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Pierre Dorion

Prospect Notes: Tychonick, Stockton, Senators

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When Johnny Tychonick was selected 48th overall by the Ottawa Senators in 2018 he was a high-flying defenseman that had just put up 47 points in 48 games for the Penticton Vees of the BCHL and was ticketed for stardom at the collegiate level. Unfortunately that stardom never came in two seasons at the University of North Dakota, where Tychonick was buried on the depth chart of one of the nation’s strongest programs.

Now, Tychonick has entered the transfer portal and will take his talents to the University of Nebraska-Omaha according to Brad Elliott Schlossman of the Grand Forks Herald. The 20-year old defenseman told Schlossman that the UND coaching staff is helping him try to be eligible to play for Omaha next season, where he would be starting his junior year. The Senators will continue to hold his exclusive draft rights while he remains in college.

  • The Stockton Heat have signed three undrafted free agents to AHL contracts, inking Greg Moro to a two-year deal, Noah King to a one-year deal and Koletrane Wilson to a one-year deal. Moro, 25, just finished his senior season at Clarkson University, recording seven points in 32 games. The 6’4″ defenseman is an Alberta native who played in the SJHL and AJHL before going the college route. King, 20, broke out this season for the Spokane Chiefs of the WHL, scoring 40 points in 64 games. That total was more than double the combined amount King had registered in his other three CHL seasons. Wilson, another 20-year old defenseman, registered 33 points in 62 games for the Lethbridge Hurricanes of the WHL, while racking up penalty minutes as a tough, physical presence. All three players will bring a healthy dose of size and strength to the Heat blueline next season.
  • The Ottawa Senators are focused on the NHL Entry Draft, whenever it happens, and the three first-round picks they own this year. GM Pierre Dorion spoke with reporters including Wayne Scanlan of Sportsnet, explaining that just like fans of his team he too is using a lottery simulator daily to fantasize about where his top two selections will land. The Senators of course own San Jose’s first-round pick, which means they could potentially pick first and second overall, but Scanlan writes that the executive believes the top-20 will all be “strong NHL players.”

Ottawa Wants Mark Borowiecki To Be A “Senator For Life”

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The Ottawa Senators have had trouble over the years retaining the talent they develop, with earlier this week being the latest example. Though they reportedly discussed an extension with Jean-Gabriel Pageau, the two-way center was eventually traded at the deadline only to immediately sign with the New York Islanders for six more seasons. One could be skeptical then when Pierre Dorion tells TSN radio that he wants Mark Borowiecki to be a “Senator for life.”

Perhaps Borowiecki is different though. The 30-year old defenseman was a fifth-round pick by the Senators back in 2008 and slowly made his way up the hockey ladder. Originally thought of as just a physical presence in Ottawa’s lineup, he has become much more than that this year, establishing himself as a leader on and off the ice while also experiencing his best offensive season to date.

Though he has seven goals on the year—nearly doubling his previous career total—it’s still hard to envision that Borowiecki would price himself out of the Senators’ market by the end of the year. Currently in the final season of a two-year, $2.4MM deal he can expect a small raise but not even to the level of some other Senators’ players.

Not only is Borowiecki a leader for the Senators, but his influence on the Ottawa community has been felt as well. The hometown boy gained national notoriety when he was involved in stopping a crime in Vancouver, but citizens of Canada’s capital will tell you stories of him helping regular folk on a regular basis.

An unrestricted free agent in July, it’s hard to imagine Borowiecki in any other jersey at this point in his career.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

East Notes: Senators, Haley, McDonagh, Martin

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With quite a few pending unrestricted free agents, the Senators are certainly a team to keep tabs on over the coming weeks on the trade front.  However, GM Pierre Dorion told TSN that the trade market has been relatively quiet so far:

Everybody is really kind of feeling each other out and seeing if they’re going to be in the playoffs or if they’re going to be buyers or sellers. There have been a lot of conversations, a lot about nothing.

