Arizona Coyotes Could Be Early Players On Trade Market
The regular season is about to begin and with it comes the regular season trade market, which can be both a continuation of long-term team building or more reactionary measures to combat injuries or a slow start. One team that seems likely to be included in early trade conversations are the Arizona Coyotes. The ‘Yotes have the pieces, the motivation, and most importantly, the roster crunch that should make them a prime candidate to acquire one of the first major pieces to hit the trade block.
Entering the 2018-19 season, Arizona is the only NHL team that is at the league’s 50-contract limit. A handful of other teams sit at 48 or 49 players signed, but the Coyotes are the only club right up against it. In fact, the Coyotes actually have 52 players under contract, according to CapFriendly. The contracts of recent first-round picks Barrett Hayton and Pierre-Olivier Joseph won’t count against the limit, once both are returned to their respective junior teams, but as of now Hayton remains on the roster. Presumably, Hayton must be returned to juniors. The fact that the Coyotes cannot even make such a simple roster decision exemplifies the inflexibility that the team struggles with. Solving this dilemma ahead of NHL Trade Deadline or college free agent rush later in the season will be a task on the forefront for GM John Chayka and company.
[RELATED: ARIZONA COYOTES ROSTER]
Fortunately, Arizona is set up well to make an “all-for-one”-type deal. The Coyotes have one of the youngest rosters in the league, specifically up front, where the depth of talent in 25-and-under forwards runs well into the minor league ranks. Regardless of who makes the Opening Night roster for Arizona, the team will have two or three well-regarded forward prospects playing for their AHL team in Tuscon seemingly for much of the year. It’s a simple fact of life that not every promising player can see substantial NHL minutes, but can the Coyotes really afford to be wasting talent?
Arizona has not qualified for the playoffs since they went by the name “Phoenix”. The team last saw postseason action in 2011-12, the third-longest drought in the league. The Coyotes have only made the playoffs three times total in the post-lockout salary cap era. Fans are clamoring for a change in fortunes and while the ‘Yotes have been considered an up-and-coming team for years now, the rebuild simply hasn’t panned out. The administration has shown more of a willingness to make changes recently, investing in contender-caliber tandem of Antti Raanta and Darcy Kuemper, trading for veterans like Niklas Hjalmarsson, Jason Demers, and Derek Stepan and even signing sought-after hired gun Michael Grabner. The Coyotes are starting to build a roster that structurally looks more like a contender than the past few seasons, while maintaining a low salary cap hit. However, they need to get out from under this roster limit issue and an easy way of doing so would be to package several of their minor league forwards for a veteran name on the rumor mill.
Some may still want to take the slow, cautious approach and see the rebuild through, but after seven years without a playoff game and a Chayka administration that has seen too few top prospects pan out, the pressure is on in the desert. A slow start, even if it caused by an Alex Galchenyuk injury absence or adjusting to game speed for players like Jakob Chychrun, Christian Dvorak, and several new faces, could be enough to pull the trigger on such a deal. Considering all the variables in favor of making a trade, it would be no surprise to see the Coyotes active on the trade market early this season.
Jesperi Kotkaniemi Will Start Season With Montreal Canadiens
While surprise probably isn’t the correct word, the Montreal Canadiens announced that head coach Claude Julien confirmed that 18-year-old prospect Jesperi Kotkaniemi will start the season in Montreal. No word on where he might play or even what position he might play out of the gate.
“We decided that he’ll start the season here in Montreal. It’s good news for him, and it’s good news for us,” said Julien.
The 2018 third-overall pick has been debated for weeks now about whether or not he should remain with the team. While the team is desperate for help down the middle, Kotkaniemi has not played center on a regular basis in over a year as he played left wing this past season with Liiga’s Assat Pori team as a 17-year-old. With the team already having abandoned the Jonathan Drouin experiment at center and only getting a minimal look at Max Domi as their No. 1 center before being suspended for the remainder of the preseason, the team may be hoping that Kotkaniemi can work his way into the role at some point during the season.
