07.07.16
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Welcome back Chris!

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There had been speculations before the start of free agency that former Ottawa Senator forward Chris Kelly could be someone that general manager Pierre Dorion had interest in acquiring. It looks like this is a case of where there is smoke there is fire.
Today the Senators have announced that the club has signed forward Chris Kelly to a one-year deal that will pay him $900k.

Drafted in the third round (94 overall) of the 1999 NHL Entry draft by the Ottawa Senators, Kelly spent his first three seasons in the AHL with the Grand Rapids Griffins (former Senators AHL affiliate) and Binghamton Senators (current AHL affiliate) before getting his first taste of NHL hockey, appearing in four games in February with the Senators.

Kelly would spend the next year with the Binghamton Senators where he set a career high in goals (24) and assists (36) in 77 games on a pretty good team. While he didn’t put up 117 points like Jason Spezza did that season, Kelly did finish the season with a team leading plus/minus of +30.

It wasn’t until the 2005 – 06′ season that Kelly began his National Hockey League career. In his first full 82 game season Kelly scored 10 goals and had 20 assists with a +21 rating and a faceoff percentage of 45.7%  – on a pretty good Senators team.

He spent the next four and a half seasons with the Senators playing another 377 games in which he scored 65 goals and 81 assists and having his faceoff percentage never dip below 45%

Kelly was dealt to the Boston Bruins on February 15, 2011, for a second-round draft pick at the upcoming 2011 NHL Entry Draft – a pick the Ottawa Senators used on forward Shane Prince.

Kelly went on to win the Stanley Cup with the Bruins that year – on a pretty good Bruins team. 

While it was rumored the Senators might have tried to reacquire Kelly, the Bruins locked him up and he would go on to spend the next five seasons with the Black and Gold.

Kelly played mainly on the third line with the Bruins and was a very reliable penalty killer, he was also a leader on and off the ice Kelly had served as one of the Bruins alternate captains.

These are the exact qualities that Senators general manager Pierre Doiron was looking for:

“In our evaluation of our roster we felt that we needed to add another player with the ability to succeed in close situations and on the penalty kill. Chris will be able to contribute to both of those while adding another accomplished leader to our group. He understands the type of commitment that is necessary to play at a championship level.”

If Chris Kelly is 100% after his broken femur (or as best as possible) – then I’m of the opinion that this is a very solid pickup for the Senators. He provides experience depth at the center position and on the penalty kill – he can also play the wing which is an added bonus if the Senators choose to deploy him with Lazar (who would like to get to his natural position of enter) and off the ice he’s a professional who leads by example.

Updated to include video:

07.06.16
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Midweek Recap

A collection of Ottawa Senators articles from around the web!

Cameron back behind the bench

Former Ottawa Senators head coach Dave Cameron will be back behind the bench in the NHL for the 2016 – 17 season. Cameron will serve as assistant coach to Glen Gulutzan in Calgary with the Flames. –TSN

Chabot underwhelms

2015 first round draft pick (18 overall) Thomas Chabot seems to have assistant general manager Randy Lee disappointed with what he had at the Senators Development camp.

“I thought Thomas should have been a bit more intense, I thought Thomas should have dominated”

“I think Thomas should look at the landscape and see we’ve got six signed defencemen (to NHL contracts) … Thomas and I have talked about it.”

-Randy Lee, Ottawa Senators assistant general manager

-Ottawa Sun

Curious case of Mike Hoffman

Don Brennan, of the Ottawa Sun, wrote a good article about Senators forward Mike Hoffman. The lightning-rod restricted free agent still need to show what hes got (as crazy as that sounds.)

Before they give him $25 million over five seasons, or $20 million over four, or whatever the ask is, they want to make sure Hoffman is more than just a first three-quarters of the season wonder.

-Ottawa Sun

Hoffman has also decided to file for Salary Arbitration. Salary arbitration hearings will be held in Toronto from July 20 to Aug. 4.

