Michael Stuart: Senators, Brown Ink Three-Year Pact

Well, that's a very solid signing - I didn't like Brown trying to push for something as close to $5M as was rumored, but a 3yr deal in this range is virtually perfect for a hard-working veteran player who can play an effective 2nd/3rd line role. Positionally, their RW looks pretty solid at this point, with Dadonov, Batherson, Brown, and Watson in place for the next 3yrs.

This just leaves Tierney as the last RFA signing... the Brown deal likely provides a bit of indication for the salary range, but it will be interesting to see what kind of term the team is looking for. It could be quite revealing in terms of where they really see White, Norris, and Brown in terms of their assessed NHL potential, at least over the next couple of years.

Good deal for the sens. Keep a solid veteran player for reasonable term & $'s.

Dorion appears to have read the free agent market pretty effectively (C. Brown, Duclair, Dadonov at least... not sure about the murray deal given other goalie contracts but it is what it is) but it's the trades that perplex me.

Trading picks for Brown, Gudbranson and Watson seems premature & unnecessary given other UFA deals or better value trades that have happened since.(Schmidt to Van for a 5th rounder , Toews to Avs for 2 2nd's, Johnsson to NJ for a middling prospect for example) I also didn't love trading to move up to get Kleven in the 2nd round for basically 2 later 2nds... or essentially what Colorado gave to Islanders to get a legit top 4 Defenseman that coulld play now and be a trade chip later.

Dorion is a tough GM to assign a grade to.

Great signing by Dorion - both dollars and term.

Well, that's a very solid signing - I didn't like Brown trying to push for something as close to $5M as was rumored, but a 3yr deal in this range is virtually perfect for a hard-working veteran player who can play an effective 2nd/3rd line role. Positionally, their RW looks pretty solid at this point, with Dadonov, Batherson, Brown, and Watson in place for the next 3yrs.

This just leaves Tierney as the last RFA signing... the Brown deal likely provides a bit of indication for the salary range, but it will be interesting to see what kind of term the team is looking for. It could be quite revealing in terms of where they really see White, Norris, and Brown in terms of their assessed NHL potential, at least over the next couple of years.
- khawk

He was asking for 4.8 in arb but dont think he seriously thought he would get it, as is usually the case. Great signing for the Sens, Leafs really missed him last year, perfect 2/3 line forward.

Young RW enters UFA on a 3.5M~ 3 year deal. Hmm.... where have we seen this before in Ottawa? Maybe he's Mark Stone 2.0

He was asking for 4.8 in arb but dont think he seriously thought he would get it, as is usually the case. Great signing for the Sens, Leafs really missed him last year, perfect 2/3 line forward.
- 13sundin13

when negotiating a salary, always ask for more, so you actually settle where you want to be, its the same for they other side, they give less to settle where they actualy want to be.

Good deal for the sens. Keep a solid veteran player for reasonable term & $'s.

Dorion appears to have read the free agent market pretty effectively (C. Brown, Duclair, Dadonov at least... not sure about the murray deal given other goalie contracts but it is what it is) but it's the trades that perplex me.

Trading picks for Brown, Gudbranson and Watson seems premature & unnecessary given other UFA deals or better value trades that have happened since.(Schmidt to Van for a 5th rounder , Toews to Avs for 2 2nd's, Johnsson to NJ for a middling prospect for example) I also didn't love trading to move up to get Kleven in the 2nd round for basically 2 later 2nds... or essentially what Colorado gave to Islanders to get a legit top 4 Defenseman that coulld play now and be a trade chip later.

Dorion is a tough GM to assign a grade to.
- heatleysfrontteeth

I'm inclined to agree - with Gaborik's salary on LTIR and Tierney's incoming, we would have hit the floor easily without adding Gudbranson, which just pushes Zub down the depth list, and I'd say the relative unknown in Zub is better than what we know about Gudbranson.

That said, I like Ottawa kids in the room and Gudbranson seems genuinely excited to play at home - wish that Ottawa kid's name was 'Weegar', but who knows? Maybe that is still a possibility. I really like Josh Brown's prospects for this team given our offensive-heavy left side. Dorion likes to surprise sometimes - he hits sometimes like with Pinto last year, and he misses like he did with Lodin - but every GM does. Kleven, as you note, did not warrant the move up, but Dorion also plays a very transparent game where he wants his prospects playing together as early as possible before they enter the pros, seeing as he seems intent to draft the entire UND team (Sanderson, JBD, Tychonik, Pinto, Kleven), which might explain the pick. He also overpaid to move up for Logan Brown, but if you like a prospect and have a boatload of picks, there are only so many spots on our roster. I'd say based off his success in late rounds alone he's been very solid at the draft. His trading IMO has been streakier, but the JGP, Duchene, Dzingel and Karlsson deals have made him look pretty good in contrast to the Phaneuf, Zaitsev and Stone deals.

Considering he's one of the lowest paid GMs in the league with the weakest personnel budget, I'd say he has acquitted himself pretty well. I'd shake his hand if it wasn't for COVID.

Young RW enters UFA on a 3.5M~ 3 year deal. Hmm.... where have we seen this before in Ottawa? Maybe he's Mark Stone 2.0
- Bartacus

Sincerely doubt it, but I liked him on the leafs. Always played hard and didn't coast. Toronto sure missed that attitude last year

I like the 3 year deals for Brown and Daddy for the reason that they will be off the books by the time Stuzle, Sanderson, etc will be up for a new contract out of their entry deals. Some clever planning done with these contract negotiations that I don't think a lot of people notice.

Anisimov, Gudbranson, Reilly, and Nilson come of the books next year which will create room to sign legit contracts with Tkachuk, L. Brown, Wolanin, and Batherson if they so choose. Tkachuk is a lock but the others need to preform well this year to warrant a decent raise.

