All Star weekend is in the books and across the National Hockey League; teams are now turning their attention to the stretch drive.
The Senators are back on the ice for practice at 5:00 PM today and will kick off what Dave Cameron has called a “mini-training camp” in preparation for the final 36 games of their season. Ottawa doesn’t play again till Thursday night when they host Jason Spezza and the Dallas Stars. It will kick off a crucial stretch for the Sens which includes 9 of their next 11 games at the Canadian Tire Centre.
And while Cameron prepares his team on the ice, in the Front Office they are already turning their attention towards March 2, 2015.
Bryan Murray won’t necessarily put a label on it, but I sense that they are primarily in the seller category leading up to the trade deadline in March. They are prepared to listen to offers on their veterans including Chris Phillips, Chris Neil and David Legwand.
Although they would prefer not to go down this road, they are also willing to deal Marc Methot if they have to. The thinking is the two sides will give it one last chance at the negotiation table in the next week or two and if there isn’t progress, the Senators will have to consider a trade. The Los Angeles Kings are believed to be one of the teams interested in Methot, should the Senators make him available.
While Murray is certainly open to dealing veterans for the picks and/or prospects, he hasn’t ruled out the possibility of adding over the next month and a bit. But it’s not going to be a rental player.
Ya know, maybe the term “selective-buyer” best describes the Senators leading up to the deadline. Any deal they make is going to be with the future in mind.
I would still classify it as a rumour at this point (a fairly strong one though) but word is the Senators put together an offer for Edmonton Oiler forward Taylor Hall. Robin Lehner was believed to be part of the package going the other way. Deals like that don’t usually get done during the season though. From Edmonton’s perspective, they would be wise to wait until the summer when more teams could make a serious pitch. Then again, the Oilers aren’t usually known for their sound decision-making.
If Ottawa does add anything over the next couple months, it’s going to be that kind of significant addition that can help this team immediately and for years to come. Another “Bobby Ryan trade” as Murray described it.
Now if they go out and do something crazy like win 6 or 7 straight after the All Star break, that could change everything.
-One move to watch for this week could be Colin Greening hitting the waiver wire. Murray talked about it last week, suggesting that after the All Star break the team may have to consider putting Greening on waivers to make room on the roster. Greening and his agent were given one last chance to try and find a team willing to take him on but there doesn’t seem to be any progress on that front yet. Clock is ticking for Mr. Greening.
-Looked like Bobby Ryan and Mike Hoffman enjoyed themselves during All Star weekend. Mike Hoffman came damn close to winning the fastest skater award and probably scored the goal of the night. Although he had a tough time in the skills competition, Bobby Ryan did score in Sunday’s game. One of the best moments from the weekend was this exchange between Bobby Ryan and Chris Sutter, son of Kings’ Head Coach Darryl Sutter.
