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Ottawa Senators Sign Filip Chlapik

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The Ottawa Senators have taken care of a little more business, signing Filip Chlapik to a new contract. The one-year, two-way deal will pay him $735K at the NHL level. Senators GM Pierre Dorion had this to say on his young forward:

Filip’s a competitive player who works hard. He has applied himself to becoming an important player for us in Belleville. We’re confident that work ethic will be equally as effective for him as he strives to become the same type of player in Ottawa.

Chlapik, 23, still hasn’t established himself as a full-time NHL option, but did play 31 games with Ottawa this season. The 48th overall pick in 2015, he has 11 points in 56 career games. As Dorion points out, he has become a core piece of the Belleville lineup and could very well make the jump in the coming years.

While he waited for a new deal with Ottawa, Chlapik had signed on to play with HC Sparta Praha in the Czech professional league. Unfortunately, he has suited up just three times because of the COVID-19 situation overseas, which has put that league on pause. He has one goal in those three games.

Chlapik’s new contract leaves only Christian Jaros left for the Senators to sign, with an arbitration hearing on the books for November 7.

Chris Tierney To Re-Sign With Ottawa Senators

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The Ottawa Senators have come to another relatively hefty extension for a veteran player, agreeing with Chris Tierney on a two-year contract according to Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia. The deal will carry an average annual value of $3.5MM, with Tierney earning $2.8MM in 2020-21 and $4.2MM in 2021-22. The 26-year-old forward was a restricted free agent with an arbitration hearing scheduled for November 8. That hearing will no longer be required.

While many players are able to post career-highs when they move from a good team to a bad one and are given more responsibility, since arriving in Ottawa, Tierney still hasn’t been able to match the 17 goals he recorded during his final season in San Jose. He did post a career-best 48 points in 2018-19, but it came with just nine goals. This season he increased that number to 11, but the points dropped down to 37 in the shortened season.

Averaging more than 17 minutes a game, Tierney has become a core piece of the Senators forward group that trailed only Connor Brown, Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Brady Tkachuk in ice time. While he likely should settle into a lesser role when Ottawa wants to compete, for now, he can continue to help the youngsters find their game while providing solid middle-six production.

The question that comes with almost every Senators signing these days is whether or not Tierney will actually finish this two-year deal in Ottawa. The contract is heavily back-loaded, allowing the team to move a good chunk of the salary owed if they decide to flip him at some point. With several top prospects pushing up the lineup and even more on the way, Tierney’s spot won’t be there forever. With no trade protection, he will be a valuable asset at the deadline if the team decides to move on.

Atlantic Notes: Sabres, Stuetzle, Dermott

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With quite a few changes having been made to the Buffalo Sabres roster this offseason, including the additions of Taylor Hall and Eric Staal into their top six, Buffalo News’ Lance Lysowski writes that the team is done upgrading their roster, but a possibility of a trade still exists as the team is overloaded on defense.

The scribe writes that the Sabres could look to find a taker for either Colin Miller or Brandon Montour for a draft pick, which would open up a spot for 23-year-old William Borgen, a highly touted St. Cloud State player who has played just four NHL games so far after two years in the AHL.

  • Ottawa Senators newly-drafted forward Tim Stuetzle might have trouble joining the Senators for the upcoming 2020-21 due to his contract with Alder Manheim in Germany. The European rule is that a player with a valid cannot sign an NHL contract after Aug. 15. While that rule doesn’t make as much sense considering the draft was on Oct. 6, the rule still applies, according to deputy commissioner Bill Daly. The Athletic’s Hailey Salvian (subscription required) writes that Mannheim’s general manager Jan-Axel Alavaara said the only way Stuetzle could play for the Senators this season is if Mannheim releases him from his contract, which would then freely allow the 18-year-old to join Ottawa when the 2020-21 season begins. That would also require the German Federation to sign off on it. Salvian notes that no decision has been made on whether Mannheim would allow Stuetzle out of his contract, but the third-overall pick is still recovering from a fractured hand that he suffered on Oct. 13 and was given a six to eight-week recovery time. Of course, neither the DEL or the NHL have started their seasons with the DEL season having been postponed twice already with a current timetable of a December return. Regardless, expect general manager Pierre Dorion to continue to negotiate with Mannheim.
  • After being forced to accept a one-year pact with the Toronto Maple Leafs, defenseman Travis Dermott will have to bet on himself to benefit from a better deal next season. The blueliner will have to fight for a spot on the Maple Leafs’ blueline, according to Jonas Siegel (subscription required), who adds that Dermott will be fighting for playing time with Justin Holl, Zach Bogosian, Mikko Lehtonen and Rasmus Sandin for the final three spots on Toronto’s defense and easily could be forced to play on his off-hand in order to earn minutes.

