While Alex Ovechkin continues his post-Cup bender, the rest of the league is beginning to shift its focus to the upcoming NHL Entry Draft.
In just 11 days, 31 teams will gather in Dallas for what should be two of the busiest days of the NHL off season. The Ottawa Senators currently hold two picks in the first round and that number could increase in the days leading up to the Draft. The Sens are currently without a 2nd or 3rd round pick but the word is Dorion will be active in his pursuit of additional picks in the later rounds.
And although the focus is on the Draft, the Senators will also have an eye towards free agency, which figures to be a franchise-defining few days.
So as we count down the days to the draft and free agency, another edition of Monday news and notes.
-Elliott Friedman’s latest 31 Thoughts has again touched on the possibility of the Vegas Golden Knights showing an interest in Erik Karlsson. It certainly won’t be the last we hear of this rumour. They made a strong pitch for Karlsson at the deadline but talks fell apart close to the deadline. According to Friedman, one of the hang-ups was Vegas not wanting to include first round pick Cody Glass in the deal. Shea Theodore and Alex Tuch have also been mentioned in those rumoured talks.
-In the last few days, it feels like a Mike Hoffman trade as gone from a possibility to an inevitability. Despite showing chemistry with Matt Duchene down the stretch, the Senators appear intent on moving Hoffman this summer. Assuming the right deal comes along. There was a time before the deadline when it seemed like a Hoffman deal was a sure thing but no team was willing to meet Pierre Dorion’s ask. A first round pick and a quality prospect/young player likely gets it done this time around and according to Dreger’s comments last week, Dorion currently has multiple offers on the table. St. Louis was the team showing the most interest before the deadline. Calgary and Edmonton both seem to have interest.
-One name that keeps coming up in the rumour mill, beside the two obvious ones, is Zack Smith. The Senators explored the market for Smith at the deadline and they are expected to do the same again this summer. Smith has three years left on his current deal at $3.25 million a season. While Smith is still a useful bottom six guy, it’s unlikely that teams are lining up to take on that kind salary and term on a bottom six player. Smith finished last season with just 5 goals and 19 points in 68 games.
-On June 15th, the first buyout window will open across the league. You can review the buyout rules here. Buyouts haven’t really been a part of the Ottawa playbook in the last four years (Bobby Butler was the last) but there are a couple of candidates this summer. The first and most obvious being Marian Gaborik. The 36 year old Gaborik has three more years left on his deal at a cap hit of $4.875 mil a season. He’ll earn $4.575 this year, $3.175 next season and $3.075 million in the final year of his contract. Gaborik underwent surgery for a herniated disc back in April and his initial recovery timeline was set at 8 weeks. Keep in mind that injured players can’t be bought out.
-On Friday, we learned additional details surrounding the allegations against Assistant General Manager Randy Lee. An article in the Ottawa Citizen not only included some of the specifics from the police report filed that night but it also outlined the reaction of the Senators organization and in particular Eugene Melnyk. Not surprisingly, the team is taking a ton of heat for the way they have handled the situation to this point with many calling for Lee to be placed on some sort of leave while these allegations are dealt with through the courts. Given the prominence of Lee’s role, you would think the league is following this situation pretty closely and likely advising the organization on what action to take. Lee is scheduled to appear in a Buffalo court on June 22nd.
-Things remain quiet on the LeBreton front. Last week, Jim Watson was on Ottawa radio and mentioned that he is still trying to schedule a meeting with Senators Owner Eugene Melnyk to talk about next steps. You’ll recall that back on April 19th, Watson mentioned that he was going to reach out to Melnyk to ask if he was serious about LeBreton Flats. Then about a month later, we learned that both Daniel Alfredsson and Jim Watson want the Senators to have a new owner. So it’s safe to say that the next sit down between Watson and Melnyk should be an interesting one. Melnyk and the RendezVous LeBreton group were scheduled to meet with the NCC last week.