Of their ten UFAs, Dorion acknowledged that they do have some interest in keeping some of them but he has no intention on publicly commenting on who those may be or the status of talks after what transpired last season with the Mark Stone and Matt Duchene situations.  The GM also indicated that they would like to keep some veterans in the mix so it’s far from a guarantee that those that don’t receive new deals will be dealt by the Senators by the February 24th trade deadline.

More from the Eastern Conference:

  • Rangers winger Micheal Haley is out indefinitely and is set to undergo surgery for a bilateral core muscle injury, the team announced (Twitter link). The veteran physical forward has played in 22 games with New York this season, recording a goal along with 50 penalty minutes while averaging a career-low 5:32 per night.  Haley is slated to become an unrestricted free agent this summer.
  • Lightning defenseman Ryan McDonagh is expected to miss at least two weeks due to his lower-body injury, relays Diana C. Nearhos of the Tampa Bay Times (Twitter link). The injury was sustained back on Thursday night against Pittsburgh.  Head coach Jon Cooper indicated that this won’t be a season-ending issue but that they’ll re-evaluate him after the two-week mark which suggests that the veteran could be out for a little while after that stretch.
  • Islanders winger Matt Martin told Newsday’s Andrew Gross that he isn’t concerned about his pending free agent status and is solely focusing on the stretch run for now. He admitted that when he was first set to test free agency four years ago, he fully expected to remain with New York but instead signed a four-year, $10MM deal with Toronto with then-GM Lou Lamoriello.  Lamoriello is now the GM of the Islanders and the only trade he has made since joining them was to acquire Martin.  Clearly, Martin has a backer in Lamoriello which should bode well for the potential of an extension this time around.

KHL’s Artyom Zub Drawing NHL Interest

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The hot free agent target from the KHL this season? It turns out that it’s a defenseman for a change. On TSN’s “Insider Trading” segment, Darren Dreger states that there at least three NHL teams with interest in SKA St. Petersburg standout Artyom Zub. One of those clubs is confirmed to be the Ottawa Senators, with GM Pierre Dorion currently over in Russia meeting with the intriguing blue liner. All indications point to Zub signing in the NHL after this season.

Zub, 24, is a comparable player to current Senator Nikita Zaitsev, says Dreger. The young defenseman is a right shot and plays a strong defensive game, rather than opting for offensive flash like many of his KHL counterparts. However, Zub may be taking a step toward rounding out his game, as he has already far surpassed his career high in points with 19 and counting this season. A fixture on the international stage for Russia and one of the more dominant defensive players in the KHL, Zub is already very accomplished for his age, and has the mature game to match.

Zub’s consistent defensive play has likely had him on NHL radars for some time, but his offensive outbreak comes at the right time, as his current contract with SKA comes to an end. Dreger reports that the defender will not make a decision, at least publicly, on his future until after the KHL season, as he remains focused on St. Petersburg’s division-leading record and Gagarin Cup hopes. However, when the time does come, Dreger says that Zub is already in the final stages of making the call on his next team and he could make his NHL destination known almost immediately after his season ends.

Ottawa Senators Seeking Another Trade Addition

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While the Ottawa Senators are fully committed to a rebuild, their recent actions would also indicate that they would like to be more competitive than they currently are. The Senators are off to a 1-6-1 start and, as TSN’s James Duthie noted on the network’s “Insider Trading” segment, the team is in the bottom two in the league in scoring, power play efficiency, and shooting percentage. They tried to remedy their offensive struggles by adding Vladislav Namestnikov in a trade with the New York Rangers earlier this month, but they may only be the beginning.

