Trevor Shackles: Stone or Duchene? That is the Question Who would you rather have at their prices?

No brainer for me: STONE!!!

Rather have Stone, but ideally we keep both and trade Ceci and Dzingle.

Either way, the Sens will need to over pay. Stone wants over 8m x 8. Yet he’s never scored more than 26 goals in a season.

Although I do think you'll get more in return for Stone, I would keep Stone over Duchene. I agree with all the points Shackles made.

neither brah, both are going UFA

It was not a mistake to sign Bobby Ryan to a $7m deal (average annual salary).

The mistake was giving him a 7 year term. Bobby Ryan is not a good technical skater.

Peak performance for the very best players (forwards) is age 24-26. There are few exceptions. It is uncanny how dramatically a player's game dips around age 27-28 and continues to drop each year that they age. They may continue to be great players, team leaders and even winners but their production will decline in absolute terms. You cannot stop the decline. You can only slow it down, delay it in terms of its full impact.

Players who experience the most rapid fall off are the guys who are poor technical skaters (Bobby Ryan). Mark Stone is an even poorer skater than Bobby Ryan. His game will decline faster than Duchene's.

My heart says they should sign both Stone and Duchene.

My head says don't sign either. This is the time to sell high, take the best deal you can get.

History might show the long term opportunity window for the Islanders finally took off when the Leafs signed Tavares. On the other hand, the Leafs window began closing with the same signing. The Leafs may win a Cup, But it needs to be now if Tavares is going to be a significant contributor.

So, if you can only sign one, it makes sense to sign Duchene as he is a far superior technical skater. If you want leadership for the young guys, sign Stone. Short term the argument can be made that you want to sign both. Long term, there is a logical argument that suggests a non contending team should trade both.

Even though I think it would be a mistake...if I can sign only one...I sign Stone because of his passion and leadership.

Either way, the Sens will need to over pay. Stone wants over 8m x 8. Yet he’s never scored more than 26 goals in a season.
- BernardShakey

he`s a 70-80pt player and arguably the best defensive forward in the NHL. he`s EASILY worth 9 and I wouldn`t bat an eye if they gave him that.

if you HAVE to keep only one then stone is the no-brainer choice. the second he signs an extension the ``C`` is on his jersey the next game

Sign Stone, if he'll sign without Duchene signing, and sell high on Duchene.

I can't say that I agree that it's a runaway decision either way. Stone clearly has a lot of support here, but Duchene is a vastly better skater, and plays what is generally regarded as a more vital position. You can argue that Stone is a year younger and has the higher hockey IQ, but his skating has always been a weakness and I think losing a step would seriously affect his game. Conversely, Duchene could lose a step and still be among the fastest skaters on the team... in addition to being one of the best faceoff men in the league.

Regardless, I think they'd be fools not to sign both of them if Stone and Duchene are interested in staying. Honestly, even at $9M/yr each it would only be a $2M-$3M bump in their respective salaries... at a time when over the next 2-3 years they'll almost certainly be shedding all or most of Ryan, Gaborik, Anderson, Boedker, Smith, Ceci, Pageau, and Tierney... which is over $30M in contracts. That's where you slash your budget... not with players who can help bring back fan and merchandising interest after trading away the face of your franchise.

So Ottawa is willing to give to dollar to these two but wasn’t to Karlsson ? Idiots

So Ottawa is willing to give to dollar to these two but wasn’t to Karlsson ? Idiots
- APar2008

they offered him an 8 year 88 million dollar deal.........last time I checked, that was a lot of money.

the structure of the contract is what wasn't acceptable to Karlsson......there has been no mention of the structure of these offers.

I would go with Stone over MD. Stone is 1.5 years younger also, which in the rebuild matters.

MD starting a 8-9mil deal thats going to be 7 or 8 years is probably going to end bad if the Sens are looking at rebuilding for a few seasons min.

Stone and it isn't close in my opinion. Hypothetical. You sign Duchene to that huge deal he's getting. The turnaround isn't as quick as they hope. Two years of missed playoffs. The Duchene who demanded out of Denver because he wants to make the playoffs would have some interesting thoughts.