Kotkaniemi was already somewhat of a mild surprise when the Canadiens took him with the third overall pick when there were better-known wingers ahead of him, including Brady Tkachuk and Filip Zadina, but it is believed that the Canadiens fell in love with Kotkaniemi’s potential as a future No. 1 center, which now looks to be immediate. The team is allowed to play him for nine games before they burn the first year of his entry-level contract. The team may want to see how he responds to playing in the regular season before making a final decision on whether to keep him, send him to the AHL’s Laval Rocket or return him to Finland.
One other interesting point made by The Athletic’s Arpon Basu (subscription required) is that the salary cap specifics could fit perfectly if the team keeps Kotkaniemi this season. He points out that if Kotkaniemi does play more than 10 games this season, then he will sign his second NHL contract in 2021-22 when the Canadiens have freed themselves of some significant cap room, including the contracts of Tomas Tatar, Brendan Gallagher, Jeff Petry and Phillip Danault (assuming none of them get extended). It’s also significant, because the team has quite a few other prospects that are a year behind Kotkaniemi such as Nick Suzuki, Ryan Poehling as well as a potential high pick in the 2019 NHL draft who could hit a big payday in 2022-23 and might have Montreal thinking ahead to avoid having all three get paid in the same year.
Capitals Hoping To Deal From Depth Of Defensive Prospects
The Washington Post’s Isabelle Khurshudyan may have gotten more than she bargained for when talking to Washington Capitals GM Brian MacLellan today. The Stanley Cup-winning executive let slip some internal team building plans, a rarity in the tight-lipped NHL. MacLellan acknowledged that the Capitals currently have a surplus of defensive prospects, but took it even further, stating that he hopes to trade some away in exchange for forward prospects.
The first part of MacLellan’s statement is rather obvious and why Khurshudyan though to ask about his plans. The Capitals had struggled defensively for many years before putting together a solid unit en route to championship last season. Although it involved trading and later re-signing Brooks Orpik, the team was surprisingly able to keep the group together this year and moving forward, with seven of the nine defensemen who suited up in 2017-18 – most importantly the top six from the Cup run – returning. The top four of John Carlson, Michal Kempny, Matt Niskanen, and Dmitry Orlov are all signed through at least three more years, while Christian Djoos and Madison Bowey – both under 25 – are restricted free agents at the end of their current contracts. There isn’t much long-term opportunity for defensemen in the Capitals system, yet they are well-stocked in pro-caliber prospects. 2015 second-rounder Jonas Siegenthaler, 2016 first-rounder Lucas Johansen, and promising righty Connor Hobbs would all be pushing for NHL play time on a majority of teams across the league. The team also used first- and second-round picks on blue liners in June, selecting Alexander Alexeyev and Martin Fehervary respectively. While it doesn’t hurt to have a redundancy of talent, it does seem as though the Capitals have too many mouths to feed on defense over the next five years or so.
As such, MacLellan revealed that he would ideally trade some of those players for forward prospects of a similar caliber. Seeing as Johansen, Alexeyev, and Fehervary are recent high picks with room to grow, Siegenthaler and Hobbs would likely be the leading candidates to be dealt away, with an even an off-chance that one of Djoos or Bowey are dealt. Forwards of equal quality to that foursome would be far more valuable to Washington, who has ample opportunity up front moving forward but far fewer players to compete. Outside of Jakub Vrana, who Khurshudyan calls the Capitals’ “last high-end forward prospect”, and Andre Burakovsky, the depth of talent among young forwards in the system is not overwhelming. Many could have good careers as bottom-six forwards, including 2018 second- and third-round picks Kody Clark and Riley Sutter, but none seem to have much in the way of great top-six upside. The Capitals also don’t plan to be in a draft position next year to land a forward with elite scoring potential. So, they’re left to trade from an area of strength in the organization to fill an area of weakness. At least that is MacLellan’s plan. The fact that it is now public knowledge could help or hinder his attempts to make it happen.
