Mere days prior to the Entry Draft, the Hot Stove is burning up with trade rumours with forward Alex DeBrincat remaining front and centre.
Senators general manager Pierre Dorion has plenty on his plate to disseminate leading up to the Draft and into free agency which opens July 1.
But first Dorion must deal with the DeBrincat situation. Why? The club’s current available cap space is $17.075 million. However, this total is deceiving.
A deeper dive reveals the Senators have only eight forwards, four defensemen, and one goalie accounting for the $66.4 million which is allocated via Cap Friendly and Puckpedia.
D-man Erik Brannstrom, Jacob Bernard-Docker and centre Shane Pinto are key restricted free agents requiring contracts. The trio should receive $6M-plus between them. Add in recent signee, Czech forward Jiri Smejkal and several youngsters including likes of Ridly Greig, Tyler Kleven, Egor Sokolov, $17M available on the face of it, gets eaten up fairly quickly.
And this doesn’t take into account, the Senators’ GM is seeking to procure another goalie and a bottom-six forward on his to-do list this week. From his postseason media availability to the present, Dorion has mentioned on multiple occasions these are areas he’d like to address during the offseason.
Mads Sogaard may indeed be the Senators’ goalie of the future. He displayed glimpses of potential in his 19-game stint last season, but his short pro career to date has been injury-plagued. Covid and injuries have resulted in the 2019 37th overall selection in playing only 69 American League games in two-plus seasons.
Anton Forsberg who insists he will be ready for training camp is coming off a rare dual MCL injury. It behooves Dorion to seek out veteran netminding help.
Goaltending trade candidates include John Gibson (Anaheim), Karel Vejmelka (Arizona), and Dan Vladar (Calgary). If the Senators are to go Big Game Hunting in the crease, Canucks’ Thatcher Demko and Flyers’ Carter Hart will move for the right price.
There’s also a plethora of backstops available on the free agent market – Freddie Andersen. Laurent Brossoit, Tristan Jarry, Joonas Korpisalo, Antti Raanta, Semyon Varlamov among names.
And if DeBrincat somehow doesn’t move, the team is hoping his $9M projected salary for the 2023-24 campaign is lowered to $7.85M as the team elected to take the 25-year-old to arbitration in order to lower his cap hit.
There’s little doubt Dorion has plenty of irons in the fire, but which route he goes will be interesting.
What we do know is; DeBrincat’s agent Jeff Jackson is reportedly assisting Dorion in finding a willing trade partner who’s interested in locking up his client long-term. If this can be completed, the two-time 41-goal scorer’s value brings a greater return to the Senators in a sign-and-trade scenario.
Per Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch and The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun, the Dallas Stars, Detroit Red Wings, Florida Panthers, Nashville Predators, Vegas Golden Knights were DeBrincat’s preferred destinations. This list reportedly expanded over the weekend.
Incoming Predators’ GM Barry Trotz cleared $4M of the books Saturday by sending centre Ryan Johansen to the Colorado Avalanche and have plenty of cap space to add an $8-9M player. The Predators currently possess a whopping $19M in available cap space.
With Nashville being the host city for the 2023 Entry Draft, Trotz may be looking to make his first major splash as the club’s new man in charge. The team is loaded with Draft capital – holding 10 selections in the opening four rounds including two firsts, two seconds, three thirds. The Predators also have a 2024 first plus three second-round selections.
At this moment the Senators are without a pick until Round Four. Nashville seems like a perfect fit for DeBrincat.
Adding scoring is a priority. Due to injury (Filip Forsberg) and trading away players at the deadline, former Senator Matt Duchene was the Predators lone 20-goal man (22).
While this scribe isn’t a fan of mock trades, a combination of picks and a middle-six forward such as Colton Sissons or Yakov Trenin may get a swap completed providing DeBrincat leans towards the Predators.
Gazing at the DeBrincat’s rumoured suitors, if this is the case; short on forwards, the Stars are a capped team. With only $7M to spare, GM Jim Nill needs to make a player-for-player deal to satisfy any trade.
Forwards Mason Marchment ($4.5M AAV} or Radek Faksa (3.25M AAV) are likely to move in any transaction.
With six selections in the first three rounds, including two firsts, Steve Yzerman‘s Red Wings are another team capable of making a pitch for the Farmington Hills, Michigan-born DeBrincat.
Neither Yzerman nor Dorion are wary of making an interdivisional trade, especially if it benefits each team.
The Panthers are in a tougher position. Defenseman Aaron Ekblad and Brandon Montour may open next season on Long Term Injured Reserve creating a glaring need on their blue line.
The Golden Knights are already against the cap for 2023-24. Again a swap will have to be player for player.
What Pierre Dorion does this week is anyone’s guess. Making a postseason appearance next April is a must for the Senators’ GM who’s under the watchful eyes of incoming owner Michael Andlauer.
One thing is for certain, Dorion is certainly not shy to make a bold move or two. This week won’t be any different.
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