Confirmed with Link: Avs acquire S. Girard, S. Bowers, V. Kamenev, A. Hammond, 1st, 2nd, and 3rd for M. Duchene

[RockLobster]

No way Duchene resigns in Ottawa imo. I bet he puts up 60+ next year though and earns himself a nice contract.

If they go through an actual rebuild like it looks like they will? Really hard to say. I would lean "No" myself, but it depends on the return Karlsson. EK will fetch quite a bit, even being one year from UFA. I would say they're still likely to struggle next season without him, even with the talented youngsters they have because it's my position that they're going to be saddled with some highly unrealistic expectations.

 

[Barklez]

If they go through an actual rebuild like it looks like they will? Really hard to say. I would lean "No" myself, but it depends on the return Karlsson. EK will fetch quite a bit, even being one year from UFA. I would say they're still likely to struggle next season without him, even with the talented youngsters they have because it's my position that they're going to be saddled with some highly unrealistic expectations.

And we all know Duchy plays well when he’s putting pressure on himself to perform.

 

[dahrougem2]

No way Duchene resigns in Ottawa imo. I bet he puts up 60+ next year though and earns himself a nice contract.

Duchene put up 60+ points twice in Colorado. He's not going to do it on a team like Ottawa next season.

 

[henchman21]

Duchene has played quite well the second half and is performing better overall than I thought he would... that said, 60 is a bit of a stretch at this point in his career. He should hit 55 this year, and all things considered, that is a solid output for him.

I can't see him re-signing in Ottawa without a huge turnaround. Seems destined to head to Pittsburgh IMO.

 

[RockLobster]

Duchene has played quite well the second half and is performing better overall than I thought he would... that said, 60 is a bit of a stretch at this point in his career. He should hit 55 this year, and all things considered, that is a solid output for him.

I can't see him re-signing in Ottawa without a huge turnaround. Seems destined to head to Pittsburgh IMO.

Pittsburgh would continue to be dangerous with him on the team, and perhaps he wouldn't feel pressured to be "the guy" since he's on a team with Crosby, Malkin, and Kessel.

Might also be his best chance at a Cup.

 

[dahrougem2]

It'd be hilarious if he ended up in Nashville playing the wing on Kyle Turris' line lol.

 

[AllAboutAvs]

Pittsburgh would continue to be dangerous with him on the team, and perhaps he wouldn't feel pressured to be "the guy" since he's on a team with Crosby, Malkin, and Kessel.

Might also be his best chance at a Cup.

If Duchene ends up in Pittsburgh and they don't make thee playoffs it would be so sad to the point of being laughable.

 

[Bender]

No way Duchene resigns in Ottawa imo. I bet he puts up 60+ next year though and earns himself a nice contract.

Don't be silly...of course he's going to re-sign in Ottawa July 1st when he's able to re-up with one year left on his existing deal.

He's going to rationalize it just like he's doing in that tweet above. Matt Duchene: "Fortunately or unfortunately, I don't think I've ever played for a team that didn't make the playoffs that was this good."

The team is in 26th place overall and he's drinking the kool-aid into thinking they're what...just unlucky?

Dorion won't want to have given up all that he did for Duchene without re-signing him and teams won't be lining up to give him a great package after the Sens immediate nosedive to the bottom of the standings after his acquisition. Trying to recuperate what he gave up will be an exercise in futility, so from a Dorion/Melnyk perspective, it has to be Duchene or bust.

The Senators and Duchene are getting married in July and it's going to be a disaster.

 

[MarkT]

Yep, the only way I could possibly see Duchene not re-signing with Ottawa in July is if Dorion gets fired before that. Because if Dorion *doesn't* re-sign Duchene asap then I don't see how he could possibly keep his job.

They'll pay him whatever it takes to keep him long-term and as Bender says it's going to be a disaster. He'll be paid like a top line center, and the Canadian media is going to eat him alive when he doesn't perform like a top line center next season, and the season after that, and the season after......

 

[dahrougem2]

I think Ottawa trades Duchene next deadline to be honest with you. They are going to be a bottom-5 team next season if (when?) the inevitable Erik Karlsson trade goes down, and I doubt Duchene wants to play for the Sens past 2019.

 

[Barklez]

Economics aside, blowing the team up at the draft and giving us the 2018 first is probably their quickest way out of this mess.

 

[MarkT]

I think Ottawa trades Duchene next deadline to be honest with you. They are going to be a bottom-5 team next season if (when?) the inevitable Erik Karlsson trade goes down, and I doubt Duchene wants to play for the Sens past 2019.

How exactly does Dorian sell that to the fans and media when he inevitably gets less for Duchene than what he traded away to get him?
I honestly think if he's in charge and he gets the okay from ownership he'll pay Duchene literally whatever it takes to keep him long-term in Ottawa.

 

[dahrougem2]

How exactly does Dorian sell that to the fans and media when he inevitably gets less for Duchene than what he traded away to get him?
I honestly think if he's in charge and he gets the okay from ownership he'll pay Duchene literally whatever it takes to keep him long-term in Ottawa.

If the team trades Erik Karlsson, there is no point in re-signing Duchene. None whatsoever. Not only that, but if Karlsson is traded I find it highly unlikely Duchene looks at the team with no starting goaltender, no top pairing level defensemen, and limited offensive depth along with a coach that has likely lost the room and thinks "yeah, this is the place I want to be long term."

 

[MarkT]

If the team trades Erik Karlsson, there is no point in re-signing Duchene. None whatsoever. Not only that, but if Karlsson is traded I find it highly unlikely Duchene looks at the team with no starting goaltender, no top pairing level defensemen, and limited offensive depth along with a coach that has likely lost the room and thinks "yeah, this is the place I want to be long term."

