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First off, I am told a few Sens players are coming back to town this week to help with the team’s marketing/season ticket campaign that will launch soon. The fact a few players are coming back earlier than they originally planned tells you the excitement and faith they have in management and to help out the front office! Maybe there will be some sort of announcement coming on the province’s protocols for new numbers on indoor gatherings and what the team expects fans to do, to attend an event at the CTC.

Thanks to the many readers that messaged me on the Filip Gustavsson signing. I was told the club had tabled a 3 year offer(first year a 2 way deal due to being waiver exempt that I reported) and that they were close to getting him signed which is why I wrote about it on Saturday. Well both sides agreed to a 2 year deal(first year a 2 way deal) late in the day on Sunday and it sets up well for both sides as Ottawa will still have his rights as an RFA while Gustavsson tries to prove his worth for a bigger payday come the end of the deal.

I also get the feeling that Drake Batherson will be the next RFA to sign a new deal this week with Ottawa. Although many in the organization want to wrap up the Tkachuk extension, Batherson’s side has less leverage. If the two sides can come to an agreement on a lower AAV but increase the term, you could see a five or six year deal. I know management doesn’t want to go any higher than 5 million AAV. Otherwise, both sides are destined to sign a three year bridge deal. More to come.

There has been a bit of movement on the Jack Eichel front. Again, this isn’t something that management is looking to do at all costs, but they are very seriously testing the waters on possibly acquiring Eichel. I have been told that a few current players have reached out to Eichel to gauge his interest in possibly playing in Ottawa plus on how his health is. Many teams over the years get players to indirectly contact a player and this time around is no different. A few factors need to be considered if Ottawa was to acquire Eichel. His health is first and foremost a huge factor and does he want to play here should Ottawa make the move to trade for him. What I can say for certain is that Ottawa is in constant communication with Buffalo and his new agent Pat Brisson is doing a fine job behind the scenes in moving forward a possible trade for his client. Don’t forget, a rookie GM in Kevyn Adams, I am not so sure how confident I would feel if I had him leading my team’s rebuild. I don’t think Vegas or the NYR have it takes to pull off the trade when I see what Ottawa has offered. Anaheim and Calgary are wildcards as possible teams that could make a serious pitch for Eichel. But as it stands, there are very few teams capable of pulling off this trade due to cap implications both short and long term! That is why Adams hands are tied and I truly think Ottawa might be their best chance of acquiring the assets they want in return for Eichel. Naturally if Buffalo picks up part of his salary it might allow a few more teams to get involved.

It was incredible to hear how torn the Sens fan base was when I posted the rumour on the Sens being connected to Eichel. There are many that don’t like the rumoured locker room dynamics that Eichel has a reputation for. The amount of messages I received from both sets of fans, showed me how passionate each fan base is. I replied to each of you and I will always get back to any HB or Twitter IM’s sent my way. Again, it’s all hearsay but as they say, where there's smoke, there is fire. Now, to hear what Sabres fans had to say about the possible package Ottawa offered was downright wild! It’s very natural for fans to over value their players or prospects but in this case, it sounded like Sabres fans thought it was Nathan McKinnon being traded and not Eichel. I think Sabres fans need to temper their expectations of what they will get for Eichel. I stated this in my last piece about him, GM’s around the league know he wants out of Buffalo and many aren’t sure how his health will be long term. I don’t care that he has five years left on his deal, it actually means any team acquiring him is taking on further risk if Eichel isn’t able to recover from surgery or regain his form due to his current health status. Let's say he isn’t able to play at the level he was at prior to surgery, then the team that trades for him has to eat five years of his salary. Both sides need to give and take on a deal like this because the Sabres clearly aren’t dealing from a position of strength.

Now, let’s re-examine the offer that I was told Ottawa made to Buffalo because I had many messages saying all 4 pieces were busts. Ottawa Senators 2022 First Round pick, Erik Brannstrom, Colin White and one of Ridly Greig or Lassi Thomson. I am being told Parker Kelly could be a 5th piece after what I first wrote. Buffalo did ask for Jake Sanderson and were told a hard NO, that he would never be a part of any trade package.

