(UPDATE 1:27 PM)- More Sens news this afternoon as the results from the Cody Ceci hearing are in and it seems like good news for the Senators. Ottawa submitted $3.35 as their number while Cody Ceci countered with an ask of $6 mil. In the end- the arbitrator ruled $4.3 million as a fair salary for Ceci. It’s probably still a little high but the good news here is that the Senators managed to avoid making a long-term mistake with Ceci. Small victories.
(UPDATE 10:00 AM)- Well at least they avoided arbitration? This morning, the Senators announced they have reached an agreement with Mark Stone on a one year extension worth $7.35 million. Which is probably pretty close to what he was going to get if they had this settled by an arbitrator. While it’s nice to avoid a potentially ugly hearing, it still puts Stone in a situation where he can be an unrestricted free agent next summer. Strange times.
It’s sort of difficult to imagine that it has come to this.
I should really stop saying that in reference to things relating to the Ottawa Senators. After the way things have gone for the last 12 months or so, nothing should surprise us.
Today, the Senators may end up going to arbitration with one of their best forwards. Mark Stone, with his four straight 20 goal seasons and 60 or more points in four of the last five years, is still without a contract. There were times when it sounded like progress was being made towards a new long-term deal but in the last couple weeks, it has been completely silent.
Pierre Dorion, who I believe is still the General Manager of the hockey team, is officially running out of time.
While the two sides can still come to an agreement at any point before the arbitrator releases his or her ruling, the fact that it has lingered this long certainly isn’t a good sign. It’s no secret that these hearings can turn a little bit ugly so it’s shocking that the Senators would want to go through the process with one of their best players. Again, maybe shocking isn’t the right word. Disappointing, might be a better fit.
To make things worse, once the arbitrator makes a ruling, the Senators are locked into a one year deal with Stone. A one year deal that would see Mark Stone go to unrestricted free agency next summer. And if that prospect is not terrifying enough, they wouldn’t even be able to talk about an extension until January 2019.
One of the things that has been helping me through the Karlsson Drama is this faint belief that this organization could still have success without their franchise defenceman. A core with Mark Stone, Matt Duchene and Thomas Chabot complimented by a solid prospect pool was something they could still build around. But with Stone on a one year deal, that light at the end of the tunnel is almost invisible.
As a reminder, the Senators have submitted a number of $5 million to the arbitrator while Mark Stone’s camp countered with an ask of $9 million. While these numbers don’t mean a whole lot, in this case, the number right in the middle seems pretty fair. In fact, there were rumours suggesting that at one point, the Senators offered Stone a six year deal worth $7.5 mil a season.
Dorion still has time to salvage this situation but he’s cutting it pretty close.
