Senators Off-Season Discussion 2024 Mega Thread

[Micklebot]

Didn't even think about this. Too lazy to look up how much Green played him in Vancouver, but I'd rather remove any risk of having to see Hamonic on the opening night lineup and just have him bought out (and hopefully he signs with the leafs who expect him to be a top 4 RD)

He played him less than he had been played in Cgy before coming over. He also only played 62 games under Green so Idk where the "how much he loves Hamonic" thing came from.

Edit: Scratch that, 46 games, Green was fired Hamonic's second year, and Hamonic missed much of the start of the season.

 

[bicboi64]

He played him less than he had been played in Cgy before coming over. He also only played 62 games under Green so Idk where the "how much he loves Hamonic" thing came from.

Edit: Scratch that, 46 games, Green was fired Hamonic's second year, and Hamonic missed much of the start of the season.

I think its ptsd from DJ playing him and other out of depth defenders at all

 

[Beech]

I'm a realist, the roster can only change so quickly, and we are kind of locked into subpar goaltending. This offseason could change my mind, but I'm not going to assume we fix everything all at once.

If we do manage to land a night RHD like Pesce, flip Chychrun for Ulmark, flip Brannstrom and JBD out for a Tanev and add a middle six winger and stay healthy next year within reason, then my expectations will adjust accordingly. But I don't think that's realistic expectations. The past is the past, you can't change that and you can't let it prevent you from making the right moves today.

we are a stone's throw away from BuffaloHood. We are only 1 season behind Detroit. Luckily Arizona moved and that comparison has dropped out. The California teams are out of sight, out of mind. Columbus is seen as a crazy oddity.

Our comparable's are not exactly prime stock. When we take our dog to the dog show, he is not going up against ribbon winners, but is sprayed for flees and the humane society is called in to rescue him.

In this city, we do not take well to being sprayed for flees. We are wealthy, live on the never ending tax dollar and generally tell others to "shove it". When the team asks us to eat from the same bowl as dogs with flees, we tell them to F' off.

I hope that the team gets this.

Mr. and Mrs. I pull 200 K working for the Feds, wear Lulu lemon, vacation in Paris, change my washer and dryer as often as I change socks.. No flees for them.

 

[Yak]

I wonder if old Stevie boy is capable of a real hockey trade at the draft. I'd like to see him move up to that Silayev kid. I have that extra first rounder which is technically a second rounder and this draft. I got some leftover baggage on defense and a couple of tools on the third line. I wonder if there's a hockey trait to be made trade for that Chara Clone and add a veteran.

Maybe the ducks will send us 3rd overall, Gibson, MacTavish, Gudas and we can give them Korpi, Chych, Branny and two 1st rounders. Obviously there's a bit of an overpayment on our end but cleans up a lot of the dead bodies and cap issues. I usually don't make trade suggestions so don't kill me.

 

[Big Muddy]

I wonder if old Stevie boy is capable of a real hockey trade at the draft. I'd like to see him move up to that Silayev kid. I have that extra first rounder which is technically a second rounder and this draft. I got some leftover baggage on defense and a couple of tools on the third line. I wonder if there's a hockey trait to be made trade for that Chara Clone and add a veteran.

Maybe the ducks will send us 3rd overall, Gibson, MacTavish, Gudas and we can give them Korpi, Chych, Branny and two 1st rounders. Obviously there's a bit of an overpayment on our end but cleans up a lot of the dead bodies and cap issues. I usually don't make trade suggestions so don't kill me.

Overpayment???

Korpisalo has negative value. Brannstrom little or no value not to mention he is a free agent his previous contract has expired.

So, we move our 7th overall for their 3rd overall, which is a definite upgrade AND (plus) get Gibson, McTavish and Gudas for Chychrun (one year left of his contract) and our late 1st rounder.

I must be missing something because I can’t see why the Ducks would do this deal ……???

 

[Micklebot]

Overpayment???

Korpisalo has negative value. Brannstrom little or no value not to mention he is a free agent.

So, we move our 7th overall for their 3rd overall, which is a definite upgrade AND (plus) get Gibson, McTavish and Gudas for Chychrun (one year left of his contract) and our late 1st rounder.

I must be missing something because I can’t see why the Ducks would do this deal ……???

I agree with your general point but....


Brannstrom is RFA, so not a full fledged free agent per-say, and I'd argue Gibson has little to no trade value (likely negative value tbh), he hasn't had a good season since before Covid, and has 3 years left as one of the higher paid goalies in the league (top 5 among active goalies).