Free Agent Profile: Mikael Granlund

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There are just two free agents left unsigned among the top ten of PHR’s Top 50 UFA’s. One of them, Mike Hoffman, has been a fixture on the rumor mill since the market opened, with as much discussion and speculation as anyone. The other is Mikael Granlund and things have been stunningly quiet surrounding the two-time 60+ point player.

Granlund, 28, is relatively young for a traditional UFA and has over 500 NHL games to his credit, recording over 100 career goals and over 350 career points. He is a proven asset on the power play and penalty kill, an efficient shooter, a strong possession player, and can play major minutes. Granlund may not be a household name, but he has been everything one would expect from a first-round draft pick. So why the apparent lack of interest?

It seems potential NHL suitors may be focused more on Granlund’s recent play rather than looking at the big picture. The versatile forward was traded by the Minnesota Wild to the Nashville Predators at the trade deadline in 2019. Since that time, his scoring rate dropped from .69 to .44 points per game. That is quite the decline and not what any impending free agent wants to see, but should it really be the death knell for Granlund’s prospects on the open market? In less than a season and a half in Nashville, Granlund played for two different head coaches with the Predators. He did not fit the system of former bench boss Peter Laviolette, who held the job through the end of 2018-19 and into early January of this past season. During that time, Granlund’s usage was severely limited compared to his time in Minnesota, both in overall ice time and special teams role. During that time his scoring suffered and he simply did not look like the same player. Once John Hynes took over, Granlund’s play recovered in a big way. He saw an uptick in ice time, began shooting more often and scoring more as a result, and finally won back a consistent power play role. Granlund even tied a career best in possession with a 52.4 Corsi For %.

Granlund’s play in the latter half of this past season more closely resembles his time with the Wild. A reliable top-six forward, Granlund was a pivotal player for Minnesota for over five years after taking on a full-time role at just 21. He topped 20 goals twice and 50 points three times, never finishing with less than 39 points. He also proved himself to be a durable player, missing only nine total games over his final four seasons with the team while skating over 18 minutes per game each year. He also adapted to a move from center to wing without missing a beat and still proved to be a capable pivot when needed.

In the right system, Granlund can still be the player he was in Minnesota and showed flashes of down the stretch this past year, rather than the one who struggled after moving to Nashville. That is why the lack of interest – at least based on close to nothing coming out the rumor mill – remains such a mystery.

Potential Suitors

Unfortunately for Granlund, one of the teams that could most use a player of his ability and has the cap space to sign him is none other than the Nashville Predators. Although Granlund did perform better once Hynes took over, it seems unlikely that he would be open to a return after his experience with the club was sour overall.

The Boston Bruins are also known to be looking for a forward. Granlund would have the opportunity to play with former Minnesota teammate Charlie Coyle and former Nashville teammate Craig Smith on a line that could have instant chemistry. However, the Bruins are lacking in cap space with Jake DeBrusk also in need of a new deal, so one of those two players would need to take a significant discount.

Perhaps the best fit is with the Columbus Blue Jackets. Columbus moved out considerable salary in hopes of landing at least one big time free agent forward, but so far have merely swapped Josh Anderson for Max Domi and signed aging Mikko Koivu, another former Granlund teammate. The team needs to make another splash and inject some more skill into their forward corps and Granlund makes a lot of sense.

