Ok thanks, enjoy the rest of the evening
- Crosside

Ok man, you too my friend! The next month is critical for PD!

Ah ok, nice! Yes, mind you Kucherov is a big help lol. But Palat is 31, can play both sides....experience, size....he would be great man!!
- Kevin Francis

Agree 100%! I would love to see him come here but sadly there will many many teams willing to sign him - him being in the U.S. his whole life, with 1 organization, and then in a great tax state - it's so difficult to get a guy like that.

Agree 100%! I would love to see him come here but sadly there will many many teams willing to sign him - him being in the U.S. his whole life, with 1 organization, and then in a great tax state - it's so difficult to get a guy like that.
- AlfieisKing

Exactly and that's when Ottawa adds years onto a deal to get a player here. This team doesn't need to do that now, they don't need to steer away from the rebuild plan....they don't need a Tavares type signing or anything like that, that would hamstring them for years.

Exactly and that's when Ottawa adds years onto a deal to get a player here. This team doesn't need to do that now, they don't need to steer away from the rebuild plan....they don't need a Tavares type signing or anything like that, that would hamstring them for years.
- Kevin Francis

Yes!

The signing of Tavares should be studied by every team that is coming into the second stage of their rebuild. I have no doubt that Tavares was a great signing if you limit your goals to wanting to support short term improvement in regular season performance and gaining a playoff berth.

However the downside of a Tavares signing has to do with stifling the natural growth of the leadership roles taken on by the younger elite players. Tavares' contract at $11m became the bench mark salary for top players on the team and the exposure to cap hell. Playoff success becomes more problematic as Tavares ages on his long term deal and the elite contracts prevent building a deep, playoff tough roster.

So, yesterday we read where Bettman says, despite the lingering effects of Covid, last year was the best revenue year ever for the NHL. Yet he also formally announces the cap will remain at $82m. verifying the very worst fears in multiple teams.

Teams that have flexibility on cap space may never see a better opportunity for solid trade deals and for signing available UFAs. Perhaps we may even see several RFA offer sheets over the next few months.

Important! This is the last year of the cap freeze. We can reasonably expect for the cap to increase to $96m over the next 5 years. If you are one of the few teams that have the cap space, this is the summer when can strike a hard bargains to acquire elite talent.

Hmm.....Reading Kev's tea leaves......that leaves Dave Poulin.

Love pooly!! Good hockey mind, and the best thing about him is his calm demeanor. He doesn't get rattled.

Well they gotta replace 2 huge titles first in Peter Mac and PM. Right now they have 5 in hockey ops. Easily the smallest hockey ops of anyone in the NHL! Then after they do that, they need to add major exp in that front office! Sorry, not mentioning any names right now, but I know they are making a push for a TSN personality, not Pounder, although they have talked to her, I am talking about someone else. If they can land this person that I know they are trying to lure out of TSN on air, then I will be the first to say good job. But until they even replace the 2 who are gone, this team is a trainwreck!
- Kevin Francis

If the Board authorizes Dorion to recruit and hire an elite AGM.
If they expand hockey ops.
If the player salary budget has actually been increased as has been reported.
If Dorion is able to acquire a top 6 forward.
If he adds a top 4 Dman.
If he signs new deals with Norris, Formenton and Joseph.

Somebody, somewhere must be calling the shots. Even if they can move Murray's contract, it still sounds like an upward increase in the player salary budget in the range of $16m. Where is the money coming from? You can't make these kind of changes unless you are confident in your financial streams.

Next week might be a huge week.

Doesn't Zub need a new deal?

Instead we get a 3rd/4th line center, who can't win face offs and is in the way of people who should be playing.

Doesn't Zub need a new deal?

Instead we get a 3rd/4th line center, who can't win face offs and is in the way of people who should be playing.
- Octavarium

Dorion really is baffling. Like I get signing these smaller deals during the playoff season when you are out and all as the bigger ones like Zub will take more time so you do them in the offseason but the idea that Dorion wants to keep someone like Gambrell and for above league minimum should give nobody confidence that we will be a lot better next season.