-NHLPA

Resigned

dzingel-feb16-blog

Name : Ryan Dzingel
Position: Center
Age: 24 (03.09.92)
Shoots: Right
Term: one -year two- way contract.
Price tag: $750k (NHL) / $72.5k (AHL)
Comparables: Cedric Paquette ($812.5k), Zach Sill ($612.5k), Cody Bass ($612.5k)

Drafted in the 7th round (204 overall) of the 2011 NHL Entry Draft by the Ottawa Senators.

2015 -2016: In his second season in the American Hockey League with the Binghamton Senators, Dzingel set career highs in assists (24) and points (36) in 44 games.

He also spent time with the Ottawa Senators. In 30 games Dzingel scored 3 goals and had 6 assists.

claessonblogsep20

Name: Fredrik Claesson
Position: Defense
Age: 23 (11.24.92)
Shoots: Left
Term: one -year two- way contract.
Price tag: $700k (NHL) / $100k (AHL)
Comparables: Chris Wideman ($800k), Mark Barberio ($750k), Zach Trotman ($650k)

Drafted in the 5th round (126 overall) of the 2011 NHL Entry Draft by the Ottawa Senators.

2015 -2016: In his fourth season in the American Hockey League with the Binghamton Senators, Claesson had 3 goals and 7 assists in 55 games.

He also spent time with the Ottawa Senators. In 16 games Claesson picked up two helpers – plus 33 hits and 30 blocked shots.

 

 

07.03.16
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Sunday Hits -07.03.16

A collection of headlines from the past 24 hours.

Thunder brewing

According to KSN TV  Ottawa Senators assistant general manager Randy Lee said the Senators East Coast Hockey League affiliate would be the Wichita Thunder.

The Senators had used the Evansville IceMen last season as their ECHL Affiliate, but the team has ECHL approval to relocate to Owensboro, Kentucky, pending a complete renovation of the Owensboro Sports Center.

First Scrimmage in the books

Ken Warren at the Ottawa Citizen has some quotes from a few Senators prospects after  Saturday’s intrasquad scrimmage at the clubs development camp at the Kanata Recreation Complex.

Forward Gabriel Gagne:

“I have to, with my size, be a power forward, I have to be hard. I have to shoot, move my feet, finish my hits. I have to show everybody I can finish my hits, win my one-on-one battles.”

Forward Markus Nurmi:

“This year, I have to get some muscles and more weight, that’s the thing.”

Forward Logan Brown:

This summer, I’m really working on my explosiveness, and that’s what is missing in my game. The big goal for everyone is to make the big step (to the NHL) at 18, but I’m definitely going to try and do that, and make it hard for the Senators to send me back to Windsor.”

White and Chabot

More from the Ottawa Citizen, forward Colin White will in fact return to Boston College for another season (Darren Dreger tweeted this would probably happen back in May.)

“I’m going back to school. We’ll see what happens and go from there. Development wise, it will be good for me to get bigger and stronger. We all decided that it would be best for me.” – Colin White

As for defenseman Thomas Chabot, Senators general manager Pierre Dorion believes that he will be able to push for a spot this season on the clubs roster.

“It’s nice to hear that. Since I’ve been two years old, I have been thinking about playing in the NHL one day.” – Thomas Chabot

07.02.16
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July 1st recap

The General Manager of the Ottawa Senators, Pierre Dorion,  told fans not to get to excited for the start of Free Agency. Dorion is still evaluating his team, he believes they under preformed last season, so going all – in on the “big names” that became available wasn’t something that was going to happen.

Instead of jumping into the deep end of free agency, Dorion popped a toe in the water acquiring an AHL forward and resigning his own prospects in the season. Here is a recap of what the Senators did on Day 1:

Resigned

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  • Name : Michael Kostka
  • Position: Defense
  • Age: 30 (11.28.85)
  • Shoots: Right
  • Term: one -year two- way contract.
  • Price tag: $800k (NHL) / $325k (AHL)
  • Comparables: Trevor van Riemsdyk ($825k), Chris Wideman ($800k), Mark Barberio ($750k)

On July 1, 2015, Kostka signed a one-year, two-way contract with the Ottawa Senators.

2015-2016: Kostka played 50 games with the Binghamton Senators, he had 5 goals (2nd most among Binghamton defensemen) and 24 assists (which led Binghamton defensemen.)

