The past
I write this post as we are in the thick of it. And by it, I mean the latest shitstorm of news (or lackthereof) surrounding the Ottawa Senators top three UFA’s- Mark Stone, Matt Duchene and Ryan Dzingel. Unsurprisingly, less than a week before the deadline, we still know absolutely jack shit about what’s going on.
Stone was available to extend from January 1st. Stone was previously quoted around that time as saying he expected talks to start within the next couple weeks, meaning January/into February. We heard very little then. Earlier this month we were then told that other teams would be made aware if players were available 10 days before the deadline, or if they were to be remaining Senators. Within that, it was implied we would know a bit more about what was happening then too. We now have less than a week before the trade deadline and not only have none of the UFA’s been signed, but none of them have been traded either. We are just as clueless as we were months ago, and it seems, so are management.
Yes, it’s difficult to know whether or not players are staying or going, but also whether or not management want to keep the players or not. One moment it seems the Sens really want to sign Stone, next they’re talking to Winnipeg. Around that time, reports came out of a focus on signing Duchene and how he was a priority, yet now reports say he’s available and the Sens are taking offers and focusing on Stone instead. As I finish this blog post, news has just broke that Duchene has been scratched indefinitely- but still no trade news as of yet.
The present
We have three UFA’s, all with high point totals, all fantastic players, and they could all be dealt at the same fucking time.
In reality, as much as I would miss Dzingel, trading him has the least implications and consequences for the organisation. Yes he’s a great player, and won’t cost anywhere near as much as Duchene or Stone to sign, but he’s the one that will make fans least angry if moved.
Trading Duchene means confirming that the trade in November 2017 was a failure, and that we really did give up a crucial first round pick for 1 1/2 years of Matt Duchene across 2 crappy Sens seasons. Depending on where Duchene goes it could also add further insult to injury. Nashville have been highlighted as potential buyers, the third team involved in the trade that brought Duchene to Ottawa in the first place. For him to go there alongside Turris would definitely kick fans while they were down, but there seems to be a slight detachment with regards to Duchene. Yes, he is an incredible player, but from looking online I just don’t get the vibe that people are as invested in him as a player like our last crucial UFA, Mark Stone.
Trading Mark Stone would be the nail in the coffin for many fans it seems, a concern also highlighted by Jeff Marek on a recent 31 Thoughts podcast. It was implied after the Erik Karlsson trade that Stone could be Ottawa’s next Captain. Drafted by Ottawa in the 6th round in 2010 Stone has been a fan favourite in Ottawa. He had success in junior with the Wheat Kings, becoming their captain and winning the Brad Hornung trophy. He received a Calder trophy nomination for his first year in the NHL, has put up consistent numbers in terms of points, with his lowest total being 54. For three straight years until injuries set him back last year, he led the league in takeaways, and as of me writing this, he currently leads the league once again with 86 so far (according to TSN). Stone is arguably the most well-rounded player of the three, and perhaps the most well-liked. He celebrates every goal with an amazing energy and passion that I personally really hope the organisation sees.
Dorion is running out of time to get three players sorted. Signed or signed away, he’s running to a very tight deadline now. The Sens could be making other important moves as well, but due to the last minute rush this seems like it's just not going to happen. Anders Nilsson will be a UFA as well at the end of this year, and while not a priority it would’ve been nice to sign him as a potential Condon replacement. His LGBTQ2+ activism and decent numbers so far are making him popular with fans. Cody Ceci could’ve been signed or traded by now- he is an RFA at the end of this season, and teams have been reportedly showing some interest in the defenceman. He would, in my opinion, be a good candidate to be traded for a high pick in the draft. The Sens defence may be young but most of them are putting up far better numbers than Ceci, and nobody seems to have noticed this but Sens fans themselves. This is a prime time to be dealing Ceci for more than he’s worth before people catch on.
The worst part about all of this is that I can’t *completely* blame Pierre Dorion. Yes, he should have started negotiations sooner and not left it all to the last fucking minute, however he doesn’t exactly have much help. The front office is thinner than the hair on Mark Borowiecki's head, and as the amazing writers at Silversevensens remind us, AGM Peter McTavish focuses solely on contracts. Also, its worth remembering that while Dorion appears to be a bumbling fool at the best of times, he will also have pressures from Melnyk as well to cope with.
