It seems crazy to think that the NHL Entry Draft is now just two weeks away.
Last season it felt like Sens fans were talking draft for almost four months. With a return to the playoffs this year, and meaningful hockey played until the end of April, the off season is going to feel a little shorter this time around.
Depending on who you talk to, it could be a very busy draft weekend for the Ottawa Senators.
They are scheduled to pick at 15th but as you know, draft weekend can be a big time for trades and it sounds like the Sens may be looking to deal. In an interview with the Team 1200 on Wednesday, Tim Murray twice used the expression, "looking for a dance partner."
Speaking to the organization's strong prospect pool, Murray readily acknowledged that the team is in a position to trade quantity for quality. And while it may be jumping to conclusions a little bit, that sounds an awful lot like a Rick Nash type deal to me.
You can bet the Senators will at least explore that option leading up to and on Draft weekend.
Obviously the top priority for the team remains signing restricted free agent defenceman Erik Karlsson to a new contract. Murray also discussed this topic during his interview with the Team 1200 and even went so far as to suggest that the two sides already generally agree on the term of the deal.
People I have talked to speculate the "term" both sides agree on could be in the vicinity of three years. Should be interesting to see if the two sides settle on that kind of short term deal in the end.
- A signing by the Colorado Avalanche yesterday afternoon raised some eye brows around the league. UFA to be David Jones inked a 4 year/$16 million deal with the Avalanche. The same David Jones that had 37 points last year. You can bet Nick Foligno and his agent were seeing dollar signs after that deal. Obviously the situation is a little different because Foligno is an RFA but you know that Jones contract will come up in negotiations.