Kings Loan Jacob Moverare To SHL’s Frolunda HC
Los Angeles Kings defensive prospect Jacob Moverare is on the move. After being cut from Kings camp and assigned to Ontario of the AHL on Saturday, the Swedish Hockey League’s Frolunda HC announced today that the 20-year-old blue liner will join their team for the remainder of the season. Moverare has played the past two seasons in North America with the OHL’s Mississauga Steelheads, but will now return to his native Sweden for the foreseeable future.
While it is not out of the ordinary to see a loan of this kind for a young foreign player, the circumstances are somewhat unique. Moverare is not a stranger to the SHL, skating in four games at the top level as a teenager in 2015-16; however, he was brought up in the developmental system of HV71. By now joining Frolunda, it seems likely that Moverare and his agent were given permission to negotiate a new contract in SHL, rather than simply re-joining his old squad. In Frolunda’s press release, Moverare acknowledges that he worked out with the team this summer and felt comfortable skating with the squad this year.
Moverare’s loan should not be considered any indication that he won’t be back in North America in the future. The 2016 fourth-round pick has shown considerable ability and is simply a victim of the numbers game for L.A. Moverare, a right-shot, puck-moving defenseman, plays a strong, competitive game and is known for his vision and positioning on the ice. In Mississauga, Moverare was a productive player who often paired with Vegas Golden Knights prospect Nic Hague to form a formidable duo. However, after missing time last season due to injury, the Kings made the decision that the best thing for his development this year would be guaranteed ice time, which may have been hard to come by with Ontario. Los Angeles has 16 other defensemen under contract, and even with seven or eight slated for L.A., it would have left at least nine in Ontario prior to Moverare’s loan. Rather than compete for ice time with NHL-ready prospects like Daniel Brickley, Kale Clague, and Alex Lintuniemi or veterans such as Kurtis MacDermid and Paul LaDue, it makes more sense for Moverare to spend the season with Frolunda, where he will likely have a regular top-six role.
Trade Rumors: Faulk, Bobrovsky, Ritchie, Wood
When TSN released their off-season Trade Bait List in early July, Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Justin Faulk was ranked #4, among the most likely players to be dealt. A little more than two months later, all three players ranked ahead of him – Erik Karlsson, Max Pacioretty, and former teammate Jeff Skinner – have changed teams, while Faulk remains in Raleigh. But for how much longer? Appearing on TSN Radio 1050 recently, insider Pierre LeBrun revealed that Faulk was a target of the Toronto Maple Leafs this summer and speculated that the team could still move to acquire him this season. LeBrun opines that Faulk, a right-handed shot signed to an extremely reasonable $4.83MM cap hit over two more years, would be a perfect fit for the Leafs. Toronto has long been searching for a top pair defenseman to complement lefty Morgan Rielly and Faulk fits the bill. LeBrun speculates that the Hurricanes are likely asking for a major package in exchange for Faulk, but meeting those demands may not be an impossible task for Toronto. Several Maple Leafs players and prospects could fill gaps in Carolina, such as veteran center Nazem Kadri, promising wingers Kasperi Kapanen and Andreas Johnsson, and young goalies Garret Sparks and Joseph Woll, as well as a full cabinet of draft picks. There have also been some inclinations that the Hurricanes are preparing to move on from Faulk as well, such as acquiring a new top pair righty in Dougie Hamilton and passing over Faulk, a career ‘Cane, for their captaincy. The team is under no pressure to deal their long-time stud defenseman, but if GM Don Waddell receives a strong enough offer, he seems likely to pull the trigger.