The future
But back to our top three UFA's... if we do trade all of them, where do we go now?
I wonder how Sens fans can connect with a team where there’s such a lack of trust - fans will become fearful of getting attached to players. How can parents buy their children jerseys of their favourite player, when you blink and Eugene will have traded the guy for a bag of magic beans because he’s a tight arse git? Yes, you could say that it’s the NHL and you have to expect players to leave, look at Tavares with the Islanders. But this is a consistent thing for the Sens. I’ve been a fan of this team only a few years and I know this has been happening for long before I was a fan, and I can see it happening well into the future if nothing changes.
The Sens, and I say this with confidence, do draft well. However, this is a fact that is regularly sold to us, and could pose a problem. Yes, we have star talent and potential in the AHL and in junior, and it is reasonable to believe these players will come light up the NHL. But what happens when those players hit their prime? We have a history of trading star players because we can’t afford them. Perhaps they don't want to stay, but to be honest, I don't fully blame them. The Sens have displayed poor asset management, hell, poor management in general and bad ownership. We are becoming the farm team for the whole of the NHL.
The Sens being unable to afford players is a fact not lost on many. In a recent episode of the Puck Soup podcast, co-host Ryan Lambert echoed a view that myself and many on Sens twitter have had for a while, and one I still stand by now. It was likely that Erik Karlsson was presented with a "Dogshit offer", as Lambert put it, so that the Sens could publicly say that they did make Karlsson an offer. The Sens then spun the narrative that Karlsson just chose no to take the offer, and didn't want to stay, but that it would all be okay because we are in a rebuild and have potential for the future.
Let's be honest here- I can see this happening all over again with our three aforementioned UFA's. It's a vicious cycle, and I don't see where it ends. All I hope is that if they all go, we at least get a decent return that will give us a tiny spark of hope to hold onto.
I write this post as we are in the thick of it. And by it, I mean the latest shitstorm of news (or lackthereof) surrounding the Ottawa Senators top three UFA’s- Mark Stone, Matt Duchene and Ryan Dzingel. Unsurprisingly, less than a week before the deadline, we still know absolutely jack shit about what’s going on.
Stone was available to extend from January 1st. Stone was previously quoted around that time as saying he expected talks to start within the next couple weeks, meaning January/into February. We heard very little then. Earlier this month we were then told that other teams would be made aware if players were available 10 days before the deadline, or if they were to be remaining Senators. Within that, it was implied we would know a bit more about what was happening then too. We now have less than a week before the trade deadline and not only have none of the UFA’s been signed, but none of them have been traded either. We are just as clueless as we were months ago, and it seems, so are management.
Yes, it’s difficult to know whether or not players are staying or going, but also whether or not management want to keep the players or not. One moment it seems the Sens really want to sign Stone, next they’re talking to Winnipeg. Around that time, reports came out of a focus on signing Duchene and how he was a priority, yet now reports say he’s available and the Sens are taking offers and focusing on Stone instead. As I finish this blog post, news has just broke that Duchene has been scratched indefinitely- but still no trade news as of yet.
The present
We have three UFA’s, all with high point totals, all fantastic players, and they could all be dealt at the same fucking time.
In reality, as much as I would miss Dzingel, trading him has the least implications and consequences for the organisation. Yes he’s a great player, and won’t cost anywhere near as much as Duchene or Stone to sign, but he’s the one that will make fans least angry if moved.
Trading Duchene means confirming that the trade in November 2017 was a failure, and that we really did give up a crucial first round pick for 1 1/2 years of Matt Duchene across 2 crappy Sens seasons. Depending on where Duchene goes it could also add further insult to injury. Nashville have been highlighted as potential buyers, the third team involved in the trade that brought Duchene to Ottawa in the first place. For him to go there alongside Turris would definitely kick fans while they were down, but there seems to be a slight detachment with regards to Duchene. Yes, he is an incredible player, but from looking online I just don’t get the vibe that people are as invested in him as a player like our last crucial UFA, Mark Stone.