Duthie’s colleague, Darren Dreger, reports that the team is seeking more help via trade and are looking for another “bargain” acquisition. Ottawa acquired Namestnikov, a former 20-goal and near 50-point scorer for a mere fourth-round pick and AHL defenseman. Since the trade, he has led the Senators with six points in six games. The team would ideally like to find another impact player at a similarly affordable price. Namestnikov’s production in Ottawa is obviously a function of his increased role, but the team seems open to handing another player that ice time and responsibility as well. Dreger notes that the Senators understand that their young players need time to develop and are not going to rush them to the NHL level simply because the team is not expected to make the playoffs this season. The team is trying to find a happy medium between properly developing their prospects and fielding a competitive NHL roster and feel adding another capable name could help.

Nearly every team in the NHL has a player on the outs who could take advantage of an increased role in Ottawa. The question becomes whether GM Pierre Dorion will be looking solely for another impending unrestricted free agent, like Namestnikov, or if he will also consider players with term remaining on their contract. The team could also look into cast-off prospects with NHL experience to take on major roles, as the Edmonton Oilers’ Jesse Puljujarvi and the New York Islanders’ Josh Ho-Sang continue to be available names with upside that could make them affordable additions relative to their potential production.

Senators Suspend Search For President Of Hockey Operations

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The Ottawa Senators have been seeking a President of Hockey Operations for some time, but they will hold on a while longer to make a hire. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports that the team has decided to end their search for a President, at least through this season, although he also casts doubt on whether they will renew the search. To this point, their attempts to find a man for the role have been fruitless and the team is likely to go back to the drawing board.

It was back in March that the team first announced that they were searching for someone to take on the President role. In the midst of a last-place campaign, many felt that it was the death knell of GM Pierre Dorion. However, the team was quick to note that the hiring would not be to undermine or threaten Dorion, but instead to assist and support. Owner Eugene Melnyk has remained consistent in his confidence in Dorion and it is that faith that likely led to the team feeling comfortable in suspending their presidential search.

Well, that and their failure to attract a qualified name. A report in April suggested that the likes of Dean Lombardi, Mike Gillis, Trevor Linden, Joe Nieuwendyk and current NHL GM’s Steve Yzerman and Ron Francis had all been approached about the position, but turned down the opportunity. While many might assume that the current status of the Ottawa roster is to blame for the lack of interest, the Senators actually have a strong pipeline of young talent that should intrigue any hockey mind. Instead, it is likely the reputation of Melnyk and skepticism of his willingness to spend to the salary cap that have scared off the qualified candidates. Rather than rush into a decision on sub-prime option for the job, it is likely that Melnyk and company preferred to stick with the loyal Dorion and continue to ride out this rebuild without addition supervision. Only time will tell how it will all play out and whether the team will circle back to finding a president down the road.

Poll: Which GM Will Be Fired Next?

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Despite missing the playoffs in each of the last four seasons, the Vancouver Canucks decided to extend GM Jim Benning today. The reasons for that are complicated—and obviously do not hinge entirely on his postseason record—just as they were when the Minnesota Wild made the decision to fire Paul Fenton just 14 months into his tenure with the team. The inner workings of an NHL front office are almost never made public (unless there is an intrepid reporter like Michael Russo of The Athletic who gets the incredible story), and it is hard to see why some decisions are made.

Still, even the most casual fan can see the seat of specific executives and coaches heating up. When the Edmonton Oilers decided to move on from Peter Chiarelli during another disappointing season, it didn’t come as much of a surprise. On the other hand, it was easy to see why the Carolina Hurricanes recently locked up Don Waddell after he interviewed for another job.

Looking around the league, who is next? Which GM will be let go, either this year or next summer?

It might be easy to look at the teams that have struggled recently, but many of them have replaced their top hockey operations executive over the last few seasons. The Oilers brought in Ken Holland to change the culture in Edmonton, while Steve Yzerman returned to the Detroit Red Wings to bring a new voice to a stagnant team. Florida has gone through quite a bit of turmoil in the front office since their ownership changed but Dale Tallon now seems to be entrenched as a veteran leader.