By all accounts, the Predators, Bruins, and Blue Jackets are the finalists to sign the aforementioned Hoffman, who PHR has ranked ahead of Granlund among available UFA’s. At least one of these teams seems likely to turn to Granlund when they miss out on Hoffman, which may explain the lack of noise surrounding Granlund while the Hoffman sweepstakes continues.

If it is not one of these three, a rebuilding club like the Ottawa Senators, Detroit Red Wings, Los Angeles Kings or New Jersey Devils makes sense on a one-year “show me” deal. Don’t rule out a return to Minnesota, where Granlund found immense success, but only if the Wild can open up some space.

Projected Contract

PHR initially projected Granlund to land a four-year $20MM deal in free agency and even that $5MM AAV seemed low for a player nearly guaranteed to put up 50+ points for many years still to come. However, the flat cap has had an even bigger impact than anyone imagined on free agent deals and the odds of Granlund getting that term and value seems slim. This rings especially true after Tyler Toffoli and Evgenii Dadonov, both ranked ahead of Granlund, signed such measly deals recently. Based on those two contracts, Granlund is likely looking at an AAV closer to $4MM on a short-term deal.

While Granlund’s slip in production in 2019-20 landed him behind Dadonov and Toffoli in our rankings, he has a more proven history of NHL success than either one and would stand a better chance of making the most of a one-year deal and cashing in as a free agent again next summer. Especially given the forthcoming Expansions Draft next summer, a one-year deal has added value for interested teams. Whether he ultimately signs with a playoff hopeful or a rebuild, a one-year, $4MM contract sounds about right for Granlund at this point – and stands to be an incredible bargain for whoever signs it.

Senators Eyeing More Forward Help

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The Senators have already added to their forward group this offseason with the signing of Evgenii Dadonov and the acquisition of Austin Watson but they may not be done adding up front just yet.  Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch reports that the belief is that Ottawa may be interested in adding one more forward to the mix.

From a roster composition standpoint, the Sens have several players on entry-level contracts that are likely to break camp with the team so adding another veteran wouldn’t put them in a roster crunch of any kind.  Adding another veteran would certainly insulate them against injuries and would allow them to shuffle some of those youngsters back and forth between them and AHL Belleville which is something they did last season.

Cap space won’t be an issue either as even after they re-sign arbitration-eligible center Chris Tierney, they’ll have plenty of it but there are questions as to how much they’ll be willing to spend next season, especially since they’re not quite ready to emerge from their rebuild just yet.  As things stand, they have a little less than $18MM in room, per CapFriendly.

It’s unclear what type of forward they’d have a preference for acquiring though as they have needs basically in every area.  But with their young core set to get more expensive over the next few years as entry-level deals expire, adding someone on a long-term deal could have repercussions down the road.  With that in mind, adding someone with a year or two left would probably be more beneficial for Ottawa.

There are quite a few teams looking to free up some cap room and if GM Pierre Dorion is indeed willing to add another forward, this could be an opportunity to bring someone in for a low price or if they’re open to taking on a pricier contract, perhaps add some more draft pick and/or prospect capital as well.

Connor Brown Avoids Arbitration

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The Ottawa Senators have avoided arbitration with Connor Brown, settling on a three-year contract just hours ahead of his scheduled hearing. The new contract will carry an average annual value of $3.6MM and keeps Brown under contract through the 2022-23 season. Senators GM Pierre Dorion released the following statement:

We’re very happy to have Connor back under contract. He brings a veteran presence to our lineup and is a player who can play in different situations. He’s durable, has a strong work ethic with great practice habits and is regarded as a leader by his teammates. His ability to play up and down the lineup while producing offensively is especially valuable to us as we continue our transition towards being a consistent winner.

