At most, there are four games left in the 2015/2016 NHL season.
With only the Pittsburgh Penguins and the San Jose Sharks left to battle it out for the ultimate prize, 28 teams have already started to turn their attention towards next year. And while a new season is still a good four months away, the off season chatter is already starting to ramp up.
Based on some of the rumours swirling in the last couple weeks, it really does seem like this could be one of the more active off-seasons in recent memory. The combination of the salary cap flattening out and an expansion draft looming on the horizon is going to force some teams to make difficult decisions about their roster. And that means there’s potential for some blockbuster trades.
Draft in three weeks. Free agency right after that. It’s going to be a busy time around here. While we wait for the off-season news to start filtering in- another edition of Monday News and Notes.
-The NHL held it’s Draft Combine over the weekend in Buffalo. Pierre Dorion and the Ottawa Senators’ scouting staff were there for the festivities and laid some important ground work for their 12th overall selection in the Entry Draft later this month. Randy Lee and Chris Schwartz were both there for the physical testing over the weekend and got their first look at the top prospects in this year’s draft class. Meanwhile Dorion and his staff were scheduled to speak to as many as 68 prospects over the first few days of the combine. From there, they expect to invite a handful of guys to Ottawa for additional conversation and workouts.
-Heading into the draft in three weeks time, the Senators hold the 12th overall selection. Dorion has apparently talked to teams from 4th overall to 11th overall about the possibility of moving up but based on everything he’s said to this point, it seems like a long shot. Perhaps more than any other year in recent memory, this first round is completely unpredictable. Outside those top three picks, the first round could go in just about any direction. It’s that level of unpredictability that’s going to add some intrigue to Draft night. While the Senators are confident they’ll get a good player at 12, if someone high on their list starts to slide, then they can get aggressive and try and move up.
-And while the Draft was the focus over the last week, Management also has an eye toward free agency. Ottawa isn’t expected to be overly active on the UFA market but they have made it clear that they’d like to add a defenceman if they could and possibly another forward. It has been talked about at length around these parts but ideally that’s a third pairing guy who can skate well and move the puck and a third line right wing that could pitch in on offence. Easier said than done but those are two of the things Dorion will be looking to address this off season.
-On top of unrestricted free agency, the Senators also need to make decisions on their restricted free agents. Qualifying offers have to be submitted by June 27th at 5:00 PM. Players then have until July 1st to accept the qualifying offer. Mike Hoffman, Ryan Dzingel, Matt Puempel, Alex Chiasson, Buddy Robinson, Max McCormick, Casey Bailey, Travis Ewanyk are the RFAs up front. Cody Ceci, Patrick Wiercioch, Freddy Claesson, Jerome Leduc and Troy Rutkowski are RFAs on defence. Of those 13 guys, there’s a good chance a couple won’t even get qualifying offers, including potentially Alex Chiasson and Patrick Wiercioch.
-Still pretty quiet on the Coaching front although last week there were rumours the Senators were closing in on a new Head Coach for the team in Binghamton so perhaps we hear something early this week. Ottawa needs a Coaching staff down there along with an Assistant Coach and a Goalie Coach for the NHL team. New Head Coach Guy Boucher has been heavily involved in that process to this point with many of the rumoured names having some sort of link to Boucher in the past.
-Speaking of Coaches, Bruce Garrioch mentioned last week that the Detroit Red Wings were looking at former Senators Head Coach Dave Cameron for one of their vacant Assistant Coach jobs. This would be good news for the Senators as it would give them some relief from Cameron’s salary. The Senators would still be on the hook for the difference between his salary here in Ottawa and whatever he might get with the Red Wings but it’s better than nothing. Cameron was apparently one of the league’s lowest paid Head Coaches so the difference between the two deals would be pretty minor.