Doesn't Zub need a new deal?

Instead we get a 3rd/4th line center, who can't win face offs and is in the way of people who should be playing.
- Octavarium

I think Zub is next year as is Stutzle and Pinto.

Cap is not a huge issue for Sens as it will go to $96m over the next 5 years. If you were to develop a perfect model, teams will be able to have upwards of 6 players with an average cap hit of $8m. per season. They can have 6 players averaging in the range of $5m per season. It leaves $18m at an average of $1.8m for the remaining 10 players.

Teams in a rebuilding phase with lots of cap space have a tremendous advantage at this point in time. Cap is not the issue for the Sens. The core issue will be if they have the ownership structure and sufficient revenue streams to support +$90m. on the payroll.

I think Zub is next year as is Stutzle and Pinto.

Cap is not a huge issue for Sens as it will go to $96m over the next 5 years. If you were to develop a perfect model, teams will be able to have upwards of 6 players with an average cap hit of $8m. per season. They can have 6 players averaging in the range of $5m per season. It leaves $18m at an average of $1.8m for the remaining 10 players.

Teams in a rebuilding phase with lots of cap space have a tremendous advantage at this point in time. Cap is not the issue for the Sens. The core issue will be if they have the ownership structure and sufficient revenue streams to support +$90m. on the payroll.
- spatso

https://www.capfriendly.com/teams/senators

Cap friendly says Zub has one year left.

https://www.capfriendly.com/teams/senators

Cap friendly says Zub has one year left.
- david22

Yup. Meaning Zub and Connor Brown can be extended come free agency. If you sign a 1 year contract, you have to wait until Jan 1 to extend them, but both of these guys are on multi year deals so can be extended at the beginning of their final contract year.

I think Zub is next year as is Stutzle and Pinto.

Cap is not a huge issue for Sens as it will go to $96m over the next 5 years. If you were to develop a perfect model, teams will be able to have upwards of 6 players with an average cap hit of $8m. per season. They can have 6 players averaging in the range of $5m per season. It leaves $18m at an average of $1.8m for the remaining 10 players.

Teams in a rebuilding phase with lots of cap space have a tremendous advantage at this point in time. Cap is not the issue for the Sens. The core issue will be if they have the ownership structure and sufficient revenue streams to support +$90m. on the payroll.
- spatso

with the coming recession and possibly depression, that is a pipe dream, cap will stay flat or go down in the next 5 years as people prioritized their few spending bucks away from 300$ hockey tickets seats...

Doesn't Zub need a new deal?

Instead we get a 3rd/4th line center, who can't win face offs and is in the way of people who should be playing.
- Octavarium

Formenton/Norris are the high-priority RFA this year (plus Brannstrom)

Zub/Brown/Watson will be the major impending UFA next year
Stutzle/Pinto will be the high-priority RFA next year

Gambrell is fine as a depth C. His faceoff % is basically no different from what any of Paul, Tierney, White, or Pinto gave them last year, so I don't really consider that a valid criticism. He's a bit dysfunctional in terms of scoring upside, but has the skating and general hockey IQ to play up and down the lineup, and he can assist on the 2nd PK unit. There are worse ways to allocate $950K AAV than retaining a defensively-sound bottom-6 C/RW, especially if next year's roster will be without Paul, Tierney, or White. But you're right that it doesn't really break ground on any of the major roster issues.