Kostka also played 15 games with the Ottawa Senators. He registered 1 assist and was a plus 6.

casey-bailey-1-of-1

Name : Casey Bailey
Position: Right Wing / Center
Age: 24 (10.27.91)
Shoots: Right
Term: one -year two- way contract.
Price tag: $874,125 (NHL) / $70k (AHL)

The undrafted forward signed his first professional contract last season with the Toronto Maple Leafs on March 21, 2015 . On February 9, 2016 Bailey was apart of  a nine-player trade that involved Dion Phaneuf.

2015 – 2016: In 38 games with the Toronto Marlies (Toronto Maple Leafs AHL affiliate) Bailey scored 4 goals and had 14 assists. In the following 30 games that he played after the trade to the Binghamton Senators Bailey scored 7 goals and had another 14 assists.

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  • Name: Max McCormick
  • Position: Right Wing
  • Age: 24 (05.01.92)
  • Shoots: Left
  • Term: One – year two – way contract.
  • Price tag: $650k (NHL) / $72.5k (AHL)
  • Comparables: Daniel Carr ($725k), Bryan Rust ($640k),  Tyler Randell ($600k)

Drafted in the 6th round (171 overall) of the 2011 NHL Entry draft McCormick  signed a two-year entry-level contract with the Senators On May 28, 2014.

2015 – 2016: McCormick played 57 games with the Binghamton Senators, scoring a career high 15 goals and 15 assists while racking up 143 penalty minutes (trailing only Zach Stortini who had 182 PIM.)

McCormick also played 20 games with the Ottawa Senators. He scored 2 goals and had 2 assists and 37 PIM.

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Name: Phil Varone
Position: Center
Age: 25 (04.12.90)
Shoots: Left
Term: One – year two – way contract.
Price tag: $700k (NHL) / $325k (AHL)
Comparables: Kyle Schempp ($705k), Scott Wilson ($625k), Seth Griffith ($625k)

Drafted in the 5th round (147 overall) by the San Jose Sharks, he was traded to the Ottawa Senators as part of a seven-player deal February 27, 2016, by the Buffalo Sabres.

2015 -2016: Varone began the season with the Rochester Americans (Buffalo Sabres affiliate) scoring 13 goals and picking up 19 assists in 44 games. Varone played 21 games with the Binghamton Senators scoring 6 goals and picking up 17 assists.

Varone also scored a goal and had an assist with the Buffalo Sabres. He played one game with the Ottawa Senators where he picked up an assist.

Signed

chad-nehring

Name: Chad Nehring
Position: Center
Age: 29 (06.14.87)
Shoots: Right
Term: One – year two – way contract.
Price tag: $600k (NHL) / $125k (AHL)
Comparables: Zach Sill ($612.5k), Cody Bass ($612.5k), Ben Street ($650k)

2015 – 2016: The undrafted center finished his second professional season with the Hartford Wolfpack.

Nehring led the Wolfpack in goals (22) and points (48) and was a team best +16.

blunden

Name: Michael Blunden
Position: Right Wing
Age: 29 (06.14.87)
Shoots: Right
Term: two – year two – way contract.
Price tag: $725k (NHL) / $275k (AHL)
Comparables: Daniel Carr ($725k), Bryan Rust ($640k),  Tyler Randell ($600k)

Drafted in the 2nd round (43rd overall) of the 2005 NHL entry draft, Blunden has played in 124 career NHL games with Chicago, the Columbus Blue Jackets, Montreal Canadiens and Tampa Bay.

2015 – 2016: In 49 games with the Syracuse Crunch (Tampa Bay Lightning AHL affiliate), Blunden scored a career high 21 goals and had 17 assists. Blunden also had the opportunity to play 20 games with the Tampa Bay Lightning, he scored 3 goals and 2 assists.

 

06.30.16
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Thursday Hits – Perron and Hudler

Perron

Senators prospect Francis Perron recently spoke about his goals this offseason:

“I want to be 175 pounds for main training camp. Right now, I’m at 163 or 162. For sure, I lost five or six pounds in the last two months of the season. It was a lot of hockey, but it’s part of it. You have to pay a price when you go that far.”