There are others though that may not be so lucky. The Ottawa Senators are heading in a new direction after shedding their previous core, but if the young talent doesn’t develop as hoped Pierre Dorion could be held responsible. John Chayka was the youngest GM in history when he took over the Arizona Coyotes in 2016, but they still haven’t made the playoffs under his watch and now have new ownership of their own. Jason Botterill was expected to have success in Buffalo after finding so much of it in Pittsburgh, but the Sabres haven’t been able to build a full roster around Jack Eichel despite some outstanding individual players.

Nothing is certain when it comes to front offices however. Cast your vote below and explain just why you think they’ll be the first to go!

[Mobile users click here to vote]

*We’ve used Kelly McCrimmon as the Vegas GM, though he won’t officially take that title from George McPhee until September

Aho’s New Contract Via Offer Sheet Could Benefit Thomas Chabot

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The recent Montreal Canadiens’ offer sheet to Sebastian Aho that the Carolina Hurricanes matched Saturday was the hope of a team to take advantage of its owner. No one was quite sure what to make of billionaire owner Tom Dundon and whether he would be willing to pay up for his franchise. His early reputation made many wonder if he would be willing to pay a significant amount of money up front and Aho’s offer sheet was frontloaded with $21MM being paid out in the first 12 months of the deal. However, Dundon proved that he is willing to pay for his team as he matched the offer sheet, but it could start a precedent.

While an offer sheet to another player this year remains possible as there are a number of restricted free agents out there looking for a big contract, but the chances of a second offer sheet this offseason seems unlikely. However, many teams may look at Montreal’s plan to target an owner who may not want to pay up and that opportunity could present itself next season in Ottawa and owner Eugene Melnyk.

The Senators have seen their young defenseman Thomas Chabot develop into a star in his second season in the NHL last year. The 22-year-old broke out with a 14-goal, 55-point season and made fans quickly forget about the loss of Erik Karlsson. Now in the final year of his entry-level deal, he will become a restricted free agent next offseason. The Athletic’s Chris Stevenson (subscription required) reported last week that Ottawa general manager Pierre Dorion didn’t seem worried about signing Chabot to an extension.

“I think we get too much caught up with contract talks in this city,” said Dorion. “We know what we have to do. We’ll get it done. It’s not like he’s a UFA. He’s an RFA. We have a plan in place along with all our RFAs that are up this year, we’ve had a plan and we’re going to meet it sometime over the course of the summer.”

Chabot could have signed an extension on July 1 and the fact that Ottawa hasn’t already done so could present a problem, according to Stevenson. Chabot is likely to be a prime target by other teams in one year to target for an offer sheet as many know of Melnyk’s penny-pinching ways. A front-loaded offer sheet is a very realistic possibility and it’s likely that Chabot and his representation knows this and may be very willing to take advantage of Ottawa, which has made it clear that they intend to lock up their young talent this time around as they are in the middle of their five-year rebuilding plan. It was Melnyk’s lack of willingness to pay up that led Ottawa to lose most of their top talent, including Karlsson, Mark Stone and Mike Hoffman in the past year.

If Ottawa can’t lock up Chabot soon, the Senators could easily lose control of the situation as many teams wouldn’t mind adding a franchise-changing defenseman with a high-priced up-front offer sheet next season.

Ottawa “Seriously Exploring” Trade Market For Cody Ceci

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Despite being the butt of many jokes for the past couple of seasons, the Ottawa Senators head into this offseason with some real opportunity. The team has just a single player—Bobby Ryan—under contract for more than two years and a huge number of draft picks to work with over the next several seasons. Putting the Erik Karlsson, Mark Stone and Matt Duchene situations behind him, GM Pierre Dorion can now go to work on rebuilding the franchise back up. Still, there are a few veteran names on the roster that come with some question marks. One of those is Cody Ceci, who is a restricted free agent once again after seeing his one-year $4.3MM deal expire.

