Confirmed with Link: Borowiecki signs three-year extension

[BigRig4]

This may be a little off the wall, but one other potential motivation is that this deal makes him a lot less likely to be picked up if they do try to pass him through waivers this year to eliminate the logjam on D. They probably have faith that he'll be an NHL defenseman over the life of this contract, but this buys them a little breathing room if he's not ready for primetime yet. They can afford to bury his minimum NHL salary in the minors this year, but they may not be prepared to risk losing him for nothing.

I would certainly prefer that to the more likely scenario that the writing is on the wall for one of Methot, Cowen and Wiercioch, who I would hope will be our starting three on the left side for years to come.

That's a very interesting theory about them trying to protect him going through waivers. Could actually be true.

 

[DrunkUncleDenis]

What a curious signing. So many possible hidden/longterm reasons. I'm going to reserve judgement until we see how our D looks next month. However, if we are simply replacing Methot with Boro on the back end, then I also reserve the right to lose my ****. You have to think there's more to it than that. Otherwise our management is hilariously awful.

I like Boro's game. Hopefully he can step it up in the next few years. He is already 25 though, so we'll see.

 

[krapsik]

Well, now i am getting worried.

 

[Senator Stanley]

This may be a little off the wall, but one other potential motivation is that this deal makes him a lot less likely to be picked up if they do try to pass him through waivers this year to eliminate the logjam on D. They probably have faith that he'll be an NHL defenseman over the life of this contract, but this buys them a little breathing room if he's not ready for primetime yet. They can afford to bury his minimum NHL salary in the minors this year, but they may not be prepared to risk losing him for nothing.

I would certainly prefer that to the more likely scenario that the writing is on the wall for one of Methot, Cowen and Wiercioch, who I would hope will be our starting three on the left side for years to come.

Lisa: But aren't the snakes even worse?
Skinner: Yes, but we're prepared for that. We've lined up a fabulous type of gorilla that thrives on snake meat.
Lisa: But then we're stuck with gorillas!

 

[Micklebot]

So apparently a career line of 21gm-1g-0a-1pt-68pim over three seasons is worth a 3-year, 1-way NHL extension?

What. The. Actual. ****.


I'm not saying Boro can't live up to this contract, but that is a HELL of a commitment to 25-YEAR-OLD who has proven ABSOLUTELY ****ING NOTHING at the NHL level. Jesus, we let Da Costa go because we won't give him a single year's worth of a 1-way deal, but Boro gets 3 YEARS? Never mind that we're basically now blocking any young defenceman from getting any ice-time whatsoever over the next three years, UNLESS we trade a defenceman out to make room for him.


Looking forward to David Dziurzynski's 3-year extension and featured role on our "Points Per Dollar" line. That'll be swell.

We've signed him to a 6/7 contract; I think we've seen enough of him to say he can fill that role, as much of it is work on the practice roster (which he excels at) and in the pressbox. This gives us the ability to leave our young D in the AHL until they are actually ready to take a spot on the roster, probably best for the development of higher ceiling prospects.

IDK why this had to be done now though, but as far as I can see, this just means we don't run out to sign a defensive D when Phillips retires. It changes nothing for this year, and worst case scenario we have a great vet for Bingo, or he gets picked up on waivers (though the contract might scare some teams away, which could be a blessing).

 

[LuckyPierre]

I too see this as a sign of an impending trade of one of our defensemen.

Of our 8 NHL defensemen, Borowiecki and Phillips are, talent-wise, the bubble guys, but they're secure in Ottawa. Ceci is clearly a step beyond those two, but unless a move is made, he will mistakenly start the year in the minors.

Thing is, we're supposed to be a 'puck-possession' team under coach MacLean. Borowiecki is a tough, stay at home defenseman, but a puck-possession player he is not. We only have room for so many guys who don't drive possession from the back end. This leads me to believe that, contrary to the rampant speculation, Wiercioch is safe for now.

Gryba, Cowen, and Methot are the three I see as trading chips.

Of the three, Gryba is the most economical, and Methot is currently the most effective. Cowen, the youngest, is a former top ten pick, and GM's pay premiums for pedigree. Add in the fact that he has already had a contract dispute, and I would surmise that he's on his way out.

As for Borowiecki and his extension, I suppose he'll emerge as a bottom pairing fixture on the team, replacing the void that Phillips and Neil will soon leave in the stay-at-home, in-your-face categories. So long as he's a late bloomer that continues to emerge, I'm fine with that, as by all accounts he's a team-oriented positive influence. We need all the positive vibes we can get.

 

[BonkTastic]

if we are simply replacing Methot with Boro on the back end, then I also reserve the right to lose my ****. You have to think there's more to it than that.

I'm also going to hold off on a final decision on this Boro deal until we see where all the pieces fall, but on the surface, I am cautiously pessimistic. I'm absolutely hoping there's more to this deal than that.

You either have to be damned sure about a guy who has proven as little as Boro has to commit to him for 3 years, or you have to be out of other options. I certainly hope it's the former.

 

[Benjamin]

The cap hit is w.e. but I just dont understand why he needed/deserved a 3 year extension at this point.

 

[Super Cake]

This signing is confusing.

 

[Ouroboros]

Probably a sign and trade.

 

[DrunkUncleDenis]

Probably a sign and trade.

His value really couldn't be very high, though. Unproven + long term 1 way deal? I don't know how many GMs would go for that.

