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Shane Pinto

Latest On Shane Pinto

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The NHL continues to crawl closer to the start of training camp, and as usual, most teams have done much of their heavy lifting already, eager to see how new acquisitions mesh with their new teams. Unfortunately for the Ottawa Senators, they are still left without a contract for their sixth-highest goal-scorer during the 2021-22 season, Shane Pinto.

Only last week, the Boston Bruins, who much like the Senators have little salary cap flexibility to work with, had a reported interest in acquiring Pinto to fill their newfound void at the center position. Nevertheless, only a day later, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet spoke candidly about Pinto’s situation, describing that Ottawa would need to make a trade to fit him under the salary cap for the upcoming season.

It’s no surprise as to why the Senators would want to extend Pinto, as well as the reported outside interest from other teams around the league. At 22 years old, Pinto is coming off a 20-goal season and should come at a fairly cheap price as he is coming off of his entry-level contract.

Speaking in place for new owner Michael Andlauer during Ottawa Mayor Mark Sutcliffe’s monthly breakfast at City Hall, General Manager of the Senators, Pierre Dorion spoke to the situation surrounding the contract of Pinto.

Dorion noted that both sides are hoping to have a deal done by next Tuesday, which could provide a resolution by the end of the upcoming weekend. However, Dorion did acknowledge there still is a gap between the two parties, and that the team does need to move a contract of magnitude in order to keep Pinto in the fold for the 2023-24 season. Dorion said, “We’re working on that one (Pinto), hard. We’d like to see him next week when we open camp“.

Whatever the outcome is for this ordeal, it’s important to point out that the Ottawa organization should be uniquely busy this weekend, unlike most teams during this time of the year. As things currently stand, the Senators have approximately $895K in cap space, and will likely need to free up around $900K-$1MM to sign Pinto comfortably. Whether it comes through a small deal, or even some roster manipulation by Dorion, a solution should be arranged by early next week.

Senators, Canucks Could Be Teams To Watch On Trade Market

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Speaking on today’s edition of the 32 Thoughts podcast, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman believes trade talks are beginning to heat up across the league once again, mainly incited by teams looking to clear players off their roster pre-season to alleviate roster or salary cap crunches. To that end, he identified the Ottawa Senators and Vancouver Canucks as significant players to watch over the coming days as training camps approach.

In Ottawa’s case, this is, of course, influenced by their lack of flexibility to re-sign RFA center Shane Pinto. The 22-year-old remains without a contract for this season after potting 20 goals in 2022-23, and he commands more than the paltry $895K in salary cap space Ottawa has remaining, per CapFriendly’s projection. It’s drawn out long enough that trade speculation is beginning to arise about Pinto’s signing rights, but Senators general manager Pierre Dorion would obviously rather retain their 2019 32nd overall pick.

As Friedman notes, Pinto has very little leverage in negotiations, as he carries a 10.2(c) designation and is ineligible to sign an offer sheet. That means Ottawa likely won’t need to clear massive amounts of cap space to sign Pinto to a bridge deal, but a move still needs to be made – that $895K projection already figures a bare-minimum roster of 18 skaters and two goaltenders. Evolving Hockey’s contract projection model predicts a two-year, $1.88MM AAV deal for Pinto, assuming it’s signed between August 1st and the start of the regular season. If Pinto holds out into the season, that projection drops slightly to a $1.805MM AAV on a two-year deal.

Vancouver’s potential activity spurs from the health of Tanner Pearson, who fortunately projects to be healthy for the 2023-24 campaign after a persistent (and controversially handled) hand injury nearly cost him his career last season. His availability creates both a roster and cap crunch for Vancouver, as his $3.25MM cap hit would suddenly factor into their day-to-day picture and not sit on LTIR as previously expected.

He would also likely factor into a third-line role, potentially alongside Conor Garland and Pius Suter. Pearson’s trade value will likely be minimal with other teams wary of his health, so shopping a depth player like Garland (and his $4.95MM cap hit) would likely return better value for general manager Patrik Allvin. While some have criticized Garland’s tenure in Vancouver, he’s a winger who consistently puts up between 40 and 60 points, can play a top-six role, and is cost-controlled through 2026 without trade protection. He’s the type of player a few teams looking to fill gaps in their forward group would be interested in.

Garland also seems like the most likely candidate because the Canucks’ realistic trade options are limited beyond him. They just signed Teddy Blueger in free agency, players like Dakota Joshua have shown to be reliable bottom-six presences and are on cost-effective deals, and they’d be selling low on younger prospects like Nils Höglander or Vasily Podkolzin.