Brown was scheduled to have an arbitration hearing later today. That would have resulted in a one-year contract that would have taken the 26-year-old right to unrestricted free agency, but he’ll stay in the organization a little longer with this three-year deal. Brown had filed for $4.8MM while the team had filed for just $2.25MM.

All five of this week’s arbitration hearings were settled prior to taking place. The next one on the schedule is Tyler Bertuzzi on Sunday.

Brown scored a career-high 43 points this season with the Senators, while averaging more than 20 minutes a night to lead their entire forward group. That included a huge amount of penalty killing responsibility, along with a good amount of powerplay time as well. That versatility is key to why Brown is so well-liked on any team he plays for, and a big reason why the Senators have decided to keep him around.

Connor Brown, Ottawa Senators Exchange Arbitration Figures

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The second scheduled arbitration hearing this offseason will be Connor Brown of the Ottawa Senators on Thursday, meaning today was the day they needed to exchange filings. According to Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia, Brown’s camp has filed for $4.8MM, while the Senators have filed for $2.25MM. Because of his age, the contract can only be a maximum of one year in length.

It is important to remember that in the NHL, the arbitrator does not need to choose one filing or the other and usually instead awards a contract somewhere in the middle. The two sides can also come to an agreement in the coming days, though this year once the hearing begins they must wait for the reward and cannot settle while the arbitrator deliberates.

In Brown’s case, Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic suggests that a contract similar to the one Kevin Labanc just signed with the San Jose Sharks could potentially be a comparable should the two sides settle before arbitration. Labanc signed a four-year deal that carries a $4.725MM cap hit, though LeBrun suggests $4.35MM “isn’t crazy to think” about for Brown.

A 20-goal scorer in 2016-17 with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Brown hasn’t yet reached that mark again in his four-year NHL career. He did see his point totals balloon in Ottawa though, recording a career-high 43 points this season while averaging more than 20 minutes a night. He was easily the teams most-used forward, especially on the penalty kill where he logged more than two and a half minutes a night.

It’s obvious that Brown has the coaching staff’s trust, and on a roster that will be made up mostly of prospect forwards, he is actually one of the most experienced at the age of 26.

Notably, if Brown does go through the arbitration process and receive a one-year contract, he will walk into unrestricted free agency next offseason at 27. Should he receive an award over $4,538,938, the team could also choose to walk away and make him a UFA this offseason instead.

Senators Re-Sign J.C. Beaudin

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Oct 19: Ottawa has officially announced the contract, signing Beaudin to a one-year, two-way contract worth $700K at the NHL level. Senators GM Pierre Dorion released a statement on the young forward:

J.C. has established himself as a good depth player within the organization. He made a great impression on the coaching staff both here and in Belleville and was deserving of the opportunities he received in Ottawa throughout last season. It’s a trend we hope to see continue.

Oct 18: The Senators have agreed to terms with one of their remaining free agents as CapFriendly reports (Twitter link) that they’ve signed forward J.C. Beaudin to a one-year, two-way deal.  Instead of taking his qualifying offer, he opted for the league minimum salary at the NHL level to get a $10K raise on his AHL pay from $70K to $80K.

After spending the first two seasons of his entry-level deal, the 22-year-old split last season between Ottawa and their AHL affiliate in Belleville.  At the top level, Beaudin got into 22 games, picking up one assist but had 51 hits while winning 52.5% of his faceoffs.  He was more productive offensively in the minors though with four goals and two assists in 13 games.

Beaudin, who the Sens acquired from Colorado in 2019, is now eligible for waivers so he will have to pass through unclaimed to get back to Belleville although Ottawa could opt to keep him up as a 12th or 13th forward as well.

GM Pierre Dorion still has some work to do with his restricted free agents as winger Connor Brown, center Chris Tierney, and defenseman Christian Jaros remain unsigned.  All have filed for arbitration with Brown’s hearing slated for Thursday.

Rudolfs Balcers Signs With Ottawa Senators

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Oct 19: Balcers has been loaned overseas to the Stavanger Oilers of the Norwegian professional league for the time being, though he is expected to return in time for Ottawa’s 2020-21 training camp.

