Days after another big trade, Pierre Dorion made a rare appearance on the morning show on TSN1200 earlier today and explained a bit of the process behind the Alex DeBrincat deal deal and what comes next for the Ottawa Senators.
You’ll see lots of quotes on Twitter this morning and some analysis below, but as is always the case, it’s a good idea to listen to the full interview so you can get the context around various comments.
A quick rundown of the highlights from this morning’s interview…
-Dorion provided context around the decision and conversations with DeBrincat leading up to the trade. He painted a picture of a player that was always reluctant to extend in Ottawa, despite multiple attempts by the team. It’s not clear if terms were ever exchanged during those discussions, and likely not, but as Dorion suggested, DeBrincat’s “body language” at the exit interview told him everything he needed to know.
-About a month after that, Jeff Jackson contacted Dorion and let him know they had no plans to sign long-term and provided a list of potential destinations (nine teams in total). While there were a multiple options provided and deals discussed with multiple teams, Dorion gave the impression that he “was only really dealing with one team”. All important context on how the deal came together.
-As expected, Dorion confirmed that they have indeed talked to representation for UFA forward Vladimir Tarasenko. As mentioned on Twitter over the weekend, the Senators are absolutely in the mix there and according to some of the people I’ve talked to, think they have a real chance. As Elliotte Friedman pointed out yesterday, they aren’t alone in their pursuit. It also sounds like trades are an option for Dorion but as he made clear, anybody that they trade for will need to have term on the contract. Either way, Dorion is pretty clearly not finished tinkering with the roster.
-There are a few RFA contracts that still need to be sorted out but according to Dorion, he’ll be crossing one of those names off the list later today. Kevin Mandolese, fresh off a breakout season of sorts where he made an unexpected appearance in the NHL, is expected to sign a new contract. That leaves Shane Pinto and Egor Sokolov as the remaining RFAs.
