With NHL free agency fast approaching in a couple of days, if Ottawa can’t acquire via trade the top four defensemen they covet, then the free agency route will be the only way they can fill that void. Looking for a right shot defenseman on the open market might be hard to come by, especially when it comes to term on any deal. The Senators don’t want to go any longer than two years on a contract with any free agent due to the youth they have coming up in Jacob Bernard-Docker, Jake Sanderson and Lassi Thomson to name a few.

The players below are guys that can most likely be had on one or two year deals.

Alex Goligoski is a left-shot defenseman, and is coming off a $4.8 million per year contract with Arizona. He is a steady, stay at home defenseman with some offensive abilities. The 15-year veteran could most likely be had on a short term deal. Plus the price would be right, too.

Ian Cole is another left shot defenseman. A veteran of 14 NHL seasons, Ottawa traded Cole to Columbus in 2018 after getting him from Pittsburgh along with Filip Gustavsson for Derick Brassard.

Ryan Suter has been said to looking for a two year deal after being bought out by the Minnesota Wild. If Ottawa could convince him to sign, he would be the perfect in the Senators top four. Suter though is looking to sign with a Stanley Cup contender and Ottawa isn’t at that stage yet.

Jason Demers and Niklas Hjalmarsson are possible long shots if Ottawa isn’t able to get one of their main targets. I am curious to hear Sens fans thoughts on who they would target on the blueline?

Lastly, the comment section yesterday produced a lot of discussion about the players Ottawa drafted. I found this little bit interesting on ESPN.com today when Greg Wyshynski posted his winners and losers from the draft and I quote from his column...

“ask around the draft heads and the Senators had a considerable whiff in the 2021 draft. It started in the first round with the selection of Tyler Boucher at No. 10 overall. He is a good prospect, but Ottawa threw out its shoulder with this reach; no popular mock drafts had Boucher in the top 10.”
“The Senators' next three picks also were players selected well ahead of their ranking: center Zack Ostapchuk (39th overall, 60th among North American skaters), Ben Roger (49th overall, 74th in NA) and Oliver Johansson (79th overall and 285th by FC Hockey). None of these players necessarily has a breakout skill set. The kindest thing to say: They got their guys.”
As Ottawa scout Trent Mann said on Saturday, "A public list doesn't know what we know. That's the reality, and I know what the reality is. I live in the reality."

Thoughts?

Thanks for reading!

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