Oct 16: The Ottawa Senators have signed Rudolfs Balcers to a one-year, two-way contract worth $735K at the NHL level. Balcers split the 2019-20 season between Ottawa and Belleville of the AHL. Senators GM Pierre Dorion released an encouraging statement on his young forward:

Despite a discouraging injury at the start to the year, Rudolfs battled back to become an important contributor to Belleville’s success last season. He’s a dynamic player with a great release, who’s quick and who has good skill. We’re confident that he’ll set out to prove that he’s overcome last year’s setback to be a full-time player in Ottawa.

Balcers, 23, was one of the big pieces of the Erik Karlsson trade in 2018 and quickly made his NHL debut with the Senators the following season. He has now played in 51 games for the team, scoring six goals and 17 points in the process.

The injury Dorion is referring to happened in the preseason, halting his preparation for the 2019-20 campaign and limiting him to AHL action through the first part of the season. Once he got back up to speed he showed exactly why Senators fans are so excited about the Latvian winger, recording a point in his first 15 minor league games and 17/19 before a call-up to the NHL.

There’s a lot of talent in Balcers and the Senators are committed to giving the reins to their young core this season, even if they did bring in Evgenii Dadonov this week. He should be in the mix for a full-time spot out of camp.

Ottawa Senators Re-Sign Joey Daccord

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The Ottawa Senators made a big splash earlier this off-season, first trading for Matt Murray then signing him to a lucrative long-term contract. Murray is the present and the future in net for the Senators, but he is not the only goalie in their plans. Ottawa has announced a three-year extension with restricted free agent Joey Daccord, who just wrapped up his first pro season. The deal carries an AAV of $750K with the following breakdown:

2020-21: Two-way, $700K NHL salary, $175K AHL salary
2021-22: Two-way, $750K NHL salary, $300K AHL salary
2022-23: One-way, $800K salary

This seemingly minor contract actually speaks volumes about the Senators’ plans in goal. Ottawa has a deep stable of prospect goaltenders, but have opted to extend a multi-year contract to 24-year-old Daccord. The pact also includes a commitment to giving Daccord an NHL shot by at least 2022-23, when his NHL salary becomes fully guaranteed as a one-way deal. Meanwhile, Anders Nilsson played well after coming over to Ottawa last year and looks like Murray’s backup when healthy and is an impending UFA, 25-year-old Marcus Hogberg is also on a one-way contract this year and will be a restricted free agent next summer, promising 22-year-old prospect Filip Gustavsson is currently dominating the Swedish minor leagues and is looking for NHL time in the final year of his entry-level deal, 20-year-old Kevin Mandolese just signed a three-year entry level contract of his own, and the club has 2019 second-round pick Mads Sogaard and 2020 third-round pick Leevi Merilainen in the pipeline as well. There are many mouths to feed in Ottawa when it comes to future net share, yet Daccord is now the only name other than Murray with a long-term commitment that includes NHL opportunity.

The Senators clearly like what they have seen from Daccord and believe he will at least be an option to backup Murray in a few years. Daccord has improved dramatically since he was a seventh-round flier out of Cushing Academy in Massachusetts back in 2015. After a so-so season in the USHL, Daccord struggled out of the gate at Arizona State University. Only in his junior year did he finally take off, recording a .926 save percentage and 2.35 GAA for a surprising Sun Devils squad. But that was enough for the Senators to offer a contract and for the young keeper to turn pro early. He then held his own in his first pro season, playing two-thirds of his games in the AHL to the tune of a .915 save percentage and 2.61 GAA. For a net minder with very limited experience against top talent, he handled the jump to the competitive minor league level very well and should only improve with time.

Ottawa clearly expects his game to continuing growing as well. With bigger names and higher draft pedigrees in the system competing for the spotlight, the Senators have made it clear that they believe in Daccord. Murray may be the big name in net now and likely will be for the long haul, but at the current time Daccord looks to be the closest thing to next in line.

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