3rd to 7th should cost a fair bit more, we'd need to add
McTavish and Gudas for Chychrun and a late first, we'd need to add here as well

Gibson to Korpisalo is probably close to even thinking about it, they are both bad goalies on bad contracts, I'd probably prefer to keep Korpse and that's saying something...

Brannstrom is probably worth a late draft pick at best at this point.

 

[HoweHullOrr]

A “hockey trade” that moves us up from 7th overall to higher pick plus some other assets would be great of course, but it seems pretty unlikely.

 

[Icelevel]

What do people think the keys are to a successful 2024-25 season?

We've got our coach, whether he's the right guy for the job or not remains to be seen, but it's what we got,

As a team, a lot went wrong out of the gate last year.

We had a bad start, 4-4 in Oct, 4-5 in Nov and a brutal 6-9 in Dec.
- Pinto was suspended
- Chabot missed all but 10 of the first 32 games (Oct - Nov).
- Zub missed a more manageable 7 games, and Brannstrom 5
- Norris was very slow to start, playing tentative, turns out that shoulder still wasn't quite right and he's not had surgery again.
- DJ was fired in Dec,

The rest of the year, we were a 500 team, having said that, January started off with a 5 game losing streak on a western road trip + return to the east against Buf. After that road trip, things were much better playing at a 93 pts pace. We were actually pretty healthy for a while after that road trip. Pinto returned too.

I think a big key to next season will be a strong start, and to achieve that, I think a healthy roster will be key.

I believe we will also need to be more resilient when injuries do hit. Pinto's suspension last season hurt us in that regard, we'd have weathered Norris' start better with him in the lineup, I also think if we can get a top 4 defensive RHD it will help too, an injury to Zub or Sanderson leaves us really thin for defensive minded D given Hamonic's steep decline.

Goaltending; it needs to be better, and the team needs to help them out more. We don't have a vezina candidate in nets and we aren't likely to get one, so we have to do a better job of clearing the front of the net, and letting the goalie see the puck. Korpisalo isn't great, but he did finish strong, well, he finished average, which is strong for him and this team. From Mid Jan to the end of the season, he had a respectable .895 sv%, and in his last 15, he was league average at .898%. That's all we can really ask for from the goalies we have. Forsberg got hurt during that stretch, but was .892 from mid Jan, and also had a league average .898 sv% in his final 15.

I expect us to be betwee 85 and 95 pts next year.

So, grab a RHD, start strong, and stay healthy...oh and goalies got to stop the stopable, skaters need to help them out. That's my keys to 2024-25.

I actually think all we really need is a very good RHD and for things to go relatively well overall rather than very poorly like last year. Like you listed in your post. It just can’t get worse can it?

 

[Ice-Tray]

I very excited for this draft. I’m very excited every year of course, but this year we have a new management group and get a glimpse into what the draft strategy is going forward.

I wonder if it will be similar due to keeping much of the staff as hold overs, and I wonder if there are some big changes in amateur scouting after this draft.

Obviously our scouting team was well into its yearly task by the time Andlauer took over officially.

 

[aragorn]

1. Top 4 RD.
2. Top six winger
3. #1 Goalie - more likely a better backup

Trade Chychrun LD for 2024 1st rd pick (draft Sennecke RW) $4.6 mil out
Trade one goalie likely Forsberg $2.735 mil out
Trade Brannstrom for a draft pick $2 mil out
Trade Joseph for a draft pick - $3 mil out
Walk: Kubalik & Katchouk - $ 3 mil out = $15 mil out

Sign UFA: Matt Roy RD ($6 mil ) & UFA Jake DeBrusk LW ($6 mil) - $12 mil in

Tkachuk - Norris - Batherson
DeBrusk - Stutzle - Pinto
Ostapchuk - Greig - Giroux
Imama - Kastelic - MacEwan/Kelly - $50 mil

Chabot - Roy
Sanderson - Zub
Kleven - JBD/Hamonic - $ 30 mil

Korpisalo - Allen - $6 mil = $86 mil

 

[JungleBeat]

1. Top 4 RD.
2. Top six winger
3. #1 Goalie - more likely a better backup

Trade Chychrun LD for 2024 1st rd pick (draft Sennecke RW) $4.6 mil out
Trade one goalie likely Forsberg $2.735 mil out
Trade Brannstrom for a draft pick $2 mil out
Trade Joseph for a draft pick - $3 mil out
Walk: Kubalik & Katchouk - $ 3 mil out = $15 mil out

Sign UFA: Matt Roy RD ($6 mil ) & UFA Jake DeBrusk LW ($6 mil) - $12 mil in

Tkachuk - Norris - Batherson
DeBrusk - Stutzle - Pinto
Ostapchuk - Greig - Giroux
Imama - Kastelic - MacEwan/Kelly - $50 mil

Chabot - Roy
Sanderson - Zub
Kleven - JBD/Hamonic - $ 30 mil

Korpisalo - Allen - $6 mil = $86 mil

Going into next season with 4 AHL caliber players on your bottom six is a recipe for disaster.

