(UPDATE 3:20 PM)- The Ottawa Senators announced a move today, signing defenceman Tyler Eckford to a two year, two way contract. Eckford should provide some additional depth for the team in Bingo next season. The Vancouver native racked up 25 points with the Portland Pirates last year.
In the last article I mentioned that the Senators should still be looking to add another top six forward if possible. I can tell you that right now anyway, all seems quiet on that front.
They would love to get involved in the Bobby Ryan sweepstakes but may not have the pieces required to make that deal happen. The Ducks would like to bring back a number two centre in the deal and the Sens obviously don’t want to move Turris in a deal for Ryan.
Bruce Garrioch speculated over the weekend that Mika Zibanejad and Robin Lehner might be a good place to start in talks with the Ducks.
There will be a handful of teams lining up to make a pitch for Ryan with the Philadelphia Flyers believed to be the favourites. Obviously Murray will keep an eye on that situation but I think it's fair to call the Senators long shots at this point.
The other option that seems to be gaining traction among fans and media types lately is Alex Semin. Can tell you that right now anyway, there appears to be limited interest from the Senators. Semin scored 21 goals last season and buried 40 back in 2009.
Despite the very public claims that they are no longer involved in the Rick Nash process, I do expect the Senators to keep a close eye on the situation moving forward. It has been well documented that the Sens were the team furthest along in talks with the Jackets before Murray made the decision to back off.
With that said, you would have to think one of the teams actually on his preferred destination list will step up.
Aside from the need for another top six forward, the Sens continue to wait confirmation from Daniel Alfredsson on his plans for next season. Over a week ago, the club reached out to Alfie’s agent and from what I’m told, actually presented a new contract for the Captain to consider.
The Senators have been operating under the assumption that Alfie will return next season but a public declaration would certainly help ease the uncertainty some fans still have.
- As we enter a bit of a downtime in the NHL’s off season, I’d like to revisit a feature that seemed to work well in the past. Once or twice a week, I want to give you the reader, an opportunity to have your work featured here on the site. Chirp of the Week- you choose the topic, you write the article, and I post it here on the site. All entries should be sent to senschirp@hotmail.com and be less than 1,000 words. Look forward to seeing what the readers come up with!
