Friedman Talks More Senators Rumours
Appearing on the NHL Network tonight, Elliotte Friedman participated in a broadcast segment detailing how some teams are looking at the trade market ahead of the March 8th trade deadline.
Friedman spent time discussing the Rangers and Flames before eventually landing on the Senators.
As I discussed in Sunday’s article that examined Friedman’s report that the Senators were interested in Chris Tanev, Mike Johnson echoed my thoughts on the implications of a prospective Tanev deal and what it could mean for Jakob Chychrun’s future in Ottawa.
Friedman linked Chychrun’s future in Ottawa to a prospective contract extension.
“Well, I think Chychrun will probably come down to their salary cap situation. At some point in time, I think they’re going to have a conversation with Chychrun. He’s got one more year left. What does he want his next contract to look like? And, I think that as much as anything else will determine his future in Ottawa.”
Chychrun has another season left on his deal beyond this one. Relative to his contributions, his contract’s $4.6 million average annual value (AAV) is pretty modest and as Friedman alludes to, he will be in line for a significant raise.
With the rest of the young core locked up, most of Ottawa’s heavy lifting is done. The key will be to use their remaining cap space efficiently to properly supplement the core.
As it currently stands, CapFriendly has the Senators having 10 players on their roster signed to contracts worth $58,730,714. We don’t know where the salary cap threshold will be in 2025-26, but early projections give the Senators $33,269,286 in cap space to fill 13 holes on the roster. That creates an average of $2,559,175 per player. That figure will rise thanks to the annual increases to the cap ceiling. If players on entry-level contracts can play and outproduce their entry-level contracts, that will free up even more cap space to sign supporting players.
Depending on what Chychrun is asking for, the Senators should theoretically be able to fit him in. I don’t know how realistic an average annual value of $6.5 million to Chychrun would be on an extension, but for the sake of argument, I’ll say that’s what his next deal could be. That value would leave the Senators with $26,769,286 in cap space for 12 skaters — creating an average of $2.23 million per player to fill the rest of the roster.
It can be done, but it would put a ton of pressure on the organization to effectively find undervalued talent on cheap deals. The best way to find those is through the draft, but unless these players are already in the organization’s pipeline, it may be unrealistic to assume that the Senators will find those players in this year’s draft or the next.
Buying out Korpisalo could create more cap space, but then the team would have to spend some of that cap space acquiring two goaltenders. Korpisalo is signed through the 2027-28 season and Anton Forsberg’s contract ends after the 2024-25 season. Mads Sogaard is presently in the last year of his entry-level contract.
There is also the question of creating a balanced roster. General manager Steve Staios has expressed a desire to find more balance in his roster. Whether he was referring to the handedness of his blueliners or looking to add more 200-foot players to his roster remains to be seen, but Friedman touched upon Ottawa’s depth on the left side of the blue line.
“When it comes to Tanev, like I’ve said, and you’ve heard them all talk about it. They’re just looking for pros. And also, they’re a little bit less set on the right side than they are on the left.”
Where the segment got interesting is when Friedman mentioned that the Senators had sent a message to Tanev.
“So, I think the Senators have made it clear to Tanev… Like, even though Ottawa’s going to miss the playoffs this year, they’re not approaching this like they’re in a rebuild. They want to come right out and have a better start next year and they want to be in the playoff picture. They think they are a better team potentially with the likes of Chris Tanev on their roster than not there. So, that’s why I think he’s sort of on their radar. I think when it comes to a guy like Chychrun, honestly, I think it comes down to what Chychrun’s next deal is because obviously he’s going to want a big deal. Why wouldn’t he? Anyone would and that’s going to force the Senators to make decisions.”
Tanev is protected by a 10-team limited no-trade clause, so perhaps the Senators had an opportunity to talk to the player or his representative on the possibility of him joining the Senators. Saying, “I think the Senators have made it clear to Tanev…” certainly makes it made it sound like the Senators have had permission to talk to the player and express their philosophy on the future.