Ceci, 25, is the experienced one on the Ottawa blue line, with six NHL seasons under his belt already. He’s coming off a 26-point performance while being used heavily in the defensive zone. A relatively young, experienced defenseman that is logging more than 22 minutes a night in all situations is usually one a team wants to lock up long term, but Ceci may not be in that situation. There has been criticism launched towards the defenseman for years, partly because his skills make him neither an offensive or defensive talent, but somewhere in the middle. He probably shouldn’t be used as much as he has been in Ottawa, but they haven’t had many other reliable options over the years.

Now, as free agency looms once again and the Senators prepare for an offseason of change, Ceci is in talks on a new contract. Both Wayne Scanlan of Sportsnet and Ken Warren of the Ottawa Citizen note that discussions are ongoing, but Warren also reports that Dorion is “seriously exploring the trade market.” The league has watched several defensemen change teams in recent days, with Olli Maatta, Jacob Trouba, Matt Niskanen, Radko Gudas and Justin Braun all traded. Nikita Zaitsev and Rasmus Ristolainen have also been discussed and could be moved by the end of the summer. Will Ceci be another name to add to that list?

Scanlan writes that other teams have been calling Dorion because of their cap space and draft assets, and the Senators GM admits that they’ve spoken about moving up in the draft. The Senators currently have picks 19, 32 and 44, but with so much other draft capital available could potentially move up significantly. A Ceci deal would obviously not have to be involved in that, but it is still something to monitor over the coming days.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Atlantic Notes: Zaitsev, Johansson, Condon, Luongo

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The Toronto Maple Leafs don’t have to, but if the team wants to move on from defenseman Nikita Zaitsev, it might be beneficial to trade him before July 1 when his 10-team no-trade clause kicks in. While Zaitsev has requested a trade as well, making it easier for Toronto to unload the five years remaining on his contract at $4.5MM, there are likely to be several teams interested in acquiring the 27-year-old.

In fact, The Athletic’s James Mirtle (subscription required) looks into what teams would be the most likely to acquire the blueliner and the Edmonton Oilers find themselves at the top of the list. Zaitsev could be paired with one of Toronto’s forwards, either Connor Brown, Kasperi Kapanen or Andreas Johnsson to acquire either Matt Benning or even Adam Larsson in the right deal.

The Vancouver Canucks and Anaheim Ducks round out the top three teams who would make the best bets, but there are quiet a few other candidates as well.

  • Boston Globe’s Nick Kelly writes that Boston Bruins forward Marcus Johansson was non-committal Friday when asked about whether he wanted to return to Boston next season. An unrestricted free agent and a key contributor throughout the playoffs (four goals and 11 points in 22 games), the 28-year-old may have priced his way out of Boston. However, Johansson said he did enjoy his time with the Bruins and will speak to them first before looking at his other options.
  • Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun writes that even though the Ottawa Sentators locked up backup goaltender Anders Nilsson to a tw0-year, $5.2MM extension which many thought would be the end for Mike Condon. The 29-year-old, who lost the backup job early last season, still has one year remaining on his contract at $2.4MM and seemed like a prime buyout candidate. However, general manager Pierre Dorion said the team will not buy him out and intend to bring him in to camp in the fall before determining what to do with him. Condon made just two appearances, allowing eight goals and had a .800 save percentage. He was sent to Belleville of the AHL for one game before he opted to sit out the rest of the year with hip inflammation. He hopes to be healthy for training camp.
  • Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman notes that he spoke recently to Florida Panthers general manager Dale Tallon, who told him that he expects goaltender Roberto Luongo to make a decision about his future soon, in fact, before the draft next Friday. The team needs an idea on whether Luongo intends to come back next year. Florida is expected to sign one of the top goaltenders on the market with Sergei Bobrovsky on the top of their list. However, if Luongo opt to return (he still has three years remaining at $4.53MM AAV), the team will have to find a way to move out James Reimer.

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