In his first media address of the off season, Ottawa Senators GM Bryan Murray covered a number of topics including the upcoming Entry Draft, free agency and negotiations with RFA Erik Karlsson.
Listening to Murray talk, it's pretty clear he has his plate full this off season and we can expect the announcements to come fast and furious in the days leading up to the Draft in Pittsburgh.
We'll start with the draft itself.
As I mentioned the other day, it really does seem like all options are on the table at this point. The Senators are confident they can get a good player at 15 but if there is a specific guy the team wants and a move up is required, Murray is prepared to do it.
Just as importantly, if the right move is a to shift down in the order and add some additional assets, Murray won't hesitate to do that.
Murray always stresses the importance of relying on his scouts and he indicated that at this point in time anyway, Pierre Dorion and his staff have not indicated that there is a guy they "must" have. Sounds like it's going to be a read and react type situation on draft day.
Important to note that among the players the Senators have brought in thus farm, four are goalies. The list includes- Malcolm Subban, Andrei Vasilevski, Daniel Altshuller and Francois Brassard. A couple of those guys look like they could go in the first couple rounds while the other two, Altshuller and Brassard, could potentially be third round targets.
Another priority for Bryan Murray is locking up defenceman Erik Karlsson.
Everything I hear to this point indicates a three year deal is a real possibility. Given the CBA uncertainty, a shorter term deal might be favourable for the Senators and at 3 years, they ensure that Karlsson will still be a restricted free agent at the end of the deal. The two sides have held conversations and are expected to meet face to face at the draft.
While Karlsson remains the top priority, Murray also has to make decisions on the team's UFAs including Kuba, Gilroy, Winchester, Konopka and Carkner. Murray will let each of those guys know his plans in the days leading up to the draft.
Murray hinted that he doesn't expect to be overly active on July 1 but that doesn't mean he won't be looking to deal before or at the draft.
Either way, it's clear that things are about to pick up steam for the Ottawa Senators. With six UFAs, four RFAs, a handful of picks at the draft, Bryan Murray and his staff have a lengthy To-Do list facing them this off season and will start to check things off over the next week.
Here is a link to interviews with Bryan Murray, Pierre Dorion and a unique behind the scenes look at the Sens amateur scouting meetings.