Formenton/Norris are the high-priority RFA this year (plus Brannstrom)

Zub/Brown/Watson will be the major impending UFA next year
Stutzle/Pinto will be the high-priority RFA next year

Gambrell is fine as a depth C. His faceoff % is basically no different from what any of Paul, Tierney, White, or Pinto gave them last year, so I don't really consider that a valid criticism. He's a bit dysfunctional in terms of scoring upside, but has the skating and general hockey IQ to play up and down the lineup, and he can assist on the 2nd PK unit. There are worse ways to allocate $950K AAV than retaining a defensively-sound bottom-6 C/RW, especially if next year's roster will be without Paul, Tierney, or White. But you're right that it doesn't really break ground on any of the major roster issues.
- khawk

I see Gambrell as basically a warm body, but for all the vaunted talk of Ottawa's pipeline we are quite thin up front, so it's not like he's taking away ice time from anybody truly deserving (that's really a problem exclusive to the back end). He will push Kastelic's compete, could easily play on the wing, and who knows? Maybe he Troy Terry's on us and we flip him at the deadline.

Weird how people are getting all conspiracy theory about who posters are. We are all just folks behind a screen trying to talk hockey.

The real focus should be on the fact the NHL draft is 20 or so days away from a relatively important draft for the franchise and Dorion seems to be the lone guy steering the ship with McGuire and Mctavish gone. Really strange to have virtually your whole management team leave before a draft. Hockey is a world sport. A single guy can't do scouting on his own. We've already seen relatively shallow efforts to select prospects due to the tiny size of the Sens scouting department. Hope Finland and North Dakota have some gems again.
- Gord_Wilson_2.0

Some North Dakota draft-eligible prospects of note...

LW Dylan James is ~#50 on TSN's list, and could be a 2nd round target
https://www.eliteprospect...player/506333/dylan-james

Watch for later-round picks being used on LHD Tyler Dunbar, or RW Benjamin Strinden as an overage pick out of the USHL.
https://www.eliteprospect...layer/476039/tyler-dunbar
https://www.eliteprospect.../630036/benjamin-strinden

I am not a fan of the Torts hire. The man has a 2 year max shelf life.

I see Gambrell as basically a warm body, but for all the vaunted talk of Ottawa's pipeline we are quite thin up front, so it's not like he's taking away ice time from anybody truly deserving (that's really a problem exclusive to the back end). He will push Kastelic's compete, could easily play on the wing, and who knows? Maybe he Troy Terry's on us and we flip him at the deadline.
- Bartacus

Agreed, the Senators' pipeline is nowhere near as good as some want to believe, especially at forward. Outside of Ridley Greig, there's essentially no sure-fire top-9 NHL player in the whole system. There "might" be an eventual top-6 scoring forward among Jarventie, Sokolov, Lodin, or Crookshank, but it's equally possible that none have an impact beyond the AHL level. Boucher/Ostapchuk could be useful bottom-6 forward down the road, but they're both a ways off. They could start to transition 4th line roles to Kastelic/Kelly, but that's a relatively minor issue, and just prevents the need to re-sign depth players like Sabourin, Bishop, or Shaw.

That's why the William Karlsson idea is hardly unrealistic... a top-6 forward with C/W versatility and 5-yr cost-certainty at $5.9M/yr is not beyond the scope of what Dorion might interpret as a solution to their scoring depth... especially if they clear out Colin White's contract at $4.8M/yr.

You said your a lawyer, so you probably know that when you fired someone, you can put a no talk clause in the contract...
- Crosside

It absolutely doesn't happen in the NHL, I know that for a fact. In fact, I had this talk with Eric Mac the TSN legal guy on the radio. You are lost my friend, yet again, what a surprise.
- LawyerSens4Life

We do not need to look any further than Pierre McGuire himself for an example of a team successfully pursuing a former employee for breach of contract related to confidentiality.

Does anyone remember the post-termination circumstances of Mr. McGuire's exit from Hartford? After his termination, Mr. McGuire agreed to testify for the Oilers against Harford at an arbitration. Mr. McGuire provided the Whalers' confidential information to the Oilers' lawyers which was used at the proceedings. Mr. Rutherford went after Mr. McGuire and my recollection is that the NHL fined Mr. McGuire half of the salary the Whalers owed from the terminated contract for disclosing the confidential information.

I can think of several other incidents where confidentiality / nondisclosure clauses were referenced in NHL matters related to terminations / resignations.