“It’s a big summer of training for me, to put on some weight,”

Ottawasun

In my opinion this could be a guy that surprises a lot of people. He isn’t the biggest guy, but he’s got a good amount of speed and skill. Perron  put up 108 points in 62 games with the Rouyn-Noranda, Huskies (good enough for second best in the QMJHL) and he led all QMJHL players in postseason assists and points. He’s certainly a guy I’ve got my eye on.

Hudler

Mike Traikos over at the National Post did a piece looking at all of the  Canadian teams, here’s a bit of what he had to say about the Ottawa Senators:

Best-Case Scenario: Though he had a down year in Calgary, Jiri Hudler scored six goals and 11 points in 19 games after getting traded to Florida. He might not be the 31-goal scorer he was in 2014-15, but he could reach the 20-goal mark.

Hudler is a skilled player who can still collect points and on paper it would look nice to see him alongside a guy like Pageau. While I don’t think we’ll see him make $4 million a season, I also don’t think he’d be willing to take a $2 Million dollar a season contract (which is what I’d assume the Senators would be willing to offer for a 3rd line player.) My guess is Hudler goes for 2 – 3 years at 3 – 3.5 a season.

Watch and Listen

https://soundcloud.com/ottawasenators/crawfordmarc-crawford-june-29th-2016

06.28.16
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Tuesday Hits -Rumors & Prospects

Pats are Ahl in

The 2016 CHL Import draft took place today at 11am, at pick 31 the Regina Pats of the Western Hockey League took Ottawa Senators prospect Filip Ahl.

Untitled

ReginaPats.com

On the market

The Ottawa Senators did not make a $2.7M qualifying offer to defenseman Patrick Wiercioch, making him a free agent on July 1st. I had assumed that Senators GM Pierre Dorion would try to flip Wiercioch for a pick/prospect but it seemed there was no market.

Development Camp

The Ottawa Senators development camp will run from June 28 – July 4. The Senators have 36 players attending – including all of this years draft picks.

Camp Roster

Ottawa Senators

QF Offers

Chris Kelly rumblings

Heard it on TSN1200 this morning, could Chris Kelly be someone that GM Pierre Dorion targets on July 1st.

Drafted in the third round (94 overall) of the 1999 NHL Entry draft  by the Ottawa Senators, Kelly spent his first three seasons in the AHL before making the jump to the NHL, playing with the Senators for six – years.

Kelly was dealt to the Boston Bruins on February 15, 2011, for a second-round draft pick in 2011 (Shane Prince.)

This isn’t the first time the Senators were rumored to be in the hunt for Kelly – before he signed a four year deal with the Bruins it was believed the Senators would like to reacquire his services.

Pierre Dorion has already expressed he’d like to find a “character” bottom – six player this offseason and Kelly certainly fills that bill – only time will tell if Kelly and the Senators can get back together.

 

 

06.27.16
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Chiasson on the move? – Updated

Besides getting deals for Mike Hoffman and Cody Ceci done this summer, the Ottawa Senators also needed to decide what to do with defenseman Patrick Wiercioch (good as gone?) and forward Alex Chiasson.

Renaud Lavoie of TVA tweeted out this earlier today:

Drafted in the second round (38 overall) of the 2009 NHL entry draft by the Dallas Stars, Chiasson -with Alex Guptill, Nicholas Paul, and a 2015 second round pick (Gabriel Gagne) for star forward Jason Spezza, and Ludwig Karlsson.

At 6’3” and 202 pounds, the right handed shooting winger has played 153 NHL games with the Senators. He’s scored 19 goals and has had 21 helpers over that period of time – hardly becoming the player they had hoped he would turn out to be…well for any significant amount of time.

Harvey Fialkov of the Sun Sentinel has reported that the Florida Panthers are currently seeking a 3rd line winger.

Chiasson certainly has the build the Panthers have been adding to their team, he’s also a winger, could something be done here?

UPDATE

5:45pm

The Ottawa Senators have traded Alex Chiasson to the Calgary Flames for defenseman Pat Sieloff.