At first glance, however, it seems like a tough time in the offseason to perform cap-clearing maneuvers. Most teams already have their rosters relatively set, and some teams close to contention with obvious holes don’t have the space to make maneuvers. Of teams with cap space to spare, the Chicago Blackhawks jump out as a lone destination where acquiring a veteran wouldn’t cost a spot for a younger player needing significant NHL ice time – they still could use a few more bodies to fill out their opening-night roster.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Boston Bruins Reportedly Showing Interest In Shane Pinto

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Jimmy Murphy of Boston Hockey Now has shared that the Boston Bruins are expected to be interested in Ottawa Senators youngster Shane Pinto. The 22-year-old’s contract situation is becoming a bit of a saga, with a recent report claiming that the Senators and Pinto were still far apart on a new deal.

The Senators currently sit with a projected $895,953 in cap space, per CapFriendly. Pinto is coming off of a rookie entry-level contract that carried a $925K annual salary and cap hit. He’s unlikely to step back from that dollar amount in his second NHL contract, especially considering his rookie-year successes. After appearing in 17 games between 2020 and 2022, Pinto finally played his rookie season last year, netting 35 points while playing in all 82 games. This ranked him eighth in NHL rookie scoring, tied with Buffalo Sabres defender Owen Power.

But despite the admirable rookie scoring, Murphy reports that Pinto landing in trade conversations in rooted in Ottawa preferring Ridly Greig. Greig was taken in the 28th overall in the 2020 NHL Draft, four spots higher than Ottawa selected Pinto in 2019. He’s one year younger than Pinto and played his first full professional season last year, splitting time between the NHL and AHL. In 20 NHL games, Greig tallied nine points while scoring an additional 29 in 39 AHL games.

But the rumored price for Pinto will be high, with Ottawa looking for a high-end prospect close to breaking the NHL roster. Murphy shares that options from Boston would likely be Fabian Lysell or John Beecher. Both players appeared with the AHL’s Providence Bruins last year, with Lysell scoring 37 points in 54 games and Beecher tallying 23 points in 61 games. Acquiring high-end prospects helps Ottawa bolster their roster while not taking on too much additional cap hit, which Murphy’s source says is a priority for the club.

Atlantic Notes: Pinto, Keefe, Thompson

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With training camps now less than two weeks away from beginning, Senators center Shane Pinto is one of the nine remaining restricted free agents across the league.  However, Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch relays that while the sides are hopeful that a deal can be reached by the start of camp, they are not particularly close to an agreement.  The 22-year-old is coming off his first full NHL campaign and it was a productive one as he posted 20 goals and 15 assists in 82 games while logging nearly 16 minutes a night in ice time.  It’s worth noting that Ottawa’s cap situation is particularly tight as CapFriendly puts them with less than $900K in room.  Even on a one-year agreement to keep the AAV as low as possible, Pinto should be earning a fair bit more than that.  Once a deal eventually gets reached, GM Pierre Dorion will have some work to do to open up some cap space.

Elsewhere in the Atlantic:

  • While a two-year extension for a head coach is usually a vote of confidence, Daily Faceoff’s Mike McKenna argues that isn’t really the case for the Maple Leafs and Sheldon Keefe. Instead, he feels the move was made primarily to avoid the possible distraction of having Keefe behind the bench in the final year of his contract.  Toronto has played to a 166-71-30 record during the regular season under Keefe but just a 13-17 postseason record.  Keefe will coach on the final year of his previous two-year extension this season with the new deal kicking in for the 2024-25 campaign.
  • Just over a year ago, the Sabres inked Tage Thompson to a seven-year, $50MM extension. The move came on the heels of a breakout campaign that saw him score 38 goals after having just 35 points in 145 career games heading into that year.  There was some risk involved with the short track record but Lance Lysowski of The Buffalo News examines some of the contracts signed since then, providing a barometer of how much more it would have cost to sign him this summer had they waited.  The 25-year-old had 47 goals and 47 assists last season, making his new $7.143MM AAV look like a bargain already if he can even produce close to that rate moving forward.

Senators Notes: Pinto, Arena, Korpisalo

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There doesn’t appear to have been progress on contract talks between the Ottawa Senators and restricted free agent forward Shane Pinto, says The Athletic’s Ian Mendes. Pinto’s agent, Lewis Gross, declined to comment when Mendes reached out to him for an update last week, and Mendes anticipates “radio silence” in the near future. While the Senators would certainly love to have Pinto under contract when training camps kick off a month from today, they technically have until December 1 to sign Pinto to a deal for him to maintain eligibility to play in the NHL this season.

Drafted 32nd overall in 2019, Pinto’s stock rose sharply this season after he shouldered some top-six minutes at times with Joshua Norris limited to just eight games with a shoulder injury. That being said, his production didn’t jump off the page. He did score 20 goals, finishing sixth on the team, but he added just 15 assists to finish with 35 points in 82 games. He likely won’t command a significant number on a short-term extension, but anything above the league minimum is incredibly tough for the Senators to make work at the moment. After signing Vladimir Tarasenko to a one-year, $5MM pact earlier this month, CapFriendly projects the Senators with just $895K assuming a bare-minimum roster of 11 forwards and seven defensemen.

