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Steve Staios opens for business as Senators prepare for draft
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With the first round of the National Hockey League draft set for Friday night at The Sphere in Las Vegas, league executives told Postmedia on Sunday that Staios is trying to remake the club’s roster.
Published June 23, 2024 • Last updated 4 hours ago • 4 minute read
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Ottawa Senators defenseman Jakob Chychrun meets with the media for the final time at the end of the team’s 2023-24 season. His name has been at the forefront of trade negotiations and he is not the only supporter that the senators intend to move. Photo by JULIE OLIVER/POSTMEDIA
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The Ottawa Senators were expected to post an “open for business” sign outside their Las Vegas headquarters this week.
Do you need it? I caught him.
While it’s been well-documented in this space that the Senators have been aggressive in their pursuit of Boston Bruins goaltender Linus Ullmark, that’s not the only deal Steve Staios, the club’s president of hockey operations and general manager, is trying to make this week. .
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With the first round of the National Hockey League draft set for Friday night at The Sphere in Las Vegas, league executives told Postmedia on Sunday that Staios is trying to remake the club’s roster and that there are several players at the center of discussions commercials.
While defenseman Jakob Chychrun’s name has been at the forefront of trade talks, he’s not the only blueliner the Senators are trying to move as the market heats up with qualifying offers expiring June 30 and unrestricted free agency set to open June 1. July at noon.
League executives say the Senators are also scouring the market to see if there is any interest in defensemen Erik Brannstrom and Jacob Bernard-Docker.
Veteran Travis Hamonic has a full no-trade clause and will likely have his $1 million contract bought out once the Stanley Cup Final ends on Monday. The club would be capped at $366,000 over the next two seasons if that happens.
The Ottawa Senators have a decision to make on defenseman Erik Brannstrom. Brannstrom, a restricted free agent, requires a qualifying offer of $2 million to maintain his free agency rights and the Senators are undecided on whether they want to go that route.
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Yes, he’s an NHL player, but Tyler Kleven is ready to make the jump from Belleville and that will likely take Brannstrom out of the picture. The club are trying to see if they can get something in return, but if that doesn’t happen then it might be better for both sides if they just walk away.
But the list doesn’t stop there.
As reported by Postmedia, the Senators spoke to the teams about winger Mathieu Joseph. He has two years left at $2.95 million and they would like to get his contract off the books to try to help push a deal to acquire Seattle Kraken winger Brandon Tanev.
The Senators will qualify Belleville winger Egor Sokolov, but told teams they wanted to give him a fresh start with another organization and would like to make a minor league deal to get something in return. He was undrafted last season by the club’s American Hockey League affiliate.
The club would also like to upgrade their fourth line, and if they could find someone for center Mark Kastelic, they would make that move as well.
If that seems like a lot, we still haven’t dealt with the elephant in the room, which is goaltending.
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The Senators ranked 31st in the league last season with a combined .884 save percentage. That left the organization looking to upgrade its network because newcomer Joonas Korpisalo and backup Anton Forsberg haven’t gotten the job done with any kind of consistency.
Signed to a five-year, $20 million contract on July 1, 2023, Korpisalo finished with a 21-26-4 record, an .890 save percentage and a 3.27 goals-against average. Forsberg wasn’t much better and that’s why the club is trying to upgrade.
To make matters worse, the Senators scored 22 goals on the first or second shot of the game, and while people like to blame the system, that statistic has nothing to do with how the team is playing in front of them.
That’s why the Senators have talked to virtually every team that has a goaltender available, including Boston (Ullmark), the Nashville Predators about Juuse Saros, and the Calgary Flames (before Jacob Markstrom was traded to the New Jersey Devils).
Ottawa is also linked to Anaheim’s John Gibson.
The club has turned its attention to Ullmark because the Senators have been pursuing him since the trade deadline last March. He has one year left at $5 million and a $1 million bonus due July 1, so the Bruins would like to trade him before they have to cut the 30-year-old a check.
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The Vegas Golden Knights and Detroit Red Wings are also involved in negotiations to acquire Ullmark.
Although the Senators offered Korpisalo in exchange for the Bruins when the two sides talked in March, Boston needs a center.
The Senators would like to have a contract extension with Ullmark before closing the deal and there has been speculation that this is what has held up this negotiation. We’re not sure if that’s the case and it’s believed a big factor was the Bruins’ asking price.
And if Ullmark is brought to Ottawa, what does that mean for Korpisalo’s future? The Senators could find a buyer if they retain his salary or keep him as part of a pairing with Ullmark.
The Senators have the No. 7 and No. 25 overall picks in the first round of the draft. Staios is exploring a scenario in which he would be willing to move back to the No. 7 pick, and league executives believe he would like to get a tangible asset that could immediately help him at No. 25.
There will be a lot at stake for Staios this week, and the goal is to come away with a winner.
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