The Senators announced this morning that Chris Wideman, set to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1, has signed a 1 year, 2-way deal (EDIT: He will get a very healthy $400K if he plays in Binghamton, $600K in the NHL).

While some might be surprised that the blueliner agreed to a 2-way contract, given the remaining glut on the Senators roster, and the fact the Wideman hasn't played a single NHL game yet it is understandable (and his AHL salary is pretty high). Also, the fact that he has had 3 or 3 days to field offers from other teams he might realize that the market isn't out there for him on a 1 way deal.



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Speaking of free agency, the market officially opens on July 1st, and there is a pretty underwhelming group available for the taking, which means the prices for the good ones will be high and for the most part the Senators will probably be better off if they keep their phones in their pockets.

The Senators have to consider, just as in trades, whether the player they are bringing in is an improvement on who they have penciled in for that spot on the roster, and if the value for that improvement is worth it.

There isn't much there that I would be interested in paying a king's ransom for.

Mike Green, Christian Ehrhoff, Zbynek Michalek, Johnny Oduya and Francois Beauchemin are the best options on the blue line, but with Wideman and Claesson both still in the mix then the Senators have 9 defensemen in the running for what will hopefully be 7 roster spots. The dealing of Eric Gryba doesn't change a whole lot except the Senators don't need drag 8 blueliners around this season if all are healthy.



Up front, pickings are even slimmer for legitmate top 6 forwards. Michael Frolik, Tomas Fleischmann, Drew Stafford, Joel Ward, Curtis Glencross and Justin Williams are the names I wold look at, but not necessarily touch. There is not really a standout among them, although Williams has a history of coming up big in the post-season.

The ever-present Chris Stewart is also a free agent, and he has been tied to the Senators for years, so those rumors will no doubt re-surface.

Mike Richards is a very intriguing name, because he has 2 Stanley Cups and is about to be bought out by the Kings. He was waived through the league last season, but he could still fill a third line role and be a good leader if the price was right.

But with a depth chart that looks something like:

MacArthur - Turris - Stone
Hoffman - Zibanejad - Ryan
Michalek - Pageau - Lazar
Chiasson - Smith - Neil

Greening, Prince, Puempel


Karlsson - Methot
Ceci - Wiercioch
Cowen - Borowiecki

Phillips, Claesson, Wideman

room at the top end of the forward group is pretty tight. Sure, a legitimate top 4 defenseman might be in order, but Wiercioch was good down the stretch and I (as well as the team) still think Cowen can be (but needs to put up soon).

Everyone is going to have their preferences on what they would like to see the team do over the next week or so, but I wold be totally fine if they did nothing at all.

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