It’s safe to say the NHL off season is officially upon us. With all due respect to Derek Grant, when he gets three days as the top story on SensChirp, you know things have started to go silent.
While most of the items on the off season To-Do list have been crossed off, there are a few loose ends that still need to be tied up. A few quick notes on the remaining topics of conversation when it comes to the Ottawa Senators.
-Nothing new on the Bobby Ryan front so far. The Senators would obviously like to get something done with Ryan and towards the end of last season anyway, Ryan felt the same way. With that said, there really hasn’t been much discussion to this point. Back on July 1st I was told that Ryan was taking a “wait and see” approach to an extension. We aren’t at the point where we should be hitting the panic button just yet but the longer this drags on with no news, the more concerning it becomes.
-Still no additional details on the mystery trade either. I do get the sense that Ottawa is still working on something but obviously it’s nowhere near as imminent as it appeared to be back on July 1st. Chris Stewart is the name that comes up most often but that is mostly a result of rumours linking the two teams around last year’s trade deadline. Things look kind of crowded on the right side already though so it’s hard to tell where Stewart fits.
-Robin Lehner needs a new contract but there hasn’t been a whole lot of news on this front either. It’s kind of a tricky contract to figure out. Lehner is certainly the back up on paper right now but with Craig Anderson entering the final year of his deal, the reigns will be turned over to Lehner in the near future. The two year bridge contract makes the most sense here but we know the two sides are discussing a number of different options.
-Things are looking pretty crowded for the Senators up front right now. While they lack high-end talent, there are about 15 NHL players pushing for the 12 forward spots on the roster. There are also 8 defenceman fighting for the six blueline spots. Obviously that mystery deal could be one way to move some bodies out but it’s pretty clear they need to make room somehow. Colin Greening’s name came up on July 1st. Ottawa tried to move him on a few occasions last season but there wasn’t a whole lot of interest.
