(UPDATE 2:22 PM)- The Senators have announced a couple depth signings this afternoon including Ottawa-native Eric O’Dell and former Edmonton Oiler forward Zack Stortini. Stortini’s deal is a two year, two way contract. So before people overreact to that move, he’s added depth in Binghamton.
(UPDATE 1:51 PM)- And now it looks like a done deal. Erik Condra is headed to the Tampa Bay Lightning.
(UPDATE 1:43 PM)- Bruce Garrioch suggesting that Erik Condra is close to signing a contract and at this point, the Tampa Bay Lightning are considered the favourite.
(UPDATE 12:28 PM)- The most talked about name for the Senators leading up to today was Erik Condra. He’s now officially an unrestricted free agent and according to Bruce Garrioch, as many as seven teams have shown interest. Safe to say he’ll get that third year he’s looking for on the open market.
In previous seasons, the start of the free agency period has been one of the most exciting days of the year around these parts.
Yet as the Free Agent Frenzy gets set to kick off around the league at noon today, you sort of get the sense it could be a quiet day for the Ottawa Senators.
It may seem a little early in the off season to say this but it really seems like the Senators may be nearly finished with their off season moves. Now that’s a slight exaggeration but based on everything we’ve seen and heard from Sens’ Management the last week or so, it does not seem like there is a big splash coming this summer.
They still need to get contracts done with RFAs Mike Hoffman and Alex Chiasson. UFA to be Erik Condra is free to sign with the team of his choosing today and though the Senators remain interested in bringing him back, he’s going to get some tempting offers when the market opens later today.
And for now anyway, those are the primary storylines around these parts. All that should probably come with a disclaimer because as we all know, things can change in a hurry.
Murray mentioned that he will continue to keep an eye on the market to see if there are any potential fits with his current roster. We know the Senators would love to add an impact forward if the price is right. At the same time, the Senators have been linked to a couple of the defenceman options that have come up on the market including Bruins defenceman Adam McQuaid.
Basically what I’m saying is if you’re a Senators fan, you probably don’t need to cancel your plans today but maybe just check in on the site every once and awhile to make sure Murray didn’t shock the world. As always, I’ll add updates to the top of this post, in the comment section and on Twitter if Sens News does break or rumours start to swirl.
So let’s all sit back and enjoy the terrible contract some poor unfortunate team is about to sign Matt Beleskey to. In the meantime, I’ll prepare some nice things to say about Chris Stewart. Ya know, just in case.
Happy Free Agency Day and just as importantly, Happy Canada Day!
