The first two days of free agency have been predictably quiet for the Ottawa Senators.
While teams across the National Hockey League have been loading up and paying ridiculous prices to do so, the Senators have taken a much more reserved approach.
And if you’ve followed this team over the last few years, it should not come as a huge surprise.
This organization has a reputation for thriftiness so the over-spending that is so popular this time of year really doesn’t match their style. And with some big extension coming up over the next few seasons, Pierre Dorion and his staff have to remain somewhat restrained in order to ensure they have the necessary cap space in years to come.
It’s not the most exciting approach but for a team in their situation, it does make some sense.
With all that in mind, a quick round up of some news and notes surrounding this team heading out of the Canada Day weekend.
-The Senators made one minor addition to the line up over the weekend, adding a new fourth line centre in Nate Thompson. Thompson’s best years were under Guy Boucher in Tampa Bay and he certainly appears to fill a void on that 4th line. The Sens took some heat for the two year contract at $1.65 mil a season (plus a 10 team no trade clause) but this was a need the Coaching Staff had identified and they let Dorion know who they thought could fill that role. Thompson has a reputation for elevating his game in the playoffs too.
-The arrival of Thompson seems to signal an end to Chris Kelly’s time in Ottawa. He played all 82 games in the fourth line centre spot but it really doesn’t seem like there’s room there anymore. Dorion suggested they could still invite Kelly to Camp on a PTO and while that’s a possibility, there really isn’t a roster spot for him at this point.
-Early on in free agency, there was some speculation the Senators were closing in on a deal with Viktor Stalberg but there haven’t been any updates on that front in the last day or so. Stalberg is still a free agent but things are already looking crowded up front. The Sens still seem to have interest in bringing him back but he’s likely talking to other teams at this point.
-The Senators kicked tires on a couple potential free agent defenceman but the price and term ended up being more than they were willing to offer. It’s believed they had some level of interest in both Michael Stone and Dmitry Kulikov but both guys ended up getting multi-year deals in other Canadian cities.
-Based on Dorion’s comments in the last couple days, the team appears willing to come to camp with the defenceman they have on the roster. In particular, they appear keen to give Thomas Chabot a realistic chance at making the team out of training camp. Twelve months ago they were expressing serious disappointment with his performance in Development Camp but it has been the complete opposite this year.
-Speaking of Development Camp, it sounds like Nick Paul has had a strong showing this year. Dorion was clearly frustrated with the season he had in Binghamton last year but Paul clearly wants to make a better impression this year. While spots will be at a premium, the organization is hoping that Paul can be in the mix to make the big team this Fall.
-The moves didn’t get a ton of attention during the madness of free agent frenzy but the Sens did make some minor additions to the team in Belleville. A total of five players were signed to two way deals including Ben Sexton, Max Reinhart, Tyler Randell, Erik Burgdoerfer and goalie Danny Taylor. Of that group, Taylor might be the most intriguing. The 31 year old has put up impressive numbers in the KHL the last couple seasons and could push for playing time in the AHL next season.
-One of the biggest stories of July 1st in the Nation’s Capital was painfully familiar for Sens fans. The departure of Daniel Alfredsson. With no explanation and almost zero warning, Alfredsson announced he would be leaving his position of Senior Advisor of Hockey Operations without a clear outline of what comes next. This predictably led to speculation this might be Melnyk related but that speculation seems a tad premature. Regardless of the reason, it wasn’t a great look for the organization. If Alfie lands in a similar role with another team, the Senators will have some serious explaining to do. But seriously, did Alfredsson really have to announce his departure on July 1st?
