Here is part 2 of the Senators mailbag where I answer your questions!
If you could have any of the following former Sens back, on their current contracts, who would you choose?: Karlsson, Stone, Duchene, Hoffman, or Dzingel---PavohnDatsvares
It has to be Stone. I love Karlsson and think he is the best player on this list, but I think Stone is the best bet to age gracefully and is also relatively cheaper. He is in the middle of his prime at the age of 27, and I find it strange when people talk about how his contract is going to look bad by the end. He does literally everything on the ice exceptionally well, so why would he suddenly become a black hole? If his skating slows down, he’ll still have his shot. If his shot slows down, he’ll still be a rock defensively.
Stone brings so much every single game, and he would have been an easy choice for the next captain of the Senators. I honestly think I will miss him more than Karlsson in the next decade.
The Sens have interesting depth at LD. Does Lajoie make the Sens in 19/20? Is he better than Wolanin? Is Brannstrom in the NHL?---Filip Kuba Gooding Jr.
Lajoie will probably get some games in the NHL in 2019-20, but there’s no reason why he should start the year in Ottawa barring multiple injuries. I’d rank him behind Thomas Chabot, Christian Wolanin, and Erik Brannstrom, plus Ottawa also has Mark Borowiecki and Ron Hainsey (if they are playing him on the left side). Wolanin was probably the Senators second-best defenseman last season, so I definitely do not think Lajoie is better than him, even if Lajoie still has a chance to be a 2nd or 3rd pairing option.
There is a huge logjam on the left side, and it’s not good news for Lajoie. I can’t see Brannstrom making the team right away either because of the depth chart, but he should be getting at least 30 games in the NHL.
Which rookie will make the team?---Andy
I’ll say that Drake Batherson and Logan Brown make the team out of camp, with others who are not technically rookies such as Christian Wolanin and Rudolfs Balcers making the team as well. Then plenty of others (Alex Formenton, Filip Chlapik, Erik Brannstrom, etc.) will join throughout the year.
With the log jam in goal, do you foresee Anderson being traded if Condon’s health issues are behind him. Nilsson being # 1 and Condon backing him up. I believe the Sens would save 4 to 5 million and in return receive a draft pick---Mike Boots
I can’t imagine anyone trading for Anderson because he’s 38 and has had back-to-back poor seasons. They also sort of need Anderson’s $4.75M cap hit, so they would need to be receiving a contract coming back. I have no idea if Condon will be healthy, but if he is, that’s terrible news for their three goaltending prospects who are looking for playing time in Belleville.
When a player signs an ELC does he become one of the 50 that a team can sign to a contract? How long can that player remain on an ELC? Does he sign a new contract with the team after the ELC expires?---Maggie
He only becomes one of the 50 contracts once he plays anywhere outside of the CHL, so someone such as Johnny Gruden does not count because he will be in the OHL for 2019-20. A player’s ELC lasts for three seasons, but it can “slide… for three seasons as well, meaning a junior player can stay at that level for up to three seasons (usually two though) and the contract will begin once he reaches the NHL/AHL. So those contracts do not count during the years when a prospect is playing in junior, although they do count towards the 50 contracts if they are in other leagues. After the ELC expires, he becomes an RFA and will have to sign a new contract just like Colin White is doing right now.
I hear/read that the Sens have a small mgt team but I cannot find out if this is important (i.e. do Stanley Cup winning teams have the largest mgt teams ) or how small the team is ( half, third, a quarter of the NHL average??). Any thoughts or info you have on this would be appreciated---Tony Cuomo
Logically, the bigger the staff, the more resources your organization will have, as long as the people you bring in are smart minds. It is definitely important to have a bigger staff in terms of scouting and management, and Ottawa has one of the smaller front offices in the league. Back in the summer of 2018, Colin Cudmore did some work on this and found that only a few teams had as small of a scouting staff as Ottawa, although I can’t find the source for that graph.
There isn’t much data about the management side of things, but I do know that successful teams are starting to hire more and more people. I could maybe dive deeper into this for an entire article, but it would require a ton of research for a proper answer. The short answer: Ottawa needs to hire a lot more people.
Most underrated sens player of all time?---Travis
I don’t know if he is #1, but a name that immediately popped into my head was Wade Redden. He’ll always be remembered as the guy that Ottawa chose over Zdeno Chara, but that’s not fair at all. Redden was a solid first pairing defenseman who deserved the money that he got, and it’s a shame that he fell apart in New York and somewhat ruined his reputation. I think most fans will look upon him fondly, but he should probably be getting more credit than he does.
Do you think that Melnyk will ever sell the team and just go away as we just seem to be going around in circles? Do you think the Senators will ever be competitive if he stays? I can't see it myself---Matt
The Senators can certainly be competitive if he stays---they are capable of making the playoffs and even going on a Cinderella run. But with him as the owner, they cannot run a sustainable contender. I’m skeptical that they can even get to contender status as opposed to just “playoff team… status, as it’s fair to wonder whether future stars will be kept around for once. I do think there is a light at the end of the tunnel, but it might not be for a few more years.
Will the Sens be playing in Kanata or Lebreton in 10 years from now?---Riceroni
Hm, that is really tough to say. I’ll go with Kanata, but only because I think a sale in ownership could take around five years, plus getting LeBreton finalized and the rink actually built might bring the opening date past 10 years from now. So maybe in 12 years? That seems like a long time from now, but I don’t want to get ahead of myself because we have been hurt from ownership/new rink rumours before.
Canuck and Senator fan here. From a Senator perspective what would it take to get you to take Eriksson from us?---AlexC
Ha, interesting mix, especially with me living in Vancouver. That contract is quite bad ($6M, 3 years left), and the Canucks really need to get some money off the books. The Senators might be competitive in the final deal of that contract, so I think it would be reasonable to ask for a 1st round pick in order to take on that contract---after all, the Hurricanes received a 1st rounder for just one year of Patrick Marleau. Eriksson isn’t a totally useless player, but he is worth well less than half of what he makes.
This deal won’t happen though because Ottawa will reach the cap floor and Melnyk won’t spend more than he has to, even if it benefits the organization.
What's the outlook on Davidsson (from the Duchene to Columbus Trade)? Will he try to leave Sweden, and try to make the jump to play in Belleville next year, or try to make the big team out of training camp?---David22
He is a darkhorse to make the team out of camp and it wouldn’t shock me if he beat out someone who we thought was more of a lock than Davidsson. It seems as if he will be in Belleville if he does not make Ottawa, which will definitely help with their depth in the minors. I’m sure he will get at least some games in the NHL this coming season.