The Ottawa Senators are off to an impressive 3-2-1 start to their season. Surprising for a team that was penciled into 31st overall before the puck even dropped on the 2018/2019 season.
And while the team on the ice is gradually starting to draw the attention of fans, there are still some important decisions that need to be made away from the rink. That includes two crucial contract negotiations with Matt Duchene and Mark Stone. Yesterday, we got our first real update on that front.
According to the folks at Insider Trading, Senators GM Pierre Dorion met with Matt Duchene’s agent recently in what can best be described as a preliminary discussion. Although it’s worth pointing out that this actually the second discussion Dorion has had with Pat Brisson in less than a month.
During the impromptu press conference Dorion held with bloggers at the end of September, he mentioned that he spoke with Duchene’s Camp earlier in the day. In speaking to us that night, Dorion actually seemed fairly confident about the possibility of getting Duchene locked up. Two conversations in a relatively short period of time, including a face to face meeting like was referenced above, sounds like an indication things may be trending in the right direction.
Obviously the situation with Duchene is a top priority for Dorion and the Senators right now.
They need to have a sense of where they stand with the player as soon as possible. If he has any intentions of testing free agency, the team needs to know that now and needs to start planning ahead to a potential deadline deal. And if that is the route they are forced to go, they would want to get the ball rolling sooner rather than later.
The good news is that sounds like a back up plan right now. Dorion and Duchene’s Camp seem to be in a regular conversation and that’s a good sign at this point.
We’ll see where it goes from here.
