Puzzling Choice by Ottawa as Draft Day Approaches

Lots to crunch and chew on, so let’s get to it as the NHL off-season kicks into high gear . . .

DRAFT AHEAD AND SENATORS KEEP THEIR PICK?

If you recall – and I’m sure you do if you’re tuned into the Ottawa situation – the National Hockey League slammed the Senators and former GM Pierre Dorion for that deal in 2021 that sent Evgenii Dadonov to Vegas, where the team did not disclose the details on Dadonov’s 10-team no-trade list.

So, when Vegas attempted to send Dadonov to Anaheim half a year later, his no-trade clause activated, leaving the Golden Knights empty-handed, perplexed and justifiably angry.

The league stepped in and punished Ottawa by making the club surrender its first-round pick in either 2024, 2025 or 2026.

Ottawa reacted by firing Dorion then proceeded to complain to the league, essentially saying, ‘Hey, that happened under the previous regime, and we shouldn’t be punished.’

Bottom line is Dorion was an employee at the time. And as one poster put it – “An employee of the Ottawa Senators did something wrong. The Ottawa Senators got punished. Who owns them at any one moment is not an issue.”

Agreed.

To the matter at hand – Ottawa (GM Steve Staios) chose to hang on to its first-rounders in 2024 (Carter Yakemchuk) and this upcoming weekend’s selection. The surrender then comes next summer at the draft.

This is hard to fathom. The upcoming draft is being labelled ‘weak’ once you get past the first dozen or so picks. Ottawa picks 21^st on Friday night, unless a trade is in the works (subsequent rounds go on Saturday).

Next summer’s draft, meantime, is being labelled ‘superb’ by the pundits, so the decision to give up the potentially tasty 2026 selection is ponderable, at best.

The only explanation is that Staios and owner Michael Andlauer believe the NHL will show some leniency between now and draft day 2026 and the team gets its pick back (maybe surrendering a later round pick?).

It’s a gamble, and a big one.

FREE AGENCY AND DRAMA LOOM

This is a fabulous time of year for crystal-ball gazers and the like.

Names like Mitch Marner, Sam Bennett, Brad Marchand and Brock Boeser and Rasmus Andersson and J.J. Peterka are front of mind as the trade front heats up, and NHL free agency begins (July 1^st).

Not surprisingly, the Senators have been linked to three of the six above. Not Marner though. He’s likely going to Vegas; a team that seemingly spins mind-bending magic each year with the salary cap.

This while Bennett and Marchand are hoping to stay put in Florida (who wouldn’t?).

Of the three possibles, Boeser would be the ideal. Blessed with a wicked shot and wicked accuracy, the former Canuck falls into a fairly slim free agent class which does not boast a lot of proven scorers.

He will/would cost though, and it’s believed that his home-state Minnesota Wild has a leg up on the competition here.

Buffalo wants to score big this weekend and next week. Would a trade involving Peterka be in the works? The Sabres are also reported to be dangling potential stud defenceman Bowen Byram.

Still, Buffalo doesn’t need to be reminded of the deal last deadline that sent Dylan Cozens to Ottawa for Josh Norris. (Norris sustained yet another injury once in Buffalo, ending his season promptly).

The Senators priority has to be scoring.

On too many nights, especially in getting dusted by Toronto in the first round, Ottawa’s attack went limp. Improvements need to be made.

THOUGHT, SEEN AND HEARD: Ottawa does not have a second-round pick this weekend. That one sailed to San Jose in the Fabian Zetterlund swap in March . . . One of my favourite hockey guys is Luke Richardson. Good to see the former rugged blueliner back in the league as an associate coach with Nashville . . . No debate here on the choices for the Hockey Hall of Fame, released this week. Alex Mogilny? What took so long? . . . One of the best stories heard on Zdeno Chara came a few years ago from his former junior coach in Prince George, Stan Butler. Stan told me the WHL’s toughest challenged the (then) skinny Chara to tussle frequently early on in his stint in B.C. But after a month of beat-downs by Big Z, the large lad was left alone . . . While with his first NHL club, the NY Islanders, Chara had a running feud with Ottawa’s colourful Andre Roy. Heard that they’d fight once then – as soon as they hopped out of the penalty box – Chara would ask for another throw-down . . . One of Z’s first defence partners on the Islanders was none other than HNIC’s (and TEAM 1200’s) Garry Galley . . . If both Marner and John Tavares walk, that’s 65 goals and 176 points out the window in T’ranna . . . And if that’s the case, is Toronto any better off offensively than the offensively challenged Senators? . . . Which makes an Auston Matthews – frequent flyer with Marner – a most intriguing scorer to keep and eye on in 2025-26.

thegrossgame@yahoo.com

Photo: Ottawa Senators GM Steve Staios, Courtesy Postmedia