06.27.16
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Sunday Hits – The rest of the picks, Draft Grade, Injury update

2016 NHL Entry draft recap

The Ottawa Senators used their second round draft pick (42 overall) to select Jonathan Dahlen. Listed at 5’11” and weight 176lbs, the left handed shooting center led Timra First Division in goals (15) and points (29) with 14 assists last season.

He also led Sweden in scoring at the Ivan Hlinka under-17 tournament with five points (four goals one assist) in five games.

Son of former NHL’er Winger Ulf Dahlen – who recorded 655 points (301 goals and 354 assists) in 906 career NHL games – the Senators believe they got a steal at this pick.

“We weren’t sure he was going to be there and that’s the guy we had targeted at 42,” said Senators chief amateur scout Bob Lowes. “To be able to get him, we were really excited. His dad played at six foot two and we still believe he’s going to top out at six foot one. He’s still very raw as well.”

-Sportsnet

The Senators traded their third round draft pick (plus first round draft pick 12th overall) to move up to 11th pick overall – No pick

In the fourth round (103 overall) the Ottawa Senators selected Todd Burgess. Listed at 6’2” and weighing 179 pounds with a right handed shot, the Peoria, Arizona, native has played both center and the right wing.

Playing in the  NAHL (North American Hockey League) for the Fairbanks Ice Dogs, Burgess led the league in goals (38) assists (57) and points (95) in 60 games played. He also ranked  first in power play goals (18), was second in power play assists (25), and was in the top 5 for plus/minus (+27) and game winning goals (7).

“I don’t think guys in the NHL know what his ceiling is. A lot of guys, you know what their ceiling is. They’re kind of maxed out. I don’t think Todd’s even come close to maxing out what his ceiling is going to be.” –  Ice Dogs General Manager Rob Proffitt

In the fifth round (133 overall) the Ottawa Senators selected Maxime Lajoie. Listed at 6’0” and weighing 181 pounds, Lajoie is a left handed two – way defenseman, who played with the Swift Current Broncos in the Western Hockey League.

In 62 games with the Broncos this season, Maxime led all defensemen with 8 goals and 29 assists and had the fifth most points on the team.

A competitive two-way defenceman that earns his ice time and strives to be a difference-maker. Excellent skating technique: naturally mobile and able to start and stop on a pin’s head. Displays a deceptively accurate shot and is creative on the power play. Proficient playmaker and spots seams in traffic quickly. His habitually conservative style of play in his own end lets him make quick, high percentage decisions with and without the puck. Reacts to different pressure situations with poise and analyzes the situation very quickly to determine the right play to make. All-in-all, a versatile two-way defenceman that keeps his own game in check and plays to the extent of his capabilities. (Curtis Joe, EP 2016)

–Eliteprospects

Report Cards!

The Draft is over, and before we get to free agency it’s time to find out which scouts did a “good” job and who missed the mark.

Ottawa Senators | Grade: B+

The Senators were the last Canadian team to pick in the first round, but they helped their cause a little bit by trading up one spot and taking 6-foot-6 Logan Brown (11th overall), a pass-first centre who led Windsor with 53 assists this year.

Read the rest here

 

 

Ottawa has been criticized for conceding too much to its players, and that same argument can be made even before selecting Logan Brown at No. 11. Few doubt Brown will be an impact pro, and he possesses the qualities this team needs, but that doesn’t change the fact this is an asset management league.

The Senators showed a level of skittishness on draft night, and it cost them a future asset. New Jersey’s willingness to even entertain the idea of trading down one spot should have been enough of a tell that they planned on going in another direction at No. 11.

Grade: C+ the score

 

The Senators were looking for forward help. They got the best available in Brown and drafted accordingly in the later rounds.

Grade: B bleacher report

Injury updates

New Senators coach Guy Boucher had a chance to sit down with forward Clarke MacArthur.

“He’s healthy. That’s a huge part of the puzzle for this team. Gigantic. You can’t imagine,” Boucher said. “The players are unanimous about how important he is not just on the ice but off the ice. He makes this team jell. He plays the right way and has the guts to say the right thing when it matters.”

