chychrun has been the number one name associated with them. As reported by Friedman on 32 Thoughts earlier, it is believed Ottawa did try to work on a deal that would have sent Nikita Zaitsev to the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for Tyler Myers, but the deal did not get far enough for Myers, who has a modified no-trade clause, to be asked for permission. Other pieces would have presumably had to be involved to make the deal work for both sides, but that sort of swap would have benefitted Vancouver to the tune of $1.5MM in cap savings while giving Ottawa the defenseman they’ve been looking for and allowing them to get out from under the Zaitsev contract.

Paletta Family Expresses Interest In Purchasing Senators

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  • Add another suitor to the list of groups interested in purchasing the Senators as Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch reports that Angelo Paletta and his family have expressed interest in the franchise. Paletta looked to bring another team to Southern Ontario back in 2018 while also looking to purchase the Coyotes one year later.

Ottawa Senators To Activate Artem Zub

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With Nikita Zaitsev sent to Belleville, another move on defense has come for the Ottawa Senators. As reported by CapFriendly, the Senators have activated defenseman Artem Zub off of injured reserve.

The blueliner has been out with an upper-body injury since October 28th. The Senators’ blueline just recently lost top defenseman Thomas Chabot, who was placed on injured reserve on the 13th.

Zub, who has become a fan favorite since arriving in Ottawa for the 2020-21 season, should help the Senators’ defense corps stabilize in the midst of Chabot’s absence. In his seven games played this year Zub has three points and has skated in 22 minutes per game, including two minutes on the penalty kill.

Remaining healthy and productive this year is of particular importance for Zub, as he is a pending unrestricted free agent. While there will likely be significant interest in his services regardless, putting forth a quality platform year would go a long way in securing Zub either a lucrative extension in Ottawa or a major contract from another club.

Nikita Zaitsev Assigned To AHL, Two Placed On Waivers

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November 18: After clearing waivers last week. the Senators have now officially sent Zaitsev to the AHL’s Belleville Senators.

November 9: Three players have hit waivers today, including some rather expensive defensemen. Mike Reilly has been waived by the Boston Bruins for the second time this season, now that his clock needed to be reset. If a player suits up for 10 NHL games or spends 30 days on the active roster after clearing waivers, they must clear again before being sent down.

With Charlie McAvoy expected to be activated in the coming days, the Bruins needed to open a roster spot and some cap space. Reilly’s $3MM won’t come off the books entirely if sent down to the minor leagues, however, meaning the team may need to make another transaction like moving Derek Forbort to long-term injured reserve to make the financials work.

The Ottawa Senators have also placed Nikita Zaitsev and Magnus Hellberg on waivers, a disappointing outcome for the former who signed a seven-year, $31.5MM contract in 2017 only to see his play deteriorate substantially in the seasons since. Zaitsev has played in seven of the Senators games this season and saw fewer than 12 minutes of ice time last night against the Vancouver Canucks. He was on the ice for two goals against despite those limited minutes and has been unable to provide consistent defensive effort for the team.

If he clears, the veteran defenseman can be sent to the minor leagues, giving the Senators a bit of cap relief. He will still make his entire salary in the AHL, however, not something that Ottawa likes to do with high-priced talent.

Hellberg, meanwhile, seems like the most reasonable target of the three for any team that is looking for some goaltending help. Nabbed from the Seattle Kraken before the season began, he stopped 29 of 30 shots in his only appearance with the Senators and recently had a long run of success in the KHL. The 6’6″ netminder wasn’t needed anymore with Cam Talbot and Anton Forsberg healthy, but could be an asset for other teams.

Senators To Honor Wade Redden

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  • The Ottawa Senators, who happen to be brought up every time a Karlsson trade is discussed, will honor a different former defenseman next month. Wade Redden will be the second person and first player inducted into the team’s Ring of Honour, joining the late Bryan Murray. Redden, originally selected second overall by the New York Islanders in 1995, made his NHL debut in 1996 for the Senators after being part of a three-team trade and would go on to play 838 games for the franchise. That’s good for fourth all-time in franchise history, behind only Chris Phillips, Daniel Alfredsson, and Chris Neil. Phillips and Alfredsson have already been honored by the team with a jersey retirement.

Latest On Sale Of Ottawa Senators

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While most of the attention regarding the potential sale of the Ottawa Senators has gone to Hollywood star Ryan Reynolds, there are plenty of interested parties lining up for their shot at an NHL franchise. Today, Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia reports that Michael Andlauer, owner of the OHL’s Hamilton Bulldogs and Rocco Tullio, owner of the Oshawa Generals, have formed a partnership for an attempt to by the Senators.