More on the Sens:

  • Mendes also mentioned another area of interest for Senators fans, the status of a potential new arena, which remains in flux with Michael Andlauer set to take over as the team’s majority owner. Ottawa mayor Mark Sutcliffe had spoken to Mendes earlier in the summer, referencing a Canadian Department of National Defense building downtown as another potential site as compared to the long-rumored LeBreton Flats plot. However, with the government’s lease on the building slated to run through 2035, construction could take quite a while to start before the Sens see their new home. That’s not to say a solution won’t be found sooner, but Mendes believes Andlauer’s initial priorities will lie with the team on the ice, putting discussions on a new, more centrally located home on the back burner for the time being.
  • Free agent addition Joonas Korpisalo spoke to NHL.com’s Mike Zeisberger over the weekend, saying he’s excited to get to work in Ottawa with an old friend in goalie tandem partner Anton Forsberg. The two netminders have won a pro championship together already, winning the 2016 Calder Cup while members of the AHL’s Lake Erie Monsters in the Columbus Blue Jackets organization. Korpisalo arguably had the best season of his career in 2022-23, starting a career-high 37 games while putting up a very respectable .914 save percentage, given he played the majority of the year on a Blue Jackets team with a rather hapless defense thanks to a score of injuries. On a more competitive team in Los Angeles after a late-season trade, Korpisalo excelled with a .921 mark down the stretch. That being said, the five-year, $20MM contract Ottawa signed him to this summer is widely viewed as a serious gamble, and rightly so – Korpisalo has just a .904 career average across more than 200 games of NHL experience and has no experience starting the majority of his team’s games.

Senators Notes: Tarasenko, RFAs, Mann

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Speaking with TSN 1200 today (audio link), Senators GM Pierre Dorion confirmed that he has been in contact with the new agent for free agent winger Vladimir Tarasenko.  The 31-year-old had been a speculative target for Ottawa depending on what they received in the Alex DeBrincat deal.  While Ottawa did pick up winger Dominik Kubalik in that swap, adding Tarasenko would certainly go a longer way toward replacing DeBrincat’s production.  However, with around just $5MM in cap room per CapFriendly, it might be difficult to fit Tarasenko onto their roster without clearing out another player first, something Dorion alluded to.  He also mentioned that if they look to add a forward, they’ll want one with some term on his contract which suggests that they wouldn’t necessarily be looking to add Tarasenko on a one-year pact.

More from Ottawa:

  • Also from Dorion’s interview, he indicated that talks are ongoing with their two remaining unsigned forwards, Shane Pinto and Egor Sokolov. Pinto is coming off a 20-goal season but injuries have limited him to just 99 career NHL appearances so accordingly, a short-term bridge contract seems like the most probable outcome with an AAV that checks in around the $2MM mark.  Meanwhile, Sokolov spent most of last season with AHL Belleville, leading them in scoring with 59 points in 70 games while also picking up his first NHL goal and assist in five contests with the big club.
  • The Senators have parted ways with assistant GM Trent Mann, reports Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch. He had been with the organization since 2010 when he joined Ottawa as a part-time scout.  He eventually worked his way up the ladder, taking over as their top amateur scout in 2016 but it appears that running their most recent draft class will be his final task in that role.  Mann’s brother Troy was also let go by the Sens earlier this season as he was relieved of his duties as head coach with Belleville in mid-February.

Senators Notes: Talbot, Watson, Hamonic, Pinto

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Extension discussions between the Senators and goaltender Cam Talbot were put on hold when Talbot’s camp pushed for a substantial raise, reports Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch.  The 35-year-old has underachieved this season, posting a .900 SV% in 35 games and since discussions were stopped back in December, Talbot has dealt with groin and rib injuries which certainly don’t help his market value.  Talbot’s in the final year of a deal that carries a $3.5MM AAV and with the way this season has gone, he’ll be hard-pressed to land a sizable increase on the open market this summer though another deal in that range is certainly possible.