I agree it makes no sense. But trading what they did for Duchene in the first place makes no sense. Ottawa has already demonstrated that they don't think rationally where Duchene is concerned.

Now from Duchene's end, I totally agree he shouldn't want to stay there. But if they offer him enough money and tell him he's their #1, top line center and maybe even team captain? That might be enough to convince him to stay.

Haha now I'm just thinking about what it would be like in Ottawa next season if it leaks that they offered Duchene an extension and he rejected it.

 

[dahrougem2]

I agree it makes no sense. But trading what they did for Duchene in the first place makes no sense. Ottawa has already demonstrated that they don't think rationally where Duchene is concerned.

Now from Duchene's end, I totally agree he shouldn't want to stay there. But if they offer him enough money and tell him he's their #1, top line center and maybe even team captain? That might be enough to convince him to stay.

Haha now I'm just thinking about what it would be like in Ottawa next season if it leaks that they offered Duchene an extension and he rejected it.

Of course it made sense to Ottawa to trade for Duchene. Their line of thinking was that they were 1 goal away from the Stanley Cup Finals last season, and all they were doing was replacing Kyle Turris with Matt Duchene. To some, that's not an upgrade but to the Senators it was. Shane Bowers wasn't helping this season, nor were any of the draft picks.

It looks idiotic in hindsight, but it's easy to see why they did it. They felt like "upgrading" to Duchene could get them to the Stanley Cup Finals if they played the way they did last season. That obviously hasn't happened. I do believe they'll inevitably trade Duchene.

 

[Barklez]

A) Fan sentiment can’t get any worse than it already is in Ottawa.

B) Dorion answers to Melnyk, who just extended him. He doesn’t need to “sell” anything, he’s a puppet that does what he’s told.

C) For all the lip service he’s been paying, we know that Duchene wants to be on a competitive team before his legs give out. That’s not going to be Ottawa unless the somehow land Dahlin, keep EK, and successfully pull off at least one more big deal this summer.

As EK goes, so does Duchy. Be it this summer or next.

 

[Barklez]

A) Fan sentiment can’t get any worse than it already is in Ottawa.

B) Dorion answers to Melnyk, who just extended him. He doesn’t need to “sell” anything, he’s a puppet that does what he’s told.

C) For all the lip service he’s been paying, we know that Duchene wants to be on a competitive team before his legs give out. That’s not going to be Ottawa unless the somehow land Dahlin, keep EK, and successfully pull off at least one more big deal this summer.

As EK goes, so does Duchy. Be it this summer or next.

ETA: The Sens had no reason to expect to be this bad when they moved for Duchene. It was an ambitious move and they pr Badly overreached themselves but it made complete sense from their perspective at the time. Let’s not be revisionist.

 

[MarkT]

ETA: The Sens had no reason to expect to be this bad when they moved for Duchene. It was an ambitious move and they pr Badly overreached themselves but it made complete sense from their perspective at the time. Let’s not be revisionist.

Is it being revisionist if I always thought it was a terrible move from their end?

 

[MarkT]

Of course it made sense to Ottawa to trade for Duchene. Their line of thinking was that they were 1 goal away from the Stanley Cup Finals last season, and all they were doing was replacing Kyle Turris with Matt Duchene. To some, that's not an upgrade but to the Senators it was. Shane Bowers wasn't helping this season, nor were any of the draft picks.

It looks idiotic in hindsight, but it's easy to see why they did it. They felt like "upgrading" to Duchene could get them to the Stanley Cup Finals if they played the way they did last season. That obviously hasn't happened. I do believe they'll inevitably trade Duchene.

Yeah, their reasoning is easy to understand. I happen to think their reasoning was, is, and continues to be idiotic.

And I still think the only way they trade Duchene is if they are unable to sign him. I don't think they make that trade for a player just to turn around and trade him again so soon afterward. In my view it's clear they traded for him with the intent of keeping him long-term.

 

[Pokecheque]

I think Ottawa trades Duchene next deadline to be honest with you. They are going to be a bottom-5 team next season if (when?) the inevitable Erik Karlsson trade goes down, and I doubt Duchene wants to play for the Sens past 2019.

If Karlsson gets dealt I could see Matty getting traded far sooner than that.

 

[Barklez]

Is it being revisionist if I always thought it was a terrible move from their end?

The way you talked about it implied it was widely agreed upon that it had been a bad move from the start.

Obviously we made out like bandits, but nobody was condemning the Sens for their terrible move in the fall. Back when it was still presumed he could propel them closer to a Cup this year and long term than Turris - who clearly wasn’t sticking around after this year.

 

[dahrougem2]

Yeah, their reasoning is easy to understand. I happen to think their reasoning was, is, and continues to be idiotic.

And I still think the only way they trade Duchene is if they are unable to sign him. I don't think they make that trade for a player just to turn around and trade him again so soon afterward. In my view it's clear they traded for him with the intent of keeping him long-term.

That is before the drama with Erik Karlsson started.

 

[MarkT]

That is before the drama with Erik Karlsson started.

That is a good point. All right. You guys have convinced me.

Where do you think he'll be traded?

 

[Hasbro]

Is it being revisionist if I always thought it was a terrible move from their end?

No. If that had turned into the #31st pick they over paid.

 

[ASmileyFace]

That is a good point. All right. You guys have convinced me.

Where do you think he'll be traded?

Pittsburgh/Nashville seem to be logical spots. Maybe Columbus?