This team is allergic to having good depth. Staios needs to fix that.

 

[Big Muddy]

1. Top 4 RD.
2. Top six winger
3. #1 Goalie - more likely a better backup

Trade Chychrun LD for 2024 1st rd pick (draft Sennecke RW) $4.6 mil out
Trade one goalie likely Forsberg $2.735 mil out
Trade Brannstrom for a draft pick $2 mil out
Trade Joseph for a draft pick - $3 mil out
Walk: Kubalik & Katchouk - $ 3 mil out = $15 mil out

Sign UFA: Matt Roy RD ($6 mil ) & UFA Jake DeBrusk LW ($6 mil) - $12 mil in

Tkachuk - Norris - Batherson
DeBrusk - Stutzle - Pinto
Ostapchuk - Greig - Giroux
Imama - Kastelic - MacEwan/Kelly - $50 mil

Chabot - Roy
Sanderson - Zub
Kleven - JBD/Hamonic - $ 30 mil

Korpisalo - Allen - $6 mil = $86 mil

Maybe this will help?

Your total roster costs $89,300,714, so you are over the cap ceiling. Allen is under contract for 2024-25 at a cap hit of $3.85 million.

Your post didn’t mention Pinto’s new contract amount.

If you just populate the cap hits from CapFriendly for players under contract, you don’t need to get into listing who is out (not under contract). Spreadsheets are handy for this kind of thing, & help ensure accuracy, yet are not widely used for some reason.

 

[Golden_Jet]

Going into next season with 4 AHL caliber players on your bottom six is a recipe for disaster.

This team is allergic to having good depth. Staios needs to fix that.

It’s gonna take a couple of years to fix, in a salary cap world. You can only do so much each year.

 

[JungleBeat]

It’s gonna take a couple of years to fix, in a salary cap world. You can only do so much each year.

True, but I also think it's the mentality of management that likes to put players with zero offensive skill in our bottom six and fans seem to agree with that. Get some cheap depth on waivers and ditch players that provide no value like Kastelic, Kelly and MacEwan.

 

[Big Muddy]

I agree with your general point but....


Brannstrom is RFA, so not a full fledged free agent per-say, and I'd argue Gibson has little to no trade value (likely negative value tbh), he hasn't had a good season since before Covid, and has 3 years left as one of the higher paid goalies in the league (top 5 among active goalies).

3rd to 7th should cost a fair bit more, we'd need to add
McTavish and Gudas for Chychrun and a late first, we'd need to add here as well

Gibson to Korpisalo is probably close to even thinking about it, they are both bad goalies on bad contracts, I'd probably prefer to keep Korpse and that's saying something...

Brannstrom is probably worth a late draft pick at best at this point.

Re: Brannstrom - Yes, I was trying to say his current contract has expired and does not have a contract for next year. My bad for the wrong choice of words.

I think you are agreeing overall?

This proposal seemed unrealistically lopsided in favour of the Senators and I didn’t think the Ducks would do it.

 

[Micklebot]

Re: Brannstrom - Yes, I was trying to say his current contract has expired and does not have a contract for next year. My bad for the wrong choice of words.

I think you are agreeing overall?

This proposal seemed unrealistically lopsided in favour of the Senators and I didn’t think the Wild would do it.

Yeah, I agree, but with caveat of Gibson being terrible...

Idk enough about McTavish to know whether he'd be a good add, but I imagine he still has some of that 3rd oa shine and would be worth more than Chychrun.

 

[Golden_Jet]

True, but I also think it's the mentality of management that likes to put players with zero offensive skill in our bottom six and fans seem to agree with that. Get some cheap depth on waivers and ditch players that provide no value like Kastelic, Kelly and MacEwan.

I also like duos, especially on the road.
Swap your 2 third line wingers, with one from top line and one from second line.
So if Greig Pinto Joseph, on third line, swap Greig and Joseph out.

 

[Big Muddy]

Yeah, I agree, but with caveat of Gibson being terrible...

Idk enough about McTavish to know whether he'd be a good add, but I imagine he still has some of that 3rd oa shine and would be worth more than Chychrun.

