Apparently there’s a hockey game being played in Pittsburgh tonight.
Sigh. One goal away from home ice advantage in the Stanley Cup Finals.
Instead of counting down the minutes till puck drop, we’re left counting down the days and months until the start of a new season. Thankfully because of this incredible playoff run, it’s a short off-season. And when you add in the upcoming Expansion Draft, there’s really barely any down time.
Pierre Dorion and Guy Boucher are both expected to meet with the media in Ottawa today but while we wait for their season-ending comments, a quick round-up of some of the news and notes from this past weekend.
-The best news of the weekend came from Craig Anderson as he confirmed that Nicholle Anderson’s latest scans had come back cancer-free. Nicholle talked about it on her blog over the weekend too. Fantastic news for Nicholle and the entire Anderson family after what was an extremely difficult year.
-Speaking of Craig Anderson, Bruce Garrioch dropped an interesting note in his most recent article suggesting that the Senators could give Craig Anderson a one year extension at some point this summer. Anderson is heading into the final year of his deal and really hasn’t shown any signs of slowing down. He’ll make just $3.1 mil in the 2017/2018 season.
-A few players revealed details of the injuries they had been dealing with down the stretch. Alex Burrows and Mark Borowiecki both had high ankle sprains and Borowiecki had a torn labrum in his should as well. Both were hoping to make it back for the Finals. Cody Ceci was playing through a broken finger. Erik Karlsson had the multiple fractures in his heel and said he was otherwise healthy although rumours suggest he was playing through another major injury during the Conference Finals. There were a bunch of other guys playing through injuries too but it seems like the team was a little more tight-lipped about the extent of those injuries, especially in the case of guys that were still playing.
-Both Chris Neil and Chris Kelly confirmed they’d like to play again next season which could put Pierre Dorion in a difficult situation. While both players had a role during the regular season, they became spare parts down the stretch and in the playoffs, especially when Dorion went out and added depth at the deadline. Hard to imagine there’s a roster spot for either of them heading into next season.
-Bruce Garrioch’s latest article is full of interesting speculation heading into next season and is definitely worth a read. Up front, he mentions that Tommy Wingels, a UFA to be is unlikely to return while Tom Pyatt is likely to get a new deal, although the two sides weren’t on the same page during negotiations earlier this year. Boucher loves Pyatt so no big surprise they want him back. Mike Condon is still on the club’s radar as a backup goalie but only at the right price.
-It’s going to be interesting to see what happens with Viktor Stalberg. The UFA-to-be was clearly a player that Guy Boucher liked and the Senators would certainly be interesting in bringing him back next year. With so much turnover expected in the bottom six, there’s definitely room on the roster. Whether or not the two sides can make it work financially remains to be seen. Stalberg was a good fit but he may want to see what other options he has on the open market.
-There are a couple interesting RFA negotiations looming with Jean Gabriel Pageau and Ryan Dzingel. The 25 year old Dzingel is coming off a 14 goal season where he faded a bit down the stretch. According to Cap Friendly, he is eligible for arbitration. Same goes for Pageau. While a longer term deal is possible with JGP, the Senators have shown over the last couple years that their preference is to squeeze RFAs a little bit and use the organization’s leverage to keep salary and cap hit down. That’s certainly a route they’ll consider with Pageau.
-One of the perks of this long run is an incredibly short off-season. The Expansion Draft is now just a few weeks away with teams set to reveal their protected lists on June 18th. Pierre Dorion and his staff will have some interesting decisions to make before then, especially on the blueline. As of now, it sounds like the plan is to ask Dion Phaneuf to waive his no-movement clause so they can protect another defenceman. And even in that scenario, the team will still be exposing Freddy Claesson and Chris Wideman. Unless Dorion can make a move beforehand, it seems like the Senators are likely to lose a pretty good defenceman.