With a poor team, ensuring you have money leaving when you need to pay guys who need raises is extremely important.

when negotiating a salary, always ask for more, so you actually settle where you want to be, its the same for they other side, they give less to settle where they actualy want to be.
- Athrin

Totally, I'm sure he knew he would end up in the range he did.

Sincerely doubt it, but I liked him on the leafs. Always played hard and didn't coast. Toronto sure missed that attitude last year
- mgriffen

Leafs will never have rings on their tables because they have so many coasters

Figure skaters who seem more intent on improving their scores for artistic performance.

Young RW enters UFA on a 3.5M~ 3 year deal. Hmm.... where have we seen this before in Ottawa? Maybe he's Mark Stone 2.0
- Bartacus

With Stone is problem was skating, with C.Brown it's the offensive finish

I like the 3 year deals for Brown and Daddy for the reason that they will be off the books by the time Stuzle, Sanderson, etc will be up for a new contract out of their entry deals. Some clever planning done with these contract negotiations that I don't think a lot of people notice.

Anisimov, Gudbranson, Reilly, and Nilson come of the books next year which will create room to sign legit contracts with Tkachuk, L. Brown, Wolanin, and Batherson if they so choose. Tkachuk is a lock but the others need to preform well this year to warrant a decent raise.

With a poor team, ensuring you have money leaving when you need to pay guys who need raises is extremely important.
- Gord_Wilson_2.0

good insight

Good deal for the sens. Keep a solid veteran player for reasonable term & $'s.

Dorion appears to have read the free agent market pretty effectively (C. Brown, Duclair, Dadonov at least... not sure about the murray deal given other goalie contracts but it is what it is) but it's the trades that perplex me.

Trading picks for Brown, Gudbranson and Watson seems premature & unnecessary given other UFA deals or better value trades that have happened since.(Schmidt to Van for a 5th rounder , Toews to Avs for 2 2nd's, Johnsson to NJ for a middling prospect for example) I also didn't love trading to move up to get Kleven in the 2nd round for basically 2 later 2nds... or essentially what Colorado gave to Islanders to get a legit top 4 Defenseman that coulld play now and be a trade chip later.

Dorion is a tough GM to assign a grade to.
- heatleysfrontteeth

Wasn't Schmidt a 3rd rounder?

Anyways, partly agree. I still assume we will flip Gudbranson retained for a 3rd at the deadline which is more than the 3 picks combined imo.

I like the 3 year deals for Brown and Daddy for the reason that they will be off the books by the time Stuzle, Sanderson, etc will be up for a new contract out of their entry deals. Some clever planning done with these contract negotiations that I don't think a lot of people notice.

Anisimov, Gudbranson, Reilly, and Nilson come of the books next year which will create room to sign legit contracts with Tkachuk, L. Brown, Wolanin, and Batherson if they so choose. Tkachuk is a lock but the others need to preform well this year to warrant a decent raise.

With a poor team, ensuring you have money leaving when you need to pay guys who need raises is extremely important.
- Gord_Wilson_2.0

On L Brown, how come he only has 1 year left on his ELC?

I thought it was more than 9 games that led to burning a year said contract. A quick google search says he's only played 9+ games once in his career so far.

On L Brown, how come he only has 1 year left on his ELC?

I thought it was more than 9 games that led to burning a year said contract. A quick google search says he's only played 9+ games once in his career so far.
- david22

I believe that after age 19, the player starts burning years on the ELC regardless of the number of games played in the NHL.

Let's trade tierney. I hope the sens are not done yet.

Let's trade tierney. I hope the sens are not done yet.
- SENS-sational

So, trade quite literally the only C on the current roster who:
- finished as a top-5 scorer on the team last year;
- took over 1,000 faceoffs last year (51.2%);
- played more than 0:30min/GP on the PK last year

He's also right in his prime RFA years (age 26), is coming off the two best seasons of his career, and is one of the most resilient players in the entire NHL, having missed just 6GP over the past 5 entire NHL seasons.

Not such a good idea, unless you're specifically getting all of that and more in return.

Let’s not trade Tierny, he has played well for the Senators and should do so in the future. The Sens problems are Colin White and Logan Brown who were drafted under Pierre Dorion’s watch. I hope Pierre can cut bait if they continue to flounder but if he can’t it’s time to replace him with an experienced GM who can stand up to Eugene!

Offer Sheet Anthony Cirelli: 3 years @4.3M (compensation - 2nd rd pick)

Offer Sheet Mikhail Sergachev: 5 years @6.5M(compensation - 1st, 3rd)

would you do either?

Let’s not trade Tierny, he has played well for the Senators and should do so in the future. The Sens problems are Colin White and Logan Brown who were drafted under Pierre Dorion’s watch. I hope Pierre can cut bait if they continue to flounder but if he can’t it’s time to replace him with an experienced GM who can stand up to Eugene!
- Barrykerr1

I think it's premature to say it's too late for White or Brown - especially with how poor the team has been the last few years. I think this year is the true measurement of many centermen

Reports coming out around the planning for the 2021 schedule are certain to include an all Canadian division.

I like this a lot. Should be outstanding for broadcasting and playoffs.

Natural rivalries should expand and flourish.

Offer Sheet Anthony Cirelli: 3 years @4.3M (compensation - 2nd rd pick)

Offer Sheet Mikhail Sergachev: 5 years @6.5M(compensation - 1st, 3rd)

would you do either?
- AlfieisKing

Cirelli would never sign that offer sheet, that's a terrible deal for him. he could sign for 3 mil to stay in Tampa and still take home more than he'd get on a 4.3 mil deal in Ottawa.

i'd do the deal for Sergachev, but Tampa would match and just move someone else.