Two more sleeps.
That’s all that separates us from one of the most exciting days on the NHL calendar.
It feels like just yesterday I was struggling to watch 60 minutes of hockey between the St. Louis Blues and the Boston Bruins and now the off-season is in full swing.
The Winnipeg Jets basically gave away Jacob Trouba, the Philadelphia Flyers gave someone named Kevin Hayes more than $50 million actual dollars and the Toronto Maple Leafs are smack dab in the middle of salary cap hell.
On top of all of that there is the talk that the salary cap for next season may be lower than anticipated.
Panic is setting in across the National Hockey League and the result is a number of General Managers desperate to make moves. And according to speculation across the hockey world, it sounds like activity is at an all-time high.
Meanwhile, Sens General Manager Pierre Dorion finds himself in a pretty comfortable spot.
While other teams desperately maneuver their rosters in an attempt to fit in under the cap, the Senators are at the other end of the scale, with a couple moves required just to hit the floor.
This flexibility combined with a record-setting number of picks over the next three seasons opens up some interesting possibilities for the Senators heading into the weekend festivities.
Right now they are locked in at 19th overall in the Draft but moving up, moving back and adding an additional first round pick are all distinct possibilities.
To this point, it has been pretty tough to nail down some potential names at 19th overall.
Mock drafts include the likes of Victor Soderstrom, Moritz Seider, Ryan Suzuki and Raphael Lavoie but to this point, the Senators aren’t really tipping their hand when it comes to guys they might like.
Best player available is a common refrain this time of year and that’s all we’re really getting out of Pierre Dorion in his pre-draft interviews.
One of the things that is making this draft so interesting is the volatility after the second overall selection. There is consensus on the first two names that will be called out but after that, it’s anyone’s guess.
Dorion did mention that his scouts like 18 guys though, suggesting that there is a third tier of guys ranked from about 10th to 19th.
The Senators are confident they’ll come away with one of those prospects if they do end up sitting tight at 19th overall.
-Sens news has been trickling in at a pretty steady rate this week. Yesterday, the team officially announced that they have signed RFA defenceman Andreas Englund to another one year, two-way deal. As things currently stand, it seems unlikely that Englund would see significant time in the NHL next season but he was a valuable player in the eyes of Trent Mann last year in Belleville. Englund will earn $700,000 in the NHL and $80,000 in the American Hockey League.
-Restricted free agent Cody Ceci continues to be one of the most talked about names around Ottawa these days. The Senators have talked to his agent about various scenarios but it’s starting to sound like the two sides might be as close as we were led to believe about a month ago. The Senators know they are in the driver’s seat on this one with another arbitration hearing a legitimate option. At the same time, Ceci doesn’t really have overwhelming numbers he can point to justify a significant raise. It’s safe to assume his name will be a fixture in the rumour mill over the next few days.
-The Senators also released their preseason schedule which includes a total of six games including a couple at the Canadian Tire Centre against the Montreal Canadiens and the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Senators will open the preseason in St. John’s, Newfoundland in just under three months time.