Edit - Boro wouldn't look very appealing on waivers right now, let alone someone giving up any kind of asset for him.

 

[Senator Stanley]

Probably a sign and trade.

Probably not.

 

[Super Cake]

There has to be a trade coming.

Please don't be Methot. Please don't be Methot. Please don't be Methot. Please don't be Methot. Please don't be Methot. Please don't be Methot. Please don't be Methot. Please don't be Methot. Please don't be Methot. Please don't be Methot. Please don't be Methot. Please don't be Methot.

 

[pepty]

Maybe they grabbed him before Tim did-he may be used as a bargaining chip for something in Buffalo.

 

[BonkTastic]

Probably a sign and trade.

You mean a sign (Boro) and trade (someone else)?

 

[BonkTastic]

I don't know how many GMs would go for that.

At least one, apparently.

 

[Lehner]

Our management's last signing's:

Boro - 3 years (depth d-man that takes a ton of penalties)
Lehner - 3 year (had to be signed, rfa..this doesnt really count)
Legwand - 2 years (actually a smart signing, the only one)
Michalek - 3 years (should of let him go, injuries have really hurt him)
Phillips - 2 years (slow terrible d-man, maybe the worst in the NHL)
Cowen - 3 years (A little much for a defensive d-man, but he does have potential)
Greening - 3 years (way to much for a bottom 6 fwd)

WTF is management doing??

 

[danielpalfredsson]

Not too sure on this signing. Why re-sign him for another three years when he hasn't even played one game on the current deal?

He played last year.

It's risk/reward. Boro gives up potential earning power for the safety of knowing he'll make a few million dollars regardless of whether he succeeds or not in his career.

The Senators risk him failing in order to potentially gain the reward of a really cheap NHL defenseman for a few years.

It's similar to the Turris deal, just not as long.

Hopefully this means there is an exciting trade in the works. If Lazar and Ceci are both going to be on the team, they have too many guys.

 

[Micklebot]

You mean a sign (Boro) and trade (someone else)?

Why bother signing Boro to trade someone (him or otherwise)? He was already under contract, I really don't get the timing, but don't see it as forshadowing anything either.

 

[BonkTastic]

Don't like the message this deal sends whatsoever.

Wish Boro all the best, though. Obviously I'll be cheering him on to outperform the contract. We got him locked up now, let's see what he can do with a full-time gig.

 

[Ouroboros]

WTF is management doing??

Trying to buy up players as cheaply as possible. Bargain hunting, basically.

 

[HavlatMach9]

with our budget, it sorta makes sense to do risky longer term contracts for our young players early on, and if the majority of the contracts work out for us, we'll be in a great position

but i can't imagine Boro would command much more even if he lived up to his potential in the next several years, so it seems like we're paying for potential when we didn't necessarily have to

 

[danielpalfredsson]

Our management's last signing's:

Boro - 3 years (depth d-man that takes a ton of penalties)
Lehner - 3 year (had to be signed, rfa..this doesnt really count)
Legwand - 2 years (actually a smart signing, the only one)
Michalek - 3 years (should of let him go, injuries have really hurt him)
Phillips - 2 years (slow terrible d-man, maybe the worst in the NHL)
Cowen - 3 years (A little much for a defensive d-man, but he does have potential)
Greening - 3 years (way to much for a bottom 6 fwd)

WTF is management doing??

Michalek-Cheaper than he would have gotten on the open market had he left. Without signing him, Ottawa barely or doesn't hit the floor. Who does Ottawa have to replace him on LW? 4 million isn't a fortune for a guy who'll put up 20 goals and play on the PK.

Phillips-PR signing. Let the franchise's longest player retire a Senator. Looks good to long time fans who aren't in a message board bubble, looks good to players around the league. Wasn't Ottawa's reputation with Mike Fisher apparently part of the reason why Legwand was swayed to sign?

Greening-Get out of town. There is a multi page thread where at the time when it happened every poster was praising the signing. The Senators got a 15+ goal 30-40 point UNRESTRICTED free agent signed to an extension at a salary of 2, 2.7, 3.2. It was a good signing at the time where judging by his previous production, he'd only risk being vastly overpaid in his final year. He wasn't good last year, so they gambled and lost. I assure you had they failed to retain him as an unrestricted free agent, the narrative would be "farm team for the rest of the league loses Greening to ______ for nothing"

Cowen-They committed long term in order to potentially save on his salary if he reaches or exceeds his potential. The guy is still a top 3-4 d-man, even a top pairing guy on some nights......He only made 1.5 million last year, which is peanuts. He'll make 2.7 next year. 3.7 the year after. Looking at what defenders are getting these days, the Senators come out on the winning end of that contract.

 

[Hale The Villain]

Don't like the message this deal sends whatsoever.

The only message I take from this deal is that hard work and dedication gets rewarded in the organization.

 

[Whippet]

There has to be a trade coming.

Please don't be Methot. Please don't be Methot. Please don't be Methot. Please don't be Methot. Please don't be Methot. Please don't be Methot. Please don't be Methot. Please don't be Methot. Please don't be Methot. Please don't be Methot. Please don't be Methot. Please don't be Methot.

This x 100

It probably will happen though. I can imagine Mac and Methot aren't the best friends considering Methots reaction when he got healthy scratched during last season.

I don't think Mac will mind moving him considering the ridiculous faith he has in Phillips.