The 2015-2016 season officially wrapped up a few nights ago. The handshakes are done. Phil Kessel had his parade.
Now the real fun can begin.
Pierre Dorion and the rest of the Front Office will be busy over the next eight days as they make their final preparations for the NHL Entry Draft. And while the Senators are focused on what should be a busy couple days in Buffalo at the end of next week, they’ve also started the process of working out new contracts for some of their own free agents.
According to Bruce Garrioch, the Senators have made initial contact with Cody Ceci’s agent about a new contract. And while no formal offers have been made to this point, the belief is the two sides are discussing a couple options including both a short and long term deal.
On a long term contract, the organization would be gambling on Ceci’s future growth and hoping to get a bargain later in the contract. He’s shown signs of being a top four defenceman and on the current depth chart, he’ll certainly be expected to play like one for the next few years. And the fact that he’s just 22 years old suggests his best days are ahead of him. You can certainly make a compelling case for a long term deal that could save the team money down the road.
At the same time, Dorion has also made it clear that he’s open to a shorter term contract (2 or 3 years), that would keep Ceci as an RFA and allow the Senators to see a couple more years before making that long term commitment. While Ceci took strides last year and seemed like a more confident player with the puck on his stick, there are still some concerns in the underlying numbers.
The Senators have two key restricted free agents to lock up this summer in Cody Ceci and Mike Hoffman. Certainly seems like Ceci will be the easier of the two deals to get done.
Still think a short-term bridge deal is the most likely outcome in the Ceci negotiations. Based on recent RFA deals (Stone, Zibanejad, Pageau, Hoffman), it’s clear the Senators prefer to save money now and keep the cap hit/dollar amount low in situations where they hold leverage in the negotiations. And it certainly makes sense in this instance as Ceci is still a player with a lot to prove.
What do you predict Cody Ceci gets on his next deal?