- Columbus Blue Jackets GM Jarmo Kekalainen has been clear that he does not want to trade either Artemi Panarin or Sergei Bobrovsky, but as both remain unsigned and approaching free agency and trade calls continue to come in for Panarin, there has been rampant speculation as to where the star winger may land. After recent comments from Bobrovsky that could be read as implying that his time in Columbus could soon be over, many have begun to predict where he may land as well. In a recent segment for TSN Radio 1200 in Ottawa, Darren Dreger stated his belief that the New York Islanders would be the front runners in a Bobrovsky trade scenario. Dreger adds that there will be more than a few suitors should the two-time Vezina winner hit the trade market or, better yet, the open market. However, Dreger feels that the Islanders and new GM Lou Lamoriello feel more pressure to add a true No. 1 goaltender in their hopes of soon returning to contender status. The Isles currently roster unpredictable Robin Lehner, on a one-year deal, and failed starter Thomas Greiss, as well as two prospects overseas in Ilya Sorokin and Jakub Skarek. Lehner and Greiss do not instill much hope and Sorokin may never make the jump to North America. The Islanders are without a solution in net in the immediate future and could target Bobrovsky at any cost to solve that problem.
- How long will the Anaheim Ducks and New Jersey Devils wait on contract resolutions with Nick Ritchie and Miles Wood respectively? The restricted free agents continue to hold out for better contracts and miss valuable time in training camp, despite underwhelming numbers through their first three seasons to support their absence. At this time last year, Columbus Blue Jackets RFA forward Josh Anderson – a similar power forward-style player – remained unsigned and was the subject of numerous trade rumors. Yet, Anderson had just 34 points through 96 games in his first three seasons, whereas Ritchie and Wood have more experience and production through the same amount of time. Ritchie, a first round pick in 2014, has 59 points in 186 games. Wood, one of the Devils’ top scorers last season, has 49 points through 137 games. One would think that either team could drum up interest if they began actively shopping their respective RFA, but it hasn’t happened to this point. Wood is not without flaws to his game, but has exceeded expectations and played a major role for New Jersey last season and with more play time has the potential to be even better. In contract, Ritchie has his strengths, but has not lived up to his first-round billing. Between the two, it would be less of a surprise to see Anaheim part with Ritchie.
Prospect Notes: 2019 Draft, Tkachuk, Formenton
The 2019 NHL Draft Lottery is already shaping up to be a franchise-changing event, given the consensus building over Jack Hughes as the best overall player available. Bob McKenzie of TSN released his Pre-Season Draft Rankings, and noted that ten out of ten scouts he polled have Hughes in the top spot. That’s a kind of dominance reserved the last few seasons for players like Connor McDavid, Auston Matthews and Rasmus Dahlin, and should indicate a tremendous future for the young center.
Hughes is an outstanding talent, but remember that all fifteen teams that miss the playoffs will have a chance to win the lottery and select first overall. While those teams who finish at the bottom—or those who own another team’s pick—have the best chance, Hughes could find himself in any number of cities when training camp begins next year.
- The Ottawa Senators may have risked a shot at Hughes by hanging onto their 2018 fourth-overall draft pick, but they’re quite happy with the progress Brady Tkachuk has already shown. Tkachuk seems poised for an immediate role with the Senators, and Luke Fox of Sportsnet dives into what makes the young forward tick. Head coach Guy Boucher admits that Tkachuk has been impressive through the first part of training camp, but wouldn’t go so far as to guarantee his spot on the opening night roster. If the Senators are to be competitive this season they may just need a spark from young players like Tkachuk to turn things around.
- Speaking of Ottawa prospects, Alex Formenton has also drawn the eye of his head coach in recent days. As Chris Johnston of Sportsnet reports, Boucher compared Formenton’s speed to that of superstar Connor McDavid today as the Senators prepare for their first exhibition game. The 19-year old speedster played one game for Ottawa last season and two games for Belleville at the end of the year, but would be heading back to the London Knights of the OHL if he fails to crack the Senators roster this fall. Already armed with some NHL-level attributes, Formenton would likely be a leader on the Canadian World Junior squad if allowed to attend the tournament in a few months.
Morgan Frost, Isaac Ratcliffe Sent Back To Junior
The Philadelphia Flyers have cut their training camp roster by two players, sending star prospects Morgan Frost and Isaac Ratcliffe back to their respective junior teams. While it doesn’t come as a total surprise, there were some who hoped Frost would push for a roster spot with the Flyers this season after his outstanding 2017-18 campaign. Instead, both young players will return to the OHL where they can continue to dominate the competition and develop towards their full potential.
