It certainly appears as though the Michael Andlauer era will begin with an unavoidable departure. Not even an Owner with deep pockets can convince Alex DeBrincat to stick around apparently.
Today, the Ottawa Senators took another small step towards what seems to be an inevitable parting of ways.
According to Bruce Garrioch, the Senators intend to file for team-elected salary arbitration with the 24-year old winger.
It’s all part of the process of course and makes a lot of sense from the organization’s side. With DeBrincat’s pricey $9 million dollar qualifying offer and his apparent disinterest in a long-term deal in Ottawa, this was really a no-brainer for the Senators.
If that arbitration case was to go their way, they would get a 15% discount on that price tag. This helps the team save a bit of money, in case they can’t find a suitable trade over the next few weeks.
Here’s what Dorion previously said on the issue…
“We would elect to go to arbitration and ask for a 15% drop on his qualifying offer. You look at other teams and they’ve done this in the past. I’m just trying to give our fans as much information as possible because if something like this happens, we’re all in a business here. If we see that we can’t get anything done, we have to do what’s best for the team because we’re most likely going to be a cap team next year. At $7.85 million instead of $9 million for Alex DeBrincat, that maybe helps us to sign another player that we want to get.”
Whether or not they ever get to that hearing is another question entirely.
As we learned last week, the Senators have received a list of teams DeBrincat is willing to sign an extension with and with that list in hand, have been actively scanning the trade market for potential suitors. The expectation is things will heat up in the lead up to the NHL Draft, which is less than two weeks away.
It’s going to be fascinating to see how this all plays out and how Pierre Dorion manages a difficult situation, especially when you consider his own uncertain future.
