Every night I sit down to watch the NHL playoffs and at every night I end up disappointed.
There are moments of excitement in every game and I guess the pace is reasonably quick but for the most part, this year’s post-season has been a bit of a bore. Without a rooting interest and being just one year removed from Ottawa’s post-season run, it was going to take something pretty special to capture my attention this Spring and it just hasn’t been there. The Vegas story does nothing for me and if anything makes me question my hockey fandom entirely. I only care about one Canadian team and both Washington and Tampa Bay are so bleh.
Sure jealousy might be a factor but it also has to do with the fact that there really haven’t many close games. In fact, 12 of the last 14 playoff games played have been decided by two or more goals including every game in the Conference Finals. This compared to Ottawa’s run where 14 of 19 games were decided by a single goal including seven games that were decided in overtime. But that was soooo boring.
Okay, it’s mostly jealousy. Anyway, a few Senators related notes to carry us into the long weekend. Think of it as Monday News and Notes…but even better because it’s Friday!
-Defence was a huge issue for the Senators last year and it has to be an area Management takes a close look at over the summer. Karlsson remains the elephant in the room on that front but the team should also consider bringing someone in via free agency. The name Calvin de Haan has come up a lot around here over the last few weeks and it seems like a decent fit. de Haan is a left hand shot that would look perfect beside Karlsson. He’s extremely responsible in his own end of the rink and is the type of player that while he doesn’t put up big numbers, he’s not going to hurt you in the offensive zone. He is also coming off a significant shoulder injury which means he could be a bit of an under the radar option when the market opens. Oh and he’s SUPER local.
-The Senators are looking for a new face behind the bench in Belleville and by all accounts, the favourite continues to be Troy Mann. Troy, brother of Sens Chief Scout Trent Mann, has spent the last four seasons as a Head Coach with the Hershey Bears, the minor league affiliate of the Washington Capitals. Mann was a popular coach during his time in Hershey and led the team to the playoffs in three straight seasons before taking a bit of a step back last year. Mann’s departure caught some in the Caps organization off-guard but GM Brian MacLellan said they needed “a fresh approach and a change in leadership is needed in order for us to continue to develop our young players towards the next level and for success at the AHL level”. Sounds similar to where some felt this organization was at with Kurt Kleinendorst.
-Pierre Dorion made it pretty clear during the town hall sessions that the organization’s intention is to make Erik Karlsson a contract offer on July 1st. And while a lot of what was said during those sessions was dismissed by some as being nothing more than a PR exercise, people I have spoken with in the last couple days suggest that is definitely the plan. That plan can change if someone knocks the door down with a great deal on Draft Day but right now, they are preparing to make an offer to their Captain as soon as the CBA allows it. Whether or not that offer is anything close to what Karlsson would consider to stick around is obviously the next challenge.
-Karlsson continues to be at the top of Pierre Dorion’s To Do List for this summer but he’s certainly not the only big name on there. The organization also has to figure out what to do with Cody Ceci (call Edmonton, Pierre), negotiate an extension with Mark Stone and consider what a new deal would look like for Matt Duchene. Duchene has made it clear that despite the team struggles, he has enjoyed his time in Ottawa and he would be open to the idea of an extension. The Senators feel the same way and apparently the two sides exchanged general terms for a new deal shortly after the trade was made. The CBA says that teams can’t negotiate officially but those sort of informal talks seem common.
-One name that seems to be sort of forgotten heading into this summer is Ryan Dzingel. At 26 years of age, Dzingel is coming off a career-high 23 goals and he too will be eligible for an extension on July 1st. While Dzingel seems like the perfect candidate for a longer term deal at a bit of a lower cap number (in that $3-$4 mil range) there’s also something to be said for at least letting him enter a contract year. We’ve seen it time and time again but that “prove it” mentality always seems to bring out the best in players. There is no doubt that the organization sees Dzingel as a key part of their future but with so many other big decisions on their plate this summer, I doubt they are in any hurry to get something done with Dzingel.
-The team also has two unrestricted free agents to think about this summer. Magnus Paajarvi and Chris Wideman are both set to hit the market on July 1st and you would think both guys would have options as free agents. For what it’s worth, the Senators have shown preliminary interest in bringing both guys back next year but with free agency now just a month and a half away, it would not be surprising if Paajarvi and Wideman wanted to see what their options looked like on the open market first.