In fact, this isn’t the first time Tullio has tried to buy the team. Garrioch reports that he offered former Senators owner Eugene Melnyk $650MM last year. That is close to the figure the Senators were recently valued at by Sportico, though the upcoming sale price is expected to rise much higher.

Andlauer, meanwhile, has very deep pockets and already owns a portion of the Montreal Canadiens – something he would have to sell if he took over the Senators. The two combined could likely put up a massive offer, and have a history of success in hockey already with the OHL clubs.

That’s not all, though. Garrioch reports several other interested parties, as the sale of the Senators has drummed up plenty of excitement. The team started the process earlier this month by hiring Galatioto Sports Partners, after the Melnyk daughters, Anna and Olivia, decided to sell following their father’s death in March.

The sale is likely to be tied closely with the development project at LeBreton Flats, which the Senators are the preferred bidder for. A new sports complex would offer the team the chance to move closer to downtown and out of their current location, 40 minutes outside of the city center.

Snapshots: 2024 Draft, Joseph, Dorion

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There’s a lot of focus on the 2023 draft and for good reason. Connor Bedard leads an impressive group that could seriously shift the balance of power in the NHL depending on who goes where, and there are several teams tanking for the opportunity to pick as high as possible. But 2024 isn’t that far away, and Craig Button of TSN is already talking up the top name. Button believes Cole Eiserman from the USNTDP is the clear number one, and that he would go in the top five this year if he were eligible.

The 16-year-old left-shot forward absolutely dominated the World U17 Hockey Challenge with 12 goals and 20 points in just seven games, and is committed to play for the University of Minnesota in 2024-25. His older brother Shane Eiserman was a fourth-round pick of the Ottawa Senators in 2014, who played in the ECHL for a few years. So remember, if your team fails to secure the top spot – there’s always next year.

  • Mathieu Joseph of the Ottawa Senators has received a $5,000 fine for high-sticking Sebastian Aho last night, avoiding any suspension. The 25-year-old forward hasn’t had quite the impact that some expected after his brilliant end to last season and has been held scoreless in his last six games. The Senators as a group aren’t doing much, losing eight of their last ten and sitting 29th in the league. Joseph has three points in 15 games so far.
  • Speaking of the Senators, Pierre Dorion has been a busy man at the general manager meetings going on in Toronto. Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia reports that Dorion admitted to having a lot of trade talks so far, though there were no specifics given. He certainly hasn’t been shy about pulling the trigger in recent months; the Senators have completed nine trades since March 20.

Injury Notes: Allison, Bowers, Knyzhov

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A trio of roster transactions involving injured players were made tonight, starting with the Philadelphia Flyers. According to CapFriendly, the team has moved forward Wade Allison to injured reserve, signifying he’ll miss at least five more days with a lower-body injury.

Allison was placed on injured reserve retroactive to November 12 and will miss at least the team’s upcoming three-game road trip against Columbus, Boston, and Montreal. The 25-year-old left Saturday’s game against Ottawa after laying a hit on Senators defenseman Jacob Bernard-Docker, and The Athletic’s Charlie O’Connor reported yesterday that Allison won’t miss too much time. Through 14 games this season, Allison has contributed three goals and an assist.

  • The Colorado Avalanche have moved forward Shane Bowers to injured reserve, according to CapFriendly, freeing up a roster spot for any potential call-ups. On Saturday, Bowers was given a six-week timeline by head coach Jared Bednar after sustaining an upper-body injury 1:46 into his NHL career. The team did not have any extra roster spots for healthy players, with all non-dressed players out with injuries.
  • The San Jose Sharks have also moved defenseman Nikolai Knyzhov to long-term injured reserve. Knyzhov, 24, has not played hockey since suiting up for all 56 games of the shortened 2020-21 season. A groin injury kept him out for the entirety of 2021-22, and an Achilles injury is expected to keep him out until mid-February.

Smith: Hopeful Zub Can Return By The End Of The Week

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  • While the Senators were hoping to have defenseman Artem Zub back by now, it appears that he’ll be out a little while longer. Speaking to TSN 1200 earlier today (audio link), head coach D.J. Smith indicated that the 27-year-old is behind schedule but that he should be able to return by the end of the upcoming week.  Zub is a pending unrestricted free agent and was averaging just shy of 22 minutes a game before sustaining an upper-body injury last month.

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