As we discussed during our most recent PHR Live Chat, Frost still has some developing to do at the junior level despite his huge step forward last season. After scoring just 62 points in the 2016-17 season, Frost became the go-to offensive weapon for the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds and led the club with 112 points. That production continued into the OHL playoffs with another 29 points in 24 games and shouldn’t stop this season. Selected 27th overall in 2017, Frost was always known to have a huge offensive ceiling but there was some who doubted his ability to reach that full potential given his slight frame. He’ll get a chance to keep working on his defensive ability while being a candidate for the OHL scoring lead, and should play a key role on the Canadian World Junior team.
While Ratcliffe was selected a few picks later at number 35 in 2017, he is almost as exciting for Philadelphia fans who are looking towards the future. The opposite of Frost, Ratcliffe is an imposing physical specimen standing 6’6″ and is able to use his size effectively in the offensive zone. His 41 goals easily led the Guelph Storm—in fact, the second most was 24—and he even scored in his two-game stint with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms at the end of the year. There is a lot of room to grow for Ratcliffe in his overall game, but he should be able to continue to put the puck in the net this year at the OHL level.
Poll: Who Will Win The Calder Trophy In 2018-19?
The Athletic’s NHL Draft and prospects guru Scott Wheeler has released the first definitive list of candidates for the Calder Trophy in 2018-19, and the order may surprise some people. Admittedly, the list is in the context of fantasy hockey, but Wheeler’s rankings are true to how he thinks Calder voting will unfold if each rookie hits their stat projections. As such, it’s not this year’s first overall pick, Buffalo Sabres defenseman Rasmus Dahlin, at the top of the list, but presumptive top-six center for the Vancouver Canucks, Elias Pettersson. Pettersson will be put in a much better position to rack up points than will Dahlin, the next-best candidate, as potentially one of the three best scoring forwards for the Canucks and traditionally productive forwards have a better shot at the Calder than (relatively) equally productive defensemen.
Coming in at number three is Boston Bruins forward Ryan Donato, who led both the NCAA and Olympics in goals last season and will look to win a top-six role for Boston and continue to find the back of the net at an alarming rate. Playing alongside either Brad Marchand and Patrice Bergeron or David Krejci and Jake DeBrusk is an easy way for Donato to quickly become an elite scorer at the NHL level. The fourth-ranked candidate is second overall pick Andrei Svechnikov of the Carolina Hurricanes, who – like Pettersson – will be given an immense amount of responsibility right away as a top-six winger who is arguably already one of the three most skilled forwards on the team. However, Svechnikov is one of three Hurricanes rookies on Wheeler’s list, which could take away from his case. Rounding out the top five is Dahlin’s fellow rookie in Buffalo, center Casey Mittelstadt, who scored at nearly a point-per-game pace in the college ranks and in a brief stint with the Sabres to end the year. Mittelstadt should face favorable match-ups this season with the lines anchored by Jack Eichel and Patrik Berglund drawing considerable attention from the opposition.
