Safe to say this might be Nick Paul’s last chance to make an impression.
Yesterday, the Ottawa Senators crossed another name off their summer To Do List, inking Nick Paul to a one year, two-way extension.
The one-year, two-way contract for #Sens forward Nick Paul will carry a value of $650,000 in the NHL and $80,000 in the AHL.
— Sens communications (@Media_Sens) July 16, 2018
For the last few years now, Paul has been described as a player on the cusp of becoming an everyday NHLer.
Yet in three consecutive seasons, Paul has spent the majority of his time in the minors. Last season, he appeared in just 11 NHL games, picking up one goal along the way.
His season in Belleville was a bit of a disappointment though as he put up just 27 points in 54 games with the BSens. It’s worth pointing out that he did finish the season strong though, including 19 points over the final 25 games. The way he finished the year is a big reason why he’s earned one last look with the organization.
Paul, a 4th round pick in the 2010 Entry Draft, was acquired from Dallas in a trade that sent Jason Spezza to the Stars.
At 23 years of age, Paul will again be expected to challenge for a spot in Training Camp and prove he has what it takes to be a reliable NHLer. And while his two-way contract means he’s likely to be on the outside looking in when the season starts in October, there will certainly be openings for young players in Ottawa next season.
It will be up to Nick Paul to finally take advantage of those opportunities.
-All remains quiet on the Erik Karlsson front. Quieter than it has been in months, in fact. Of course that’s mostly because all of the usual insiders are on vacation rather than drumming up Karlsson trade speculation. With that said, it does seem like Pierre Dorion is in a bit of a holding pattern. To this point, the trade offers have been nowhere near good enough. Simple as that. Same story at the deadline too. And with no real pressure to get this deal done (other than for the sake of our sanity), Dorion seems prepared to wait it out a little bit. It’s a risky approach but better than accepting a weak return for your franchise player. Worst case scenario, they can move him as a rental at the deadline. With additional teams in the mix, they’d likely get more than what a select few seem willing to give up this summer.
-And while the Karlsson situation lingers, Dorion also has two potential arbitration hearings to worry about. Both Mark Stone and Cody Ceci have filed for arbitration and their hearing dates have been set. Cody Ceci will have his hearing on August 1st while Mark Stone’s is schedule for August 3rd. In both cases, the team’s preference is to get something done before hand but these negotiations have a way of dragging out right up until the last minute. Safe to assume the Senators will be working on both those extensions over the next couple weeks. You can see the full arbitration schedule here.