Erik Brannstrom - Drafted 1st round, 15th overall, he has played 63 NHL games and they say defencemen need to play at least 200 games before you know what you have. In 2019-20, he played 31 games, tallying 4A and a minus 9. This past season he played 30 games but on many nights was getting 10 minutes of icetime, tallying 2G, 11A, 13 pts and a plus 3. So I would say that was a nice progression for a young player at a difficult position especially with a team that is rebuilding. He never played more than 10 straight NHL games as he was bounced in and out of the line-up. It’s hard to gain any confidence when on most nights you are rotating from being in the line-up to being in the press box. If he wasn’t ready last year, then the team should’ve just left him in Belleville where he could get in a groove and play consistently. Not this yo-yo effect, of the player not knowing if he was going to be in the line-up, game to game.

For me what was troubling, was that he only got 4 games in the AHL. Many people I talk to say he needs a long stretch in Belleville playing top minutes and in every situation, dominating at that level. Then bring him up to stay in Ottawa to see if he can be the top 4 defenseman they had hoped for when they traded for him. So I don’t know how at 21 years of age and only 63 NHL games, that Sabres fans think he is a bust?!

Ridley Greig(drafted 1st round, 28th overall) or Lassi Thomson(drafted 1st round, 19th overall)- Again, I don’t know how either player is a bust Sabres fans! Thomson had his first year with the organization, playing 35 games with Belleville in the AHL, tallying 1G and 12A. Troy Mann was on record as saying that Thomson really finished the year strong as he adapted to the North American game. They feel another full year in the AHL will have him ready to play in Ottawa come the 2022-23 season. Mann likes to refer to either “slow baking” a prospect or “overbaking” a prospect when it comes to their development in the AHL. In Thomson’s case he said due to being a defenseman they want to slow bake him and he had high praise for how he grew over the course of a very short season. With Greig, he just finished his junior eligibility and managed to get in 7 games with Belleville tallying 1G, 2A. Mann believes Greig’s future is very bright and many peg him to have a high ceiling. Neither player has played in the NHL yet, hard to believe they are both busts! Here is what a few prospect websites have written about him, with info from The Hockey Writer’s and Dobber Prospects.

From the Hockey Writer’s Josh Bell - Ridly Greig is a well-rounded forward with a strong 200-foot game, excellent speed and a never-ending need to frustrate his opponents. His compete level is second-to-none and he’s never afraid to mix things up in the corners either with his physical play or just his mouth. Even though he’s only 5-foot-11, you wouldn’t know it by how he plays. He doesn’t hesitate to engage in battles along the boards and in front of the net, and he doesn’t shy away from physical contact.Greig will be a long-term prospect for any team that drafts him, but when he is fully developed, he’s going to be a heck of a player.If Greig can keep progressing as he has been, he will be a gem of a pick. He may take a little longer to reach the NHL, but when he does, every team who doesn’t select him will regret not taking a chance on this 5-foot-11 ball of energy.

Dobber Prospects - Blending skill and grit, Greig is one of the best pests in his draft class. He may not be an outright bruiser but he is certainly able to get under his opponent’s skin and then score a goal to add salt to the wound.

Colin White - Drafted 1st round, 21st overall. When it comes to White, the jury is still out on him at 24 years of age. The Sabres would need a center as part of the package to help with their rebuild. This past season he played injured for a large part of it, he didn’t whine or complain, he went out and truly showed the coaching staff how much he cares about the team. I would say for a guy not getting top 6 minutes he produced just fine considering his health. I wonder what White’s numbers would be like if he played between Tkachuk and Batherson. He produced nicely with Mark Stone and JG Pageau back in the 2018-19 season, tallying 41pts In 71 games, his first full year in the NHL. If it wasn’t for White’s contract the fan base wouldn’t be so hard on him. He got that contract due to his year with Stone on his wing, so in other words, give White a top end talent and he will produce which is why I would like to see him in the top 6. Or better yet, move him to RW! He has only played in 200 NHL games.