Wheeler’s top twenty Calder Trophy candidates are as follows:
- C Elias Pettersson, Vancouver Canucks
- D Rasmus Dahlin, Buffalo Sabres
- RW Ryan Donato, Boston Bruins
- RW Andrei Svechnikov, Carolina Hurricanes
- C Casey Mittelstadt, Buffalo Sabres
- RW Filip Zadina, Detroit Red Wings
- C Dylan Strome, Arizona Coyotes
- C Henrik Borgstrom, Florida Panthers
- C Martin Necas, Carolina Hurricanes
- D Miro Heiskanen, Dallas Stars
- RW Dylan Sikura, Chicago Blackhawks
- RW Eeli Tolvanen, Nashville Predators
- C Filip Chytil, New York Rangers
- LW Brady Tkachuk, Ottawa Senators
- LW Valentin Zykov, Carolina Hurricanes
- RW Kailer Yamamoto, Edmonton Oilers
- C Anthony Cirelli, Tampa Bay Lightning
- LW Kristian Vesalainen, Winnipeg Jets
- C Sam Steel, Anaheim Ducks
- RW Vitaly Abramov, Columbus Blue Jackets
Honorable Mentions: C Vladislav Kamenev, Colorado Avalanche; LW Jordan Greenway, Minnesota Wild; C Robert Thomas, St. Louis Blues; LW Andreas Johnsson, Toronto Maple Leafs; C Michael Rasmussen, Detroit Red Wings; C Lias Andersson, New York Rangers; D Sami Niku, Winnipeg Jets; D Evan Bouchard, Edmonton Oilers; RW Daniel Sprong, Pittsburgh Penguins
What do you think? Who will be the NHL’s Rookie of the Year and take home the Calder Trophy at the end of the season? The favorite? The first overall pick? Another top candidate? Or a name not even mentioned here?
Free Agency Notes: Blue Jackets, Islanders, Edler
Even if the Columbus Blue Jackets are the best team in the NHL this season – something some analytics pundits don’t think is outside the realm of possibility – the recurring story line all season will be the impending free agency of stars Artemi Panarin and Sergei Bobrovsky. Much has been made about the futures of these two all-world players, but now that training camp has arrived, the question is whether their fates have already been decided.
As The Athletic’s Aaron Portzline writes, Paranin did set a deadline of September 13th for all contract negotiations to be completed, stating that he would not continue negotiations in-season. That deadline has now passed. However, Portzline also notes that this ultimatum was issued not long after Panarin rejected an extension offer from the Blue Jackets. Perhaps Panarin’s deadline was more about pressuring Columbus to trade him prior to the beginning of the season than it was to come together on a new contract. Yet, GM Jarmo Kekalainen does not see it that way: “There’s no such deadline in my book. It’s July 1, 2019″.” The team clearly believes that their best plan of action is to enter the season with Panarin and see how things go, continually pushing for an extension up to or through the trade deadline.
Meanwhile, Portzline notes that Bobrovsky has spent much of his off-season alongside Panarin and there is a chance that he has rubbed off on the veteran goaltender. Negotiations with Bobrovsky have reportedly been ongoing and there is no reason to think that they won’t continue. Of course, the Blue Jackets have no plans to trade Bobrovsky and may not all year. However, Portzline also writes that Bobrovsky’s mood when speaking with the media yesterday implied that he may also be ready to walk at season’s end. Bobrovsky said “After last season, I told the situation to the management of the Blue Jackets, so they know everything. They know my plans for the season. They know my plans for the future. They know everything.” When asked if that meant that this season would be his last in Columbus, he added “We’ll see. You have to ask them.” Portzline even says that Bobrovsky briefly spoke in the past tense about his time with the team and seemed like a person whose mind was made up. It wasn’t exactly the positive note that the team and its fans wanted to begin the season with, but then again success can be the solution to many problems. A strong start to the season, and especially a strong end to the season, could convince either player to re-sign and keep the Blue Jackets trending toward being Stanley Cup contenders.
- Anders Lee and Jordan Eberle don’t foresee their impending free agency as a similar situation to that of former teammate John Tavares. Rather, both players expressed their happiness with playing for the New York Islanders when speaking with Newsday’s Andrew Gross. They also agreed that they didn’t want their contracts to be a distraction to them or the team and only hoped for a strong start to the season. Lee, 28, is a career Islander coming of the best season of his career and may be a player that new GM Lou Lamoriello and company see as a core piece moving forward. The same could go for Eberle, 28, who excelled last season after coming over from the Edmonton Oilers. Given the Islanders’ enviable salary cap flexibility and prospect depth, the team can afford to give both Lee and Eberle the contracts they want, likely long-term at $6.5MM+ AAV, if they are happy in New York. The same can’t be said for fellow impending UFA Brock Nelson, who also talked with Gross. Nelson has a long way to go to prove he is worthy of a long-term commitment from the Isles and will be given a chance to prove that. Short of a career year for the two-way center, he is likely a trade casualty in the coming season.
