The last couple weeks have really taken the idea of the “off-season” to a whole new level.
After a two week span where it felt like the Ottawa Senators were in the news almost every day, things have gone completely silent.
That’s sort of the way it’s supposed to be this time of year but it’s certainly a change of pace for Sens fans. And with the start of the Rookie Tournament still a month away and Training Camp the month after that, we should probably get used to the silence.
In the meantime, a desperate attempt at another edition of Monday News and Notes, mostly because I’m tired of looking at that picture of Nick Paul.
-Yesterday, Winnipeg Jets defenceman Jacob Trouba was awarded a one year/$5.5 million deal through the NHL’s arbitration process. And while they’re clearly different players, it sets an interesting benchmark for Cody Ceci, who is just nine days away from an arbitration hearing of his own. The 24 year old Trouba played has 326 games of NHL experience under his belt compared to the 366 played by Cody Ceci. Trouba had 24 points in 55 games last year compared to the 19 put up by Ceci in 82 games. Trouba played 21:54 a night while Ceci was up over 23 minutes. There’s not much doubt that Trouba is a better player than Ceci and he clearly had a stronger case to present in arbitration. Based on this ruling, it’s difficult to imagine an arbitrator awarding Ceci anything close to $5 million.
-Elliotte Friedman did his best to offer up the latest on the Erik Karlsson situation last week but it’s clear that nobody knows exactly how this will play out. It’s interesting to note that Friedman mentioned that a Karlsson extension with Tampa Bay would be less than what Drew Doughty got on his most recent deal and that if the Senators did make a trade with Dallas, Karlsson would be going there as a rental. Tough to play those two offers off of each other when the discussions with each are so different. It sounds like the Stars are holding firm on their latest offer, which apparently did not include top prospect Miro Heiskanen.
-From the same Friedman interview posted above comes a completely out of left field rumour that the Vegas Golden Knights might be looking at Mark Stone. It’s not surprising that teams would be keeping tabs on the situation with Stone but this is probably the first time a specific team has been mentioned. Vegas has long been linked to Karlsson but Friedman seems to be suggesting that they’ve turned their attention to Stone. Mark Stone’s arbitration hearing is set for next week (August 3rd) but the Senators are hoping to have a long-term extension in place before that date.
-The latest twist in the ongoing incident involving Melinda Karlsson and Monica Caryk has the potential to turn pretty ugly. Last week, the fiancee of former Ottawa Senators winger Mike Hoffman made a request to see the evidence related to allegations that she harassed and cyber-bullied the wife of Senators captain Erik Karlsson. Specifically, Caryk believes that she is being framed by one or more anonymous third parties. The application, known as a Norwich Order, was filed on Thursday of last week.
-One story-line to keep an eye over the next month or so involves the future of first round draft pick Brady Tkachuk. He still hasn’t decided where he’ll play next season and by all accounts, there are a few options that he’s seriously considering. He can return to Boston University for another year, transition to the OHL’s London Knights or push for a spot on the NHL roster. Tkachuk is currently included on BU’s roster for next season but he has not yet committed to playing another year there. Tkachuk is expected to suit up for Team USA at the upcoming World Junior Summer Showcase which takes place from July 28th to August 4th.