So my question to not only Sens fans, but Sabres fans. GM Kevyn Adams supposedly wants 4 pieces in return. Well these 4 pieces Ottawa has tabled to Buffalo are pretty solid and I truly doubt teams like Anaheim would be willing to give up any of their top prospects like Drysdale or Zegras. Just as Ottawa won’t include Sanderson, Norris or Stutzle. I hope Sabres fans jump in here with Sens fans and have a solid knowledgeable hockey discussion.

As for the Pierre McGuire hire, I have stated a few things here about it in the past but this truly was a hire made directly by none other than the owner Eugene Melynyk. I have talked to various people both in the Sens organization and around the league, each of them stating the same thing. McGuire was brought in for a few reasons but the one that comes up in all my conversations is Melnyk wanted another voice to go with GM Pierre Dorion when it came to managing both the current roster and their prospects. McGuire even stated on TSN1200 that when he signed his contract with the team, Melnyk told him you can’t tell anyone until Dorion had the chance to meet with him. Dorion wasn’t aware of the talks with McGuire and Melnyk until days later and in some circles, people connected to the situation believe Dorion wasn’t aware that McGuire had signed on with the club until they planned to meet at McGuire’s home in Mt. Tremblant on the Sunday after he arrived back in Canada. Dorion then met with McGuire for four hours in Tremblant. All the timelines connect and has led me to dig deeper on what Melnyk has up his sleeve. It’s no coincidence that Dorion still hasn’t signed an extension with the club. The coming months will be very telling on how Dorion will fit into the organization long term. That is why all the Eichel trade talk is curious considering Dorion still has to sign Tkachuk and Batherson. Dorion has never been shy on pulling the trigger on a small or big trade. I am told he might feel that he needs to pull off an Eichel trade to prove his worth, therefore keeping his job and getting an extension. Or will he be moved into a different role within the organization, with McGuire sliding into the GM’s chair? Time will tell.

The bottom line is, Melnyk doesn’t want any of the Sens assets to be mismanaged ever again. This all goes back to that pivotal 2018-19 season. Dorion did incredibly well on the Erik Karlsson trade but at the time, not just Sens fans but Melnyk was furious over the return, he has since cooled on his original feelings about the trade. But it was the February 2019 trade deadline that Melnyk still isn’t happy about. When you look at what Dorion got for Matt Duchene, two 1st rd. picks and 2 prospects and what he got for Mark Stone, Brannstrom and a 2nd rd pick(the 2 Lindberg’s that changed teams offset each other) I can tell you that not only Melnyk but many in NHL management around the league raised eyebrows with the poor return. In both cases, Duchene and Stone had expiring contracts, but the biggest difference with Stone was that he gave Vegas permission to talk with him about an extension. Vegas didn’t want to make the move without knowing if they could get an extension in place. So really, when you hear fans saying Eichel has 5 years left on his deal, that the Sabres should get the moon for him, Stone really had 8 years left on his contract as it was basically signed/sealed the extension before the trade went down and it was officially announced a little over a week later. Personally, I would take Stone over Eichel any day of the week, yes they play different positions but nobody can tell me that an Eichel trade should get a king's ransom after you reflect back on the Stone trade.

Anyways, Dorion had received better offers leading up to the weekend before the deadline and that was without any extension being negotiated with those teams, which is why Stone was scratched that entire week from any games. The problem is, Dorion sat on an asset too long and had very few teams willing to deal for Stone on deadline Monday back in 2019. Melnyk’s anger was so serious that it was another reason Dorion went out of his way that day to say it was his proudest day as GM after the Stone trade, something I am sure he regrets saying now.

Fast forward to now, with the Sens having so much talent coming up, as well as talent that is young/progressing presently on the current roster, plus 11 picks in the 2022 draft and you got an owner that wants another voice for Dorion like in the past when he had former GM Bryan Murray before he passed away. With McGuire in the fold, he is being used in a variety of ways to Melnyk’s liking. Basically, from what I am hearing had McGuire been with the organization back in 2019, Dorion never would’ve got so little in return for Stone. Rest assured something like the Stone trade going down the way it did, won’t happen again as long as McGuire can have his voice heard.

Comments, knowledgeable hockey discussion is welcomed from fans of all teams in the blog!

Thanks for reading.
Kevin

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