After their fourth preseason game, the Ottawa Senators have made their second round of cuts to the roster. Most of the players that were on the list were expected to be among the first players to be cut, but there were also some surprises. The first round of players was a short list, which included Tomas Hamara, Matthew Andonovski, and Jorian Donovan being sent back to their Ontario Hockey League (OHL) clubs while Connor Clattenburg and Jackson Stewart were released from their tryouts.
On Friday night, the Senators announced a wave of players being sent to the Belleville Senators training camp, including goaltenders Leevi Merilainen and Mark Sinclair, and defensemen Djibril Toure, Donovan Sebrango and Ryan MacKinnon. For forwards, it was Angus Crookshank, Tarun Fizer, Phillippe Daoust, Graham McPhree, and Brennan Saulnier.
Additionally, the Senators have placed Josh Currie, Dillon Heatherington, Garret Pilon, and Lassi Thomson on waivers for the purpose of joining Belleville’s camp.
Asset Management of Thomson Could Bite Sens
Travis Hamonic has had a decent stint with the Senators so far. He played with Jake Sanderson last season and did well enough to earn another deal with the team, as he signed a two-year deal worth $1.1 million per season. The thing about that deal is that it has a full no-move clause attached, meaning the team cannot send him down or trade him without his consent. On the surface, it isn’t a terrible deal, he earned the salary. Where things get complicated is the fact that he is joined by Thomson, Jacob Bernard-Docker, and Tyler Kleven in fighting for the sixth defensive spot.
With Kleven, he can be sent down, but the Senators are in a place where they need to play the best players they can. If he earns that spot ahead of other players, he should be in the lineup. With Bernard-Docker and Thomson, they are both former first-round draft picks requiring waivers to be sent to Belleville. The Senators were bound to put at least one of the two on waivers the moment they signed Hamonic.
Before camp this year, it was easy to predict Thomson would be the one to be cut. Unfortunately, the Senators were put in a tough place after Thomson had been the best player among the three. With him outplaying Bernard-Docker and Hamonic in preseason, there was a lot of speculation about what the team was going to do moving forward, but shortly after the latest preseason game, the team announced Thomson would hit waivers.
Now of course there is a chance he doesn’t get claimed, especially after 31 teams passed on Ty Smith who cleared waivers, but if they do it could bite them.
Thomson didn’t have a great season in 2022-23, which is why it was expected this could be an easier decision, but it wasn’t. Last season, the Winnipeg Jets had to place Johnathan Kovacevic on waivers in a similar situation as the Senators are in right now. He was a good defenseman that they didn’t have room for. Kovacevic was claimed by the Montreal Canadiens and had a great season.
Even taking out the fact that Thomson was a first-round pick, if the Senators lose him on waivers, it could be the latest example of poor asset management.
Crookshank Sent Down, But Should Get a Shot
Crookshank is a prospect plenty of people are excited about. Not because he is a blue-chip, rising superstar or anything, but his speed, tenacity, and effort give a lot of reason for enthusiasm. On top of that, he is a fan favorite, excellent in interviews, and is very well-spoken.
All of his attributes are what the Senators need in their bottom six. It was a problem last year, and with the potential fourth line of Parker Kelly, Mark Kastelic, and Zack MacEwen, the Senators could be in a similar situation. It is nothing against any of those players, but they are a physical group that doesn’t generate much. Having a spark from a player like Crookshank in there could be beneficial, and he showed just that in Friday’s game against the Jets.
Crookshank is close to the top of the call-up chart. He should get at least a few games of NHL action this season when the injury bug inevitably makes its way through the team.
While it is only the first major shedding of the training camp roster, there are a lot of takeaways here. Obviously, the Senators hope for nobody to get claimed, but especially Thomson.
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