More from Ottawa:

  • Winger Austin Watson’s season has come to an end, Garrioch notes (Twitter link). He took a shot off the foot on Thursday against Florida and the team will hold him out for the final three games.  His campaign concludes with nine goals, two assists, 123 penalty minutes, and 165 hits in 75 games.  Watson will be eligible for unrestricted free agency this summer.
  • Garrioch also relayed (Twitter link) that blueliner Travis Hamonic (lower body) won’t be able to return this season. The team had hoped that the 32-year-old would be able to be back for a game or two in the final week but with the Sens out of playoff contention now, there’s no need to try to rush him back.  His season ends with 21 points and 143 blocks in 75 games and he, too, will be an unrestricted free agent in July.
  • Center Shane Pinto revealed to Garrioch (Twitter link) that he has been invited to play for Team USA at next month’s World Championship. The 22-year-old has had a good first full NHL campaign, chipping in with 20 goals and 13 assists while averaging a little under 16 minutes per night.  Notably, Pinto’s contract expires this summer and players that aren’t signed for the following season typically don’t suit up in the event; Pinto only indicated that he’s thinking about the offer at this time.

Snapshots: Senators, Pinto, Oilers

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The Ottawa Senators could be next on the list of NHL franchises being sold, as Sportico reports that the organization has hired Galatioto Sports Partners to aid in the sale, the same group that is currently selling the Los Angeles Angels of the MLB. Sportico places the Senators’ franchise value at $655MM.

Control of the Senators transitioned to Anna and Olivia Melnyk earlier this year when long-time owner Eugene Melnyk passed away. The most recent sales in the NHL have been the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Nashville Predators, the latter of which is being finalized currently.

  • One of the reasons that the Senators have raised in value and expectations so quickly is because of the play of their young stars. Shane Pinto, one of those youngsters, was named the NHL Rookie of the Month for October. With six goals in eight games, Pinto is tied with Brady Tkachuk for the team lead.
  • The Edmonton Oilers are getting some bodies back, as they have activated both Vincent Desharnais and Raphael Lavoie from the season-opening injured reserve and assigned them to the AHL. Lavoie, 22, was the 38th overall pick in 2019 and scored 26 points in 56 games for Bakersfield last season.

Shane Pinto Activated From Injured Reserve

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After a brilliant end to the 2020-21 season and a strong training camp, it appeared as though Shane Pinto had set himself up to be a key contributor to the Ottawa Senators last year. He started things off by averaging nearly 20 minutes of ice time through his first three games, and was set to have a strong rookie season. Then, unfortunately, he suffered a shoulder injury that would essentially end his year. He would end up on injured reserve for basically the entire thing, finishing with just one point in five games – two of which he lasted less than five minutes.

Now, finally, Pinto has been officially activated from injured reserve according to CapFriendly, and will try to give his rookie season another go. The 21-year-old center was selected 32nd overall in 2019 and dominated for two years at the University of North Dakota, before scoring seven points in 12 games in 2020-21 for the Senators.

Healthy and surrounded by improved talent, there’s a chance for Pinto to get right back to where he was a year ago. Interestingly, though, the second-line center position has been filled in his absence. Joshua Norris and Tim Stutzle now occupy those two spots, likely leaving Pinto in the third-line pivot role, likely beside Mathieu Joseph. Alex Formenton, who would be a top candidate for the other wing spot there is still unsigned, meaning it could go to someone like the recently-signed Tyler Motte for now, though training camp will determine that.

In any case, it is exciting time for Pinto and Senators fans as he takes another crack at becoming a full-time NHL player. His development is one of the things that could push the team over the edge and have them competing for the playoffs this season.

Senators Notes: Free Agents, World Championships, Brown, Sanderson

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Ottawa Senators general manager Pierre Dorion spoke to reporters today during his end-of-season availability, stating that forwards Chris Tierney and Tyler Ennis won’t be extended and defenseman Victor Mete won’t be issued a qualifying offer. The news doesn’t come as much of a surprise as the team likely looks to be a little more aggressive in free agency, pursuing bigger talents to help push a budding young core into playoff contention.

Tierney had just 18 points in 70 games this season, a career-low. Ennis was much more productive in an even more limited role, notching 24 points in 57 games. He should continue to find a home next season to provide solid depth scoring. Mete only appeared in 37 games this season, oftentimes a healthy scratch.

  • Dorion also announced that forwards Austin Watson and Adam Gaudette will make the trip to Finland to represent the United States at the 2022 World Championships, joining teammate Tim Stutzle who will be with Germany. Gaudette had just 14 points in 58 games this year, a far cry from his 33-point year in 59 games a few seasons back. Watson, known for his grit rather than his scoring, ended up with more points, tallying 16 in 67 games.
  • Forward Connor Brown was dealing with not one but two wrist injuries by the time the season ended. That didn’t stop him much, though, as he still tallied a respectable 39 points in 64 games as he battled through injury at various points this season. He’s done nothing but score consistently since joining the Senators, tallying 117 points in 191 games over three seasons so far.
  • Promising defense prospect Jake Sanderson re-injured his hand this week, but Dorion says he’ll be ready for training camp. Dorion notes Sanderson will participate in development camp over the summer, while forward Shane Pinto, who was injured most of this season, will join him at rookie camp.

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