Even with Gibson in there, it didn’t seem like a deal the Ducks would do. I definitely didn’t see the Senators “overpayment” part.

If this proposal was any indication of what fans think what can happen in a trade, I think there will be some very disappointed fans.

 

[aragorn]

Maybe this will help?

Your total roster costs $89,300,714, so you are over the cap ceiling. Allen is under contract for 2024-25 at a cap hit of $3.85 million.

Your post didn’t mention Pinto’s new contract amount.

If you just populate the cap hits from CapFriendly for players under contract, you don’t need to get into listing who is out (not under contract). Spreadsheets are handy for this kind of thing, & help ensure accuracy, yet are not widely used for some reason.

View attachment 873005

Capfreindly has Jake Allen at $1.925 for next season which based on their information has him going into his last yr & UFA season. Otherwise I would keep Forsberg rather than pay more than he makes for a backup. I put $6 mil for Roy but they might be able to get him for slightly less & why do you have Pinto at $5.5 could they not get him a little cheaperon a bridge deal for at least one yr?

 

[Big Muddy]

Capfreindly has Jake Allen at $1.925 for next season which based on their information has him going into his last yr & UFA season. Otherwise I would keep Forsberg rather than pay more than he makes for a backup. I put $6 mil for Roy but they might be able to get him for slightly less & why do you have Pinto at $5.5 could they not get him a little cheaperon a bridge deal for at least one yr?

Hmm, that’s interesting. I used the search function on CapFriendly and it said $3.85 m. Now that I take a closer look, I think its $1.925 because Montreal retained (50%) salary when they traded Allen to the NJD.

Jake Allen Contract, Cap Hit, Salary and Stats - CapFriendly - NHL Salary Caps

Jake Allen contract, salary, cap hit, salary cap, aav, career earnings, lifetime earnings, aav, advanced stats, transaction history, trade history, and rfa or ufa free agent status

www.capfriendly.com

I put Pinto at $5.5 m because of recent reports that the Senators are trying to sign him to a long term contract versus a bridge contract. So, something like 5 years at $5.5 m/year (maybe 6 years if we are lucky).

You're at $87,375,714 with the Allen adjustment which is about $325 k under the cap. My bad on the Allen thing. I provided a link to CapFriendly where I got the $3.85 m info. I learned something new about CapFriendly today.

 

[Cosmix]

I also like duos, especially on the road.
Swap your 2 third line wingers, with one from top line and one from second line.
So if Greig Pinto Joseph, on third line, swap Greig and Joseph out.

Kelly has value at his salary. He is decent on the PK, hustles all the time, body checks on the forecheck, and has some speed and defensive smarts.

 

[Golden_Jet]

Kelly has value at his salary. He is decent on the PK, hustles all the time, body checks on the forecheck, and has some speed and defensive smarts.

Ya good 4th liner, he’ll be back I think.

 

[Wondercarrot]

I wonder if old Stevie boy is capable of a real hockey trade at the draft. I'd like to see him move up to that Silayev kid. I have that extra first rounder which is technically a second rounder and this draft. I got some leftover baggage on defense and a couple of tools on the third line. I wonder if there's a hockey trait to be made trade for that Chara Clone and add a veteran.

Maybe the ducks will send us 3rd overall, Gibson, MacTavish, Gudas and we can give them Korpi, Chych, Branny and two 1st rounders. Obviously there's a bit of an overpayment on our end but cleans up a lot of the dead bodies and cap issues. I usually don't make trade suggestions so don't kill me.

MacTavish? As in Mason MacTavish their 21yr old former 3rd OA pick and prized 1a/1b centre?
and we get Gudas, and their 3rd OA pick?

and we get to dump all our garbage and non returning players?
I mean I’m in but in what universe does Anaheim consider this?

 

[Loach]

MacTavish? As in Mason MacTavish their 21yr old former 3rd OA pick and prized 1a/1b centre?
and we get Gudas, and their 3rd OA pick?

and we get to dump all our garbage and non returning players?
I mean I’m in but in what universe does Anaheim consider this?

HF Sens Universe of course. You're not new fer fack sakes, you know what goes on around here. Lol!

 

[Tuna99]

Rumours of Chychryn for Binnington - Binngrton has an 18 team no trade but he’s an Ontario kid and probably well connected to Brady being in St Louis so could be convinced. At Louis is the Ottawa of the West.

I’m not a big Binngron fan but the 3 years and salary is perfect t for what we are looking for. And a goalie who’s aggrieved and a leader - something we haven’t had in a long time here and Binngron gives the blue paint a feeling of fighting spirit kinda like Ray Emery so I could be convinced