Trading Mark Stone would be the nail in the coffin for many fans it seems, a concern also highlighted by Jeff Marek on a recent 31 Thoughts podcast. It was implied after the Erik Karlsson trade that Stone could be Ottawa’s next Captain. Drafted by Ottawa in the 6th round in 2010 Stone has been a fan favourite in Ottawa. He had success in junior with the Wheat Kings, becoming their captain and winning the Brad Hornung trophy. He received a Calder trophy nomination for his first year in the NHL, has put up consistent numbers in terms of points, with his lowest total being 54. For three straight years until injuries set him back last year, he led the league in takeaways, and as of me writing this, he currently leads the league once again with 86 so far (according to TSN). Stone is arguably the most well-rounded player of the three, and perhaps the most well-liked. He celebrates every goal with an amazing energy and passion that I personally really hope the organisation sees.
Dorion is running out of time to get three players sorted. Signed or signed away, he’s running to a very tight deadline now. The Sens could be making other important moves as well, but due to the last minute rush this seems like it's just not going to happen. Anders Nilsson will be a UFA as well at the end of this year, and while not a priority it would’ve been nice to sign him as a potential Condon replacement. His LGBTQ2+ activism and decent numbers so far are making him popular with fans. Cody Ceci could’ve been signed or traded by now- he is an RFA at the end of this season, and teams have been reportedly showing some interest in the defenceman. He would, in my opinion, be a good candidate to be traded for a high pick in the draft. The Sens defence may be young but most of them are putting up far better numbers than Ceci, and nobody seems to have noticed this but Sens fans themselves. This is a prime time to be dealing Ceci for more than he’s worth before people catch on.
The worst part about all of this is that I can’t *completely* blame Pierre Dorion. Yes, he should have started negotiations sooner and not left it all to the last fucking minute, however he doesn’t exactly have much help. The front office is thinner than the hair on Mark Borowiecki's head, and as the amazing writers at Silversevensens remind us, AGM Peter McTavish focuses solely on contracts. Also, its worth remembering that while Dorion appears to be a bumbling fool at the best of times, he will also have pressures from Melnyk as well to cope with.
The future
But back to our top three UFA's... if we do trade all of them, where do we go now?
I wonder how Sens fans can connect with a team where there’s such a lack of trust - fans will become fearful of getting attached to players. How can parents buy their children jerseys of their favourite player, when you blink and Eugene will have traded the guy for a bag of magic beans because he’s a tight arse git? Yes, you could say that it’s the NHL and you have to expect players to leave, look at Tavares with the Islanders. But this is a consistent thing for the Sens. I’ve been a fan of this team only a few years and I know this has been happening for long before I was a fan, and I can see it happening well into the future if nothing changes.
The Sens, and I say this with confidence, do draft well. However, this is a fact that is regularly sold to us, and could pose a problem. Yes, we have star talent and potential in the AHL and in junior, and it is reasonable to believe these players will come light up the NHL. But what happens when those players hit their prime? We have a history of trading star players because we can’t afford them. Perhaps they don't want to stay, but to be honest, I don't fully blame them. The Sens have displayed poor asset management, hell, poor management in general and bad ownership. We are becoming the farm team for the whole of the NHL.
The Sens being unable to afford players is a fact not lost on many. In a recent episode of the Puck Soup podcast, co-host Ryan Lambert echoed a view that myself and many on Sens twitter have had for a while, and one I still stand by now. It was likely that Erik Karlsson was presented with a "Dogshit offer", as Lambert put it, so that the Sens could publicly say that they did make Karlsson an offer. The Sens then spun the narrative that Karlsson just chose no to take the offer, and didn't want to stay, but that it would all be okay because we are in a rebuild and have potential for the future.
Let's be honest here- I can see this happening all over again with our three aforementioned UFA's. It's a vicious cycle, and I don't see where it ends. All I hope is that if they all go, we at least get a decent return that will give us a tiny spark of hope to hold onto.
A good read! But Dorion knew what he was infor when he signed his contract extension.
ReplyDeleteGet outta here Pierre and Eugene!