In the end, it was probably the worst outcome possible heading in the Expansion Draft.
No big deal of course because the Ottawa Senators were in a perfect spot going in but still not ideal.
Unfortunate, is probably the best word for it actually. It’s not that it’s a major hit to the organization’s goaltending depth because Joey Daccord is still very much an unknown at the NHL level. But of the names being floated around heading into expansion, Daccord was the only one with any sort of untapped potential. He may not amount to much but there was a bit of unknown there. He also happened to be one of those guys that you couldn’t help but cheer for.
That’s the expansion draft, I suppose.
And with that now in the rearview mirror, attention quickly shifts to tomorrow night’s Entry Draft. Pierre Dorion spoke to the media via zoom earlier this morning and offered up a few interesting notes heading into tomorrow night.
Here’s a quick overview of what the GM had to say.
-Dorion was specifically asked about the possibility of moving the 10th overall pick. For what it’s worth, which is probably not very much at this stage, Dorion gave the impression that it’s very unlikely they will move the pick.
-When asked about the type of player that might be available at 10th overall, the Senators GM specifically mentioned “starting goalie” first. Of course he went on to mention the other positions but considering the speculation that Ottawa might consider taking a goalie, it was an interesting place for the GM to start. He made this point again later, by the way.
-Dorion was asked about the possibility of packaging second round picks (Sens own 39th and 42nd overall) in an attempt to move up in the Draft. Not surprisingly, Pierre suggested that is definitely something they would look at. He mentioned that as recently as last night, they talked about a scenario where they could move up.
-In response to a question about what happens with Evgenii Dadonov and Chris Tierney heading into next season, Dorion focused on the fact that both players are poised for bounce back years. No hint that either guy might be moved, as you would expect. Bruce Garrioch mentioned yesterday that the organization may explore trading those two guys at some point this off-season.
-As has been the case throughout the off-season, Dorion danced around a question about negotiations with the teams restricted free agents. Dorion listed off all the teams RFAs and then added “and even Logan Brown”. Hmm.
-Dorion wrapped up the media availability by reveal which players will not receive qualifying offers- Marcus Hogberg, Michael Amadio, Zachary Magwood, JC Beaudin, Jack Kopacka and Jonathan Davidsson.