- Despite being included in trade rumors for the past two or three seasons now, Vancouver Canucks defenseman Alex Edler might not be going anywhere. The Athletic’s Jason Brough reports that Edler would like to re-sign with the team this season before the final year of his contract expires. He tells Brough that, were it up to him, he would never play for another NHL team. “If something can be worked out, I would love to stay here,” Edler said, “Even though we’ve had some tough years, this is kind of an exciting thing to go through. There’s change and a lot of young guys are coming in. You see how they are developing. There’s nothing now, but we’ll see. We’ll see what happens.” The veteran seems more than happy to go through the rebuild process with the Canucks and continue to be a leader in the locker room and on the blue line. In that same vein, Brough doubts that Edler will be willing to waive his full No-Trade Clause if Vancouver does look to move him for picks and prospects this year. Edler dodged a question on the subject and continued on about how much he would like to remain with the team. The 32-year-old still has plenty of gas left in the tank and perhaps refusing a trade would really prove his loyalty and earn him a short-term extension. That remains to be seen, but the status of Edler, like any prominent impending free agent, is not a story line that is going to go away this season.
Ottawa Senators Preparing For Huge Roster Turnover
Late last night after much of the hockey news had died down for the day, the Ottawa Senators released a video of defenseman Mark Borowiecki and owner Eugene Melnyk discussing the future of the organization. Touching on subjects from dressing room leadership to overcoming the low expectations for 2018-19, Melnyk made clear he would be staying with the franchise for a long time and will not move it from Ottawa. He also noted an interesting point about roster construction, explaining how quickly the rebuild will get underway:
This coming year we’re going to have 10 out of the 22 players are going to be new. Meaning they’re either rookies or they’ve played maybe under 10 games last year. Then the following year, it’s going to go up to about 15 of the 22, maybe 16. So that’s a total turnover you know, which is exactly what should be in a rebuild.
Stripping your roster down to the studs and letting a group of young players grow and mature together is often a strategy for struggling teams who want to rebuild, and the Senators saw a similar situation play out just down the road in Toronto a few years ago. In fact, when the Maple Leafs traveled to Ottawa to open the season in 2016 they had seven rookies in the lineup including Auston Matthews, who scored four times despite the loss. That would appear to be the blue print for Melnyk and the Senators as they look to pull a similarly speedy rebuild.
The question though becomes how do they achieve the goal of having 10 rookies on the roster at the beginning of the year. The team currently has at least 19 players—Mark Stone, Bobby Ryan, Matt Duchene, Zack Smith, Jean-Gabriel Pageau, Ryan Dzingel, Tom Pyatt, Magnus Paajarvi, Max McCormick, Colin White, Marian Gaborik, Erik Karlsson, Cody Ceci, Chris Wideman, Ben Harpur, Thomas Chabot, Craig Anderson, Mike Condon and Borowiecki—who played more than 10 games for the organization last season and should at the very least be battling for roster spots. While perhaps Melnyk was exaggerating and players like White and Chabot would still be considered “rookies” given their relative youth and inexperience, it seems likely that there will be substantial turnover in the rest of the group.
We’ve heard for months that Karlsson may be on the block, speculation that will only increase given his complete absence from this video, but other players including Stone and Duchene are both heading into the final years of their contracts and could be shipped out for prospects and picks. If the Senators are committed to a full scorched earth rebuild, they are powerful assets in trade.
At the very least, we should expect the Senators to be involved in trade talks all season. Even though Melnyk and Borowiecki seem excited about playing the underdogs this year, the amount of roster turnover that the owner mentions isn’t possible without some transactions coming through the pipe quickly. Camp starts in just a few days and Senators rookies should be licking their chops on the opportunity that is apparently there for the taking.