With last week’s signing of Connor Brown out of the way, Pierre Dorion has crossed the most important item off of his To Do list.
There are a few things left to do of course.
Chris Tierney, Christian Jaros and Filip Chlapik all still need new contracts. In the case of both Tierney and Jaros, arbitration hearings are scheduled for early next month. Christian Jaros has his on November 7th and Chris Tierney is up the next day.
Seems unlikely either negotiation gets to that point though.
While we wait, let’s try another edition of Monday News and Notes because what choice do we have really?
-Still no sign of that Christian Jaros contract eh? Last week, a cryptic Instagram post by Jaros led some to believe that a contract announcement was coming but we still haven’t heard anything official from the Senators. The Jaros contract feels like it should be pretty straightforward because it’s not like Jaros has a ton of leverage. Although from Ottawa’s perspective, I suspect the priority is getting him signed to another two-way contract. Jaros is likely going to have a chance to play some NHL games next season but on paper, it seems like he’s going to be on the outside looking in to start the year. With the likes of Erik Gudbransson, Josh Brown and Artyom Zub all added to the right side, Jaros is probably going to have to wait for injuries to strike before he gets another look at the NHL level.
-Chris Tierney’s negotiation is going to be an interesting one. The 26-year old centre finished 6th on the Senators in points last year while playing around 17 minutes a night. Only Jean-Gabriel Pageau played more on average at centre. And looking at Ottawa’s depth chart heading into next season, it’s safe to assume Tierney will play a similar role. Basically, you could make the argument that he’s the number one centre at this point. Although with Josh Norris, Logan Brown, Colin White and maybe Tim Stutzle on the way, it’s hard to see where Tierney fits long term. I think the Senators would be willing to see what the arbitrator thinks is fair for this coming season and then potentially listen to offers on Tierney at the deadline. Still think the two sides find common ground before the hearing but I doubt the organization is feeling much heat on this one. A one-year deal seems to make sense.
-We’ll file this one under the note category but Pierre Dorion has had one hell of an off-season. He has been among the league’s most active General Managers and in the process, has addressed some important areas of the line up. A new starting goalie traded for and locked up long-term, a first line right winger, a little more toughness on the back-end and a key piece in Connor Brown signed to a great contract. How all that translates on the ice remains to be seen but the fact is, Dorion deserves a ton of credit for the work he has done over the last couple months. He took a ton of heat during the teardown portion of this rebuild but he’s proven that he’s more than capable of building this thing back up.
-Much has been made of Lassi Thomson’s early-season struggles. The 2019 first round pick is off to a slow start with just one point through his first nine Liiga games. It’s the kind of thing nobody would notice under normal circumstances but with everyone keeping a close eye on the early progress of Sens prospects around the world, it’s become a talking point for Sens fans. For whatever reason, it just seems like he’s fallen out of favour a little bit with Ilves Tampere and has seen his role steadily diminished over the last season and a bit. Really doubt this is a huge cause for concern from the Senators perspective though. If anything, it will make them prioritize bringing him over to North America next season.
-The news is better for Thomson’s teammate and 2020 second round pick Roby Jarventie. The 18 year old winger is off to a blistering start in the Liiga, racking up seven points through the first nine games of the season and catching the eye of Finland’s international team in the process. Of all the picks the Senators made in the second round and beyond, Jarventie is certainly the most intriguing and probably has the highest ceiling. He’s one of the younger players in the draft and if his start is any indication, he is going to take a huge step forward this season.
-The idea of an all-Canadian division really seems to be picking up steam lately. Nobody knows exactly what next season may look like but one concept that has been floating around for a couple weeks now is putting all seven Canadian teams in the same division. Obviously, the idea there is limiting cross-border travel. It’s an interesting concept although it’s not entirely clear how it might play out including how they would arrange the remaining teams. It’s pretty clear that the league’s focus right now is just finding a way to make it work, no matter how unconventional it may be. Unusual hockey is better than no hockey, I suppose.