I will write exactly what I just posted on S7S regarding a similar article:

I believe Duchene is as good as gone. He has clearly indicated his desire to play for a winner (now) and I believe that he has no desire to play for a team in a rebuilding phase. His non committal responses speak volumes and I believe the contract offer was a way for Melnyk to show that he at least tried to keep Duchene; now here’s hoping Dorion gets a boat load of assets for our best center!

On the other hand, I think that Stone is probably going nowhere and that he will resign with the mission of captaining this team to the playoffs in a couple of seasons. He seems to cherish the role of mentor and making him captain with a long term contract will seal the deal. I also believe that with Stone staying, so too will Dzingel, so yes, it will be painful to lose Duchene, but not the end of the world.

What is most encouraging is what is happening off the ice, with the Lebreton dealings. I have read and I have confirmed with a source with inside knowledge (of what the players think), who says while Melnyk is telling everyone he never wants to sell, he is just waiting for the right deal to come along. This source believes that the entry of Devcore in the negotiations is part of an end game, where either Melnyk sells entirely or at least brings on a partner with deep financial pockets. This too will facilitate the resigning of star players as a level of trust between ownership and players will be reestablished.

Either way, the Sens will need to over pay. Stone wants over 8m x 8. Yet he’s never scored more than 26 goals in a season.
- BernardShakey

If that's how you're evaluating him, you're doing it wrong.

neither brah, both are going UFA
- jimbro83

Not the point of the article

Prefer to sign both but if we can trade Duchene to a team with assets (eg Carolina for Pesce +) that would be great.

Mark Stone. Best player and best leader.

Long, expensive contracts just seem like a stupid idea. We're stuck with Bobby Ryan for four more seasons at $7+ mill. Lesson learned. This aint Toronto with their limitless resources. The Sens aren't in the position to keep any players past the $3-5 mill stage of their careers. Not until there is new owner/partner money or the increased revenue of a downtown facility, etc etc.

I just don't think it's worth paying players during their superstar years. We'll never afford to get enough of them for a legit run. Just keep the team young and fast and exciting and don't get locked into any 8x8+ deals that we'll never get out of. Trade Stone and Duchene for picks and prospects while you can. Face it, we're a bubble play-off team that might get lucky if all the planets are aligned one year. Otherwise, spend the saved money on coaching and scouting.

The end.

thoughts on the Sens maybe taking a shot and claiming Rattie?

seems like a high skill guy that's never really been given a shot to succeed.

I think Dzingel will be traded, opens up a spot on the wing. you can get him for nothing, and he only makes 800k.

if he sucks you don't qualify him (he's still an RFA) and if he plays well, then it's a free asset. Worst case it's a solid depth move for Belleville

the kid tore up jr, and produces well in the AHL.....just seems to always get dumped on the 4th line when given a shot in the NHL

Long, expensive contracts just seem like a stupid idea. We're stuck with Bobby Ryan for four more seasons at $7+ mill. Lesson learned. This aint Toronto with their limitless resources. The Sens aren't in the position to keep any players past the $3-5 mill stage of their careers. Not until there is new owner/partner money or the increased revenue of a downtown facility, etc etc.

I just don't think it's worth paying players during their superstar years. We'll never afford to get enough of them for a legit run. Just keep the team young and fast and exciting and don't get locked into any 8x8+ deals that we'll never get out of. Trade Stone and Duchene for picks and prospects while you can. Face it, we're a bubble play-off team that might get lucky if all the planets are aligned one year. Otherwise, spend the saved money on coaching and scouting.

The end.
- sgoodwin

If you never give 8-year deals, you will literally never win in the NHL. You'll have to pay your star players eventually

Rather have Stone, but ideally we keep both and trade Ceci and Dzingle.
- TheCalSen

Mark Stone. Best player and best leader.
- SensFan25

yup

100% they should sign both Duchene and Stone and I think they should keep Dzingle as well.

Trade Ceci, Ryan (If possible), Smith, and the players who aren't in the plans for the future. Try to get either picks, prospects or pieces to match with what we have.

Bring in the young guys to develop and build moving forward.