25-year-old defenseman Cody Ceci is set to become an RFA for the second straight summer. Ceci has always been someone that I have been critical of due to his usage being way higher than it should be, although over the past two seasons, even previous Ceci supporters have turned on him. Except for the Senators front office. His future with the team remains unclear, although Bruce Garrioch provided an update last night by saying that Ottawa will look for a long-term extension. If they can't come to terms on a long-term contract, then they will probably look to move him at that point:
Bruce says he thinks they want Ceci signed long-term...Just unbelievable. The only reason they would trade him is b/c they might not be able to get a deal done, not b/c they think he isn't good.
— Trevor Shackles (@ShackTS) April 5, 2019
This evaluation alone should make you scared about Dorion being the GM
Considering how close Garrioch is with the Senators organization, I trust his evaluation of the situation. The entire saga with Ceci has been incredibly frustrating due to how long people have realized that he isn't very good, but for some reason, they could have been able to get a quality trade return for him this whole time. I don't need to go over who they could have theoretically acquired in a Ceci trade because that just opens up more wounds, but even a month and a half ago at the trade deadline, they could have gotten something of value for him. Even if that something was just a 2nd round pick, that is more than worth it.
I have no idea how long "long-term" means in this context, but I would assume anywhere between 5-8 years. He is already making $4.3M this year, so any new contract will have to be at least over $4M. If that doesn't scare you, I don't know what will. He has played over 439 games in the NHL, and it is inexcusable to re-sign him, let alone sign him for a long time. It's not as if they have to let him walk for nothing either, they can still trade him for a draft pick or perhaps even another roster player.
I've seen a lot of people say that he might be a decent third pairing reclamation project a la Justin Schultz in Pittsburgh, but there are a few things wrong with that rationale: firstly, Schultz was never as bad in Edmonton as people made it seem. Secondly, Ceci will still make bad decisions on the third pairing; that won't change anything. Thirdly, the Senators have always given him a ton of ice time, so I can't see them wanting to push a guy down in the lineup after giving him a long-term contract. I understand that it seems like I'm piling on here, and I have to repeat that I hold nothing against Ceci as a person. I honestly do feel bad for him a bit just because he gets so much flak from the fanbase, but it's not as if I can just avoid this topic. He has been a huge issue with their blueline for years now, and he's symbolic of the Senators often failing miserably at pro scouting.
The only reason that I might have the slightest amount of hope regarding his future in Ottawa is that the Senators were willing to go to arbitration last summer, which perhaps meant that they were looking for him to be better. They were also at least considering trading him at the deadline, but until Pierre Dorion actually moves on from a defenseman whose results do not match up at all to his pedigree, I am not going to give him the benefit of the doubt.
It would be the ultimate slap in the face to talk about rebuilding with "core veterans" to then trade Erik Karlsson, Mark Stone, Matt Duchene, and Ryan Dzingel, but keep the least liked player in Cody Ceci. We'll see how this plays out over the summer, but I think we should just accept that a trade will not be happening.