The vibes are terrible.
With all due respect to Sens fans, it’s hard to recall a time when the discourse was this unpleasant. Just in the last couple weeks actually.
On one hand, you have a portion of the fan base that seems to be dangerously teetering on the edge of supporting the Montreal Canadiens. An unforgivable offence, really. And then on the other side you have fans bickering over which former-Senator they love best.
Please don’t make me choose!
It’s unbearable. But in the defence of those have been sucked into one of these two unpleasant lines of conversation, hockey hasn’t really given us much choice lately. Ignoring the sport completely is one option but it’s tough when the games have been so damn entertaining.
Here’s hoping our dear expansion cousins ultimately prevail. Sadly, the playoff format does not allow for a situation where everyone loses but as we all know, the Tampa Bay Lightning winning is the least worst option of all.
And so until that happens, we’ll continue to passionately debate whether the Montreal Canadiens are “Canada’s Team” (puuuuuke), we’ll nitpick over the details of the Mark Stone trade (while ignoring he’s never been good in the playoffs) and we’ll lament the loss of Jean Gabriel Pageau (while ignoring he’s only good in the playoffs).
Let’s talk Sens, shall we?
Monday News and Notes. And this time, I think it might actually be Monday.
-Nazem Kadri to Ottawa appears to picking up steam. “Picking up steam” may be a slight exaggeration but under these circumstances, it seems justified. His name first came up as a possibility for Ottawa a couple weeks ago and Bruce Garrioch went back to that well over the weekend. In an article focused on possible off-season options, there was a clear focus on the Avs centre. He checks all the obvious boxes- available, played with DJ Smith, manageable contract. And while Kadri seems like a decent fit on paper, the Senators certainly don’t want to get wrapped up in a bidding war for his services. If he can be had for relatively cheap, then it’s probably something the Senators should look at. But if there are a bunch of teams lined up, which seems likely in this instance, the Senators may want to consider just going with what they have.
-Speaking of centres, there are rumours and rumblings that the Jack Eichel “sweepstakes” are heating up. Although according to Bruce, any suggestions that the Senators are involved in said sweepstakes is, in a word, nonsensical. Good to know. Because on the surface, you might think that a talented American centre would make perfect sense for a team stacked with American talent and currently in the market for a number one centre. I guess the cost to acquire, the price of his current deal and the baggage have all scared the Senators off. Although if I was Pierre Dorion, and I was quietly inquiring about what it might take to land Jack Eichel and suddenly the local beat writer asked me if I was interested, I might also use a word like nonsensical in response.
-We knew it was coming but this past week it became official- Marcus Hogberg’s time with the Ottawa Senators has come to an end. Hogberg signed a four-year deal with Linköping HC of the Swedish Hockey League and in the process, effectively ended his career in the National Hockey League. Pierre Dorion had already let it be known that they wouldn’t be qualifying the RFA-to-be so good on Hogberg for finding a job quickly and on a long-term deal. Seeing how fast it all unravelled for Hogberg should serve as a cautionary tale for the Senators going forward. Goaltenders are wildly unpredictable and even when you think you have solid options on the way, you always need more. To their credit, the Senators seem to have recognized this fact and continue to stock the prospect pipeline with talented young goalies.
-The Senators have made it clear that they plan to keep the Brady Tkachuk contract talks out of the media and they have certainly done that to this point. Outside of a couple comments from Tkachuk about being “excited” about the negotiations and Eugene Melnyk saying he “wasn’t worried”, we haven’t really heard a whole lot so far. And as uncomfortable as that silence is, that’s really the way it should be with this sort of thing. Also, it’s not like there is a flood of RFA contracts being signed right now. It seems like most teams are in a bit of a holding pattern when it comes to contract negotiations. While there is no doubt both sides have a good idea of what it’s going to take to get something done, there really is no rush here.
-What makes Ottawa’s situation somewhat unique is the fact that Tkachuk is not the only key RFA they need to get locked up this summer. While the negotiations should be a little more straightforward, both Drake Batherson and Victor Mete need new deals over the next couple months. In the case of Batherson, something short term may make the most sense. While he’s a good candidate for one of those long-term contracts where you pay a little more up front to get value down the line, that hasn’t exactly been the Senators MO in recent years. Unless of course he’s willing to do it without signing bonuses. Victor Mete should be pretty easy to get done. The Senators certainly liked what they saw from Mete down the stretch but he’s still a player with a lot of prove. Seems like a situation where a one or two year deal works for both parties. Interesting that it hasn’t been done already, actually. Elliotte Friedman mentioned weeks ago that the Senators were working on something. Probably saving the announcement for the day Montreal is eliminated, just to mess with ’em a little bit.
-It’s probably a little early to say one way or another, but with the NHL Entry Draft a little over a month away, the Senators are preparing for various scenarios at 10th overall. Some of the initial draft class analysis suggests there is a bit of a drop-off after the top ten so the good news for Ottawa is, there should be a good player available when they step up to the mic in the first round. Mason McTavish? Chaz Lucius? Cole Sillinger? Plenty of interesting options in that range. What makes this year different than the last few years is you can safely assume that should the right deal come along, the Ottawa Senators will absolutely consider moving that pick. And with clearly stated needs at centre and in the top four, it’s a trade chip that could come in handy.
