These are truly dark times for our Ottawa Senators. Of that, there can be no doubt.
With last night’s decision to sit Mark Stone, Matt Duchene and Ryan Dzingel, it certainly appears as though Pierre Dorion is about to trade away 41% of the worst team in the league’s offence in the span of a little less than five days.
In the words of Eugene Melnyk himself, buckle up. It’s going to be a bumpy ride.
Despite a desperate last-ditch attempt to retain Mark Stone, the would-be Captain of the team and an elite forward in the prime of his career, the Senators made the stunning but necessary decision to scratch their best player in the hours before last night’s game.
It really did sound like they tried to get something done though. In this case, it’s not a matter of not wanting to sign him but rather not being able to. Semantics for a fan base that is all too familiar with watching star players exit stage right.
And this morning, we get confirmation that the Senators have indeed let it be known that Mark Stone is available.
Not a big surprise considering what happened last night, but, word is OTT put Mark Stone on the market after the game in NJ. Ryan Dzingel also became available yesterday.
— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) February 22, 2019
“Mark Stone is available”. Mark Stone. Available.
Fuck.
One of the unfortunate parts about how this has all played out is there really was a strong argument to be made for moving all three of these guys. If they truly were “rebuilding”, you could certainly argue that maximizing the return on all three of these pending UFAs was the way to go.
While Mark Stone is certainly the type of player you can build around, he also happens to be the piece that would fetch the most in return.
The Ottawa Senators are an awful team with these three and had they locked up all of them, building around them would have been a challenge.
So there is an opportunity here. An argument that this is the way to go if you really want to build a contending team down the road. It’s not my preferred approach but I can certainly see the argument.
But the unfortunate part is, it’s pretty clear from Pierre Dorion’s words and actions that this isn’t what they wanted. This isn’t the plan. And at the same time, it shows that they are having a hell of a time getting impact players to buy into to what they are selling. To buy into Eugene Melnyk’s rebuild.
Fans are rightfully having a hard time with that as well.
So now we wait. And watch. As Pierre Dorion tries to pull off three of the biggest trades of his career in a matter of days. And almost entirely on his own.
Mark Stone will draw interest from Winnipeg, Vegas, Boston and probably, just about every damn team in the league. Matt Duchene has caught the eye of Nashville, Columbus, the Islanders and most recently, the Montreal Canadiens. Ryan Dzingel seems like a good fit in Boston, Winnipeg, Chicago or maybe Columbus.
Like I said, buckle up.
There’s a game tonight, by the way. If anyone has hockey equipment, please report to the CTC at like 6:30 PM tonight.
They may need you. Although it sounds like help is on the way.
Sounds like there will be new faces in Ottawa’s lineup tonight as Batherson and Brown expected to be called up from Belleville.
— Darren Dreger (@DarrenDreger) February 22, 2019