Truly, most employees of these organizations will have some form of confidentiality clause in their contracts and/or settlement agreements. Now, these would look different depending on the nature of the employment relationship. People cannot be restricted from finding gainful employment, so these clauses certainly do have limits. Legal counsel would be negligent for not having these items included.

So, yesterday we read where Bettman says, despite the lingering effects of Covid, last year was the best revenue year ever for the NHL. Yet he also formally announces the cap will remain at $82m. verifying the very worst fears in multiple teams.

Teams that have flexibility on cap space may never see a better opportunity for solid trade deals and for signing available UFAs. Perhaps we may even see several RFA offer sheets over the next few months.

Important! This is the last year of the cap freeze. We can reasonably expect for the cap to increase to $96m over the next 5 years. If you are one of the few teams that have the cap space, this is the summer when can strike a hard bargains to acquire elite talent.
- spatso

For the next 2-3 years the cap will only go up 1 million per season, then years 4-5 is when it will take a significant jump. The players have to pay back excrow because the league wasn't pulling in any money due to covid. Bettman has stated this a few times. So at this time next year it will go up another million for the 2023-24 season, then again for the 204-25 season.

I am not a fan of the Torts hire. The man has a 2 year max shelf life.
- HoweHatrick

Agreed! Ask Foligno or Domi how it has shortened their careers, playing for him and his style. Which is why the style DJ plays, many in the org feel the same way, except.....get ready......PD! What a surprise!

Agreed, the Senators' pipeline is nowhere near as good as some want to believe, especially at forward. Outside of Ridley Greig, there's essentially no sure-fire top-9 NHL player in the whole system. There "might" be an eventual top-6 scoring forward among Jarventie, Sokolov, Lodin, or Crookshank, but it's equally possible that none have an impact beyond the AHL level. Boucher/Ostapchuk could be useful bottom-6 forward down the road, but they're both a ways off. They could start to transition 4th line roles to Kastelic/Kelly, but that's a relatively minor issue, and just prevents the need to re-sign depth players like Sabourin, Bishop, or Shaw.

That's why the William Karlsson idea is hardly unrealistic... a top-6 forward with C/W versatility and 5-yr cost-certainty at $5.9M/yr is not beyond the scope of what Dorion might interpret as a solution to their scoring depth... especially if they clear out Colin White's contract at $4.8M/yr.
- khawk

Well said, that's why if they keep the draft pick this year, they need to draft a high skilled forward! Like you said outside of Greig, they are scratching and clawing to hopefully find a top 6 forward!

I see Gambrell as basically a warm body, but for all the vaunted talk of Ottawa's pipeline we are quite thin up front, so it's not like he's taking away ice time from anybody truly deserving (that's really a problem exclusive to the back end). He will push Kastelic's compete, could easily play on the wing, and who knows? Maybe he Troy Terry's on us and we flip him at the deadline.
- Bartacus

I just hope Gambrell doesn't take away Kastelic's TOI, like a few other defensemen did last year....if you all recall!

Some North Dakota draft-eligible prospects of note...

LW Dylan James is ~#50 on TSN's list, and could be a 2nd round target
https://www.eliteprospect...player/506333/dylan-james

Watch for later-round picks being used on LHD Tyler Dunbar, or RW Benjamin Strinden as an overage pick out of the USHL.
https://www.eliteprospect...layer/476039/tyler-dunbar
https://www.eliteprospect.../630036/benjamin-strinden
- khawk

Good stuff man!!

with the coming recession and possibly depression, that is a pipe dream, cap will stay flat or go down in the next 5 years as people prioritized their few spending bucks away from 300$ hockey tickets seats...
- Mithos

Like I mentioned in another post, the cap is only going up 1M per year for 3 seasons, starting this year. So we will have to wait until we see it jump significantly! But I agree, people are way more frugal now due to covid, rise in cost of living with food and gas, you wont be seeing people pay big for tickets!