-Ottawa Citizen

06.26.16
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Big Dreams – The Senators get their man at the draft

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Pierre Dorion had said that the cost for the Senators to move into the top 10 at the entry draft would likely be too high for the organization, but the cost to move up one spot (from 12th overall to 11th overall) – a third round draft pick (80th overall) – was worth it to get their man: Logan Brown.

Born in Raleigh, North Carolina, Brown grew up in the suburbs of Chesterfield, Missouri playing youth hockey in St. Louis and Indiana. Brown has dual – citizenship (American/Canadian) and while he played for Canada at the World U17 two years ago he played for the United States during the World Under-18 Hockey Championship this season.

Logan is the son of former NHL’er, defenseman Jeff Brown, who played from 1985 – 1998. Jeff Brown currently resides in Ottawa and is the head coach of the Ottawa 67’s – while Logan is playing in Windsor with the Spitfires.

Brown was selected 6th overall in the 2014 OHL Priority selection (one spot behind the 12th overall pick the Senators moved to the New Jersey Devils, Michael McLeod) by the Niagara IceDogs, who went to trade him for six draft picks (three second round draft picks, three third round draft picks and a 14th round draft pick) to the Windsor Spitfires.

Windsor Spitfire Vice – President and General Manager Warren Rychel had nothing but good things to say when he acquired Brown.

“He is a kid with unlimited potential, with good size, a lot of skill and a high hockey IQ. This is an exciting day for the organization and our fans. A player like Logan is hard to find.”

In his freshman season with the Spitfires, Brown scored 17 goals and had 26 assists. He scored the seventh most goals among rookies that season, and his 26 assists were third most among Ontario Hockey League rookies.

During the 2015-16 season, Brown scored 21 goals and had 53 assists (10th among OHL players,) with 23 of his assists coming on the power play. Leading up to the draft his size and playmaking ability had scouts gushing.

“He’s still growing, which is amazing because he’s already big as it is, his skating has developed and I just think it will take a little more time for the rest of it to catch up to his body. When he has the confidence and assertiveness to play to his size and play a little more selfishly, then his numbers will rise and good things will begin to happen.”

 Dan Marr, head of NHL Central Scouting

It was these traits that had the Senators gushing too:

In my opinion I think that Logan Brown has a lot of potential – and if he continues to improve his game on and off the ice – he is probably two to three years away from competing for a spot with the Senators. With Colin White and now Logan Brown the Senators are building a nice collection of centers for the future.

 

Brown is a huge center who excels at both ends of the ice. He can be dominant in the offensive zone but takes care of his own end as well. His large frame is key to his success as he uses his body to shield his puck and his reach to keep it off other players sticks. He is not overly physical for a player his size, but will finish every check and battle down low very effectively. He has a good shot with a pro like release as well as good creativity and maturity when passing the puck. (Tyler Parchem, EP 2016) – Eliteprospects

 

06.23.16
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Thursday Hits: Captain on board, #12, Expansion,

Guy Boucher, the head coach of the Ottawa Senators, will bring a new philosophy to the way the Senators will approach each game and he’s already got someone buying in to what he’s selling: Captain Erik Karlsson. 

“He’s a very smart person and he knows what he wants”

“I think the way (Boucher) formulated things for me was easy to understand and I completely bought into everything he had to say”

-Erik Karlsson

The Record

Just like he said last month, Pierre Dorion expects that the Ottawa Senators will be picking at #12 (assuming they don’t trade the pick for an NHL ready player)

“For us to move away from No. 12, it will take a significant trade”

“I doubt it. That’s why I say if I had to bet, I’d bet on No. 12.”

Ottawa Citizen

Now that the NHL has officially announced there will be a team coming to Las Vegas, the speculations has begun to who each team will lose to the expansion draft.

Each team has two options in the expansion draft:

  • a team can protect seven forwards, three defencemen and a goalie
  • or protect eight skaters (forward and defence) and a goalie.

Like Montreal, Ottawa has three defenceman spots already spoken for by veterans with no-movement clauses. Dion Phaneuf, Erik Karlsson and Marc Methot all have protection, as does forward Bobby Ryan. That will leave the Senators with six more players to protect at forward, and one goalie to choose from Craig Anderson and Andrew Hammond.

CTV