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Shane Pinto

Atlantic Notes: Pinto, Senators, Brown

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Speaking at Steve Staios’ introductory press conference today (video link), Senators GM Pierre Dorion indicated that the most recent discussions with unsigned center Shane Pinto occurred yesterday so at least there is no stalemate in discussions yet.  Ottawa’s situation is well-known at this point; they need to free up cap space before they can re-sign the 22-year-old who is expected to receive a two-year bridge deal around the $2.5MM range when everything is finalized.  Mathieu Joseph is the speculative cap casualty although the asking price from other teams is high to take on the remaining three years of his deal.  Dominik Kubalik, who came over as part of the return for Alex DeBrincat, might be a bit easier to move as an expiring deal.  Both wingers are off to good starts to their preseasons with two goals and an assist each in their first two outings.

Elsewhere in the Atlantic:

  • Still with the Senators, the team is expected to make a significant number of cuts this week, Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch reports.  At the moment, Ottawa is carrying 51 players on its training camp roster but they are expected to trim that to between 32 and 36 before they head to Eastern Canada for a pair of games on Sunday and Monday.  Meanwhile, Garrioch adds that captain Brady Tkachuk skated today after taking a stick to the eye on Wednesday and could suit up in one of those upcoming contests.
  • Lightning center Logan Brown is dealing with an injury that will keep him out for the start of the season, relays Eduardo A. Encina of the Tampa Bay Times (Twitter link). The 25-year-old inked a one-year, two-way deal with Tampa Bay at the beginning of free agency after being non-tendered.  He played in 30 games last season with St. Louis and was expected to push for a spot at the end of the roster in training camp, an outcome that now won’t be happening.  Encina adds that blueline prospect Roman Schmidt will also miss the start of the season due to injury.

Snapshots: Verhaeghe, Couture And Hertl, Senators Cap Hit

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Florida Panthers head coach Paul Maurice shared with The Hockey News that he will be holding top-six forward Carter Verhaeghe out of the team’s first preseason game. Verhaeghe “tightened up” on the first day of camp, per Maurice, and has been skating on the side as a precaution ever since. However, the Panthers aren’t expecting the injury to last through training camp – with Maurice sharing that, even if he wears a no-contact jersey through Wednesday, Verhaeghe should be playing in preseason games soon.

Verhaeghe has been an important piece of the Florida top-six since joining the team in 2020, averaging 17 minutes a night through three seasons in Florida. He’s also tallied 164 points in 202 career games with the Panthers, including a staggering 42 goals and 73 points in 81 games last season. Going over those scoring totals makes it clear why Florida would want to be careful with overextending Verhaeghe. Maurice’s emphasis on being cautious also gives fans good insight into how the team is planning to operate. Florida faced a slew of injuries last season, including an Achilles injury that held Anthony Duclair out of a majority of the season and are looking to flip those fortunes in a new year. Verhaeghe is the first to face this cautiousness but how it will carry into the regular season should be interesting to see.

Other notes from around the league:

  • The Mercury News’ Curtis Pashelka shared that the San Jose Sharks would be open to trading Logan Couture or Tomas Hertl, if the veterans want to leave. It seems San Jose recognizes the situation they’re in and understands if their aging veterans want to chase the playoffs. However, their contracts may be difficult to move. Couture carries an $8MM cap hit and Hertl carries $8.1375MM, both with some sort of trade protection. While a deal would come at the request of either player, meaning trade protection wouldn’t likely make much impact, it’ll still be challenging to work out the logistics in the flat-cap environment the NHL currently finds itself in. Nonetheless, being offered top-end talent previously only offered to San Jose should be enticing for any NHL club.
  • 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.

East Notes: Nylander, Pinto, Lafrenière

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The Toronto Maple Leafs are returning to an experiment that’s yielded middling returns at best when tried in the past. Head coach Sheldon Keefe is beginning training camp by utilizing William Nylander at center, putting the Swede back in the position he played when he was drafted in a crucial year for both team and player.

In theory, the move could pay serious dividends if kept long-term. It allows Keefe to roll out Nylander, Auston Matthews and John Tavares on three separate units while letting David Kämpf hone his shutdown specialty in a fourth-line role. If Nylander can adapt to playing down the middle, it would also give more support to a rag-tag group of wingers made up of skilled free-agent signings on one-year deals and youngsters looking to prove they can handle full-time roles. He hasn’t ever stuck as a full-time center, however, and he was famously moved there by former head coach Mike Babcock during the postseason early in his career. It didn’t work out – he scored just three goals through his first three playoff series, but he’s exploded since then and solidified himself as a consistent playoff performer – which is more than other stars on the team can say.

Elsewhere in the Eastern Conference today:

  • 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.
  • New York Rangers head coach Peter Laviolette says he’ll open camp with 2020 first-overall pick Alexis Lafrenière at right wing. Many have speculated a move to his off-wing could be beneficial for the 21-year-old, who’s struggled to find ice time on the left wing behind Chris Kreider and Artemi Panarin. It could work out to be a prudent move for the Rangers’ new bench boss, as getting both Lafrenière and Kaapo Kakko clicking in top-six roles out of the gate alongside the team’s veteran firepower would be incredibly impactful for their long-term futures with the team.

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.

Philadelphia Flyers Interested In Ottawa’s Shane Pinto

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The Fourth Period’s Anthony Di Marco shared that the Philadelphia Flyers made an offer on unsigned Ottawa Senators forward Shane Pinto. The offer would have also sent Mathieu Joseph, who makes $2.95MM for the next three years, to Philadelphia alongside Pinto as a cap dump. No return from Philadelphia is mentioned, although Di Marco notes that it would’ve been a roster player. He also shares that Philadelphia has, “kind of moved on” after not receiving a prompt response from Ottawa.

Shane Pinto’s contract negotiations have quickly become news worth following, as little progress has been made in finding a deal. Both Di Marco and Elliotte Friedman, in his 32 Thoughts podcast, agree that Ottawa’s preference is still to re-sign Pinto. But Friedman noted that Ottawa is aware any trade involving Pinto would return a quality player.

And that’s the real challenge. While few teams in the league are in a position to take on more cap, especially any potential cap dump that may need to be associated with the deal, Pinto is a player worth finding room for. The 22-year-old centerman scored 20 goals and 35 points while appearing in all 82 games last season – a defiant rookie showing. Friedman remains confident that, following this strong season, a market value contract for Pinto would carry a cap hit of around $2.5MM. That price coupled with Joseph’s cap dump would equate to roughly $5.5MM that any potential suitor would need to make room for.

There’s also the matter of what a fair trade return is for a player of Pinto’s quality. Friedman and co-host Jeff Marek discuss the Boston Bruins as another team that could be interested but are likely out of any true conversations given their cap situation and lack of expendable assets. With training camp looming, movement with Pinto is likely right around the corner. But whether a new deal with come with Ottawa or a new team is yet to be seen.

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.

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