Senators Sign European Free Agent Jiri Smejkal
Pierre Dorion’s time may or may not be running out as the general manager of the Ottawa Senators, but that does not mean that he is not putting in work.
Today the Senators announced they had signed left winger Jiri Smejkal to a one-year entry-level contract worth $950,000.
The Czech-born forward is 26 years old and had never been drafted by an NHL club. He spent the 2022-23 with IK Oskarshamn of the SHL where he 23 goals and 43 points in 49 games. The two seasons prior he played in the Finnish Liiga with Tappara (9 goals and 26 points in 48 games, 2020-21) and with the Pelicans (25 goals and 45 points in 46 games, 2021-22).
The Athletic’s Corey Pronman believes Smejkal has a chance to play NHL games and had him ranked as the sixth-best available player out of all the free agents available from the CHL, college or Europe.
6. Jiri Smejkal, LW, Oskarshamm-SHL: Smejkal is a bit on the older side at 26 years old, but he’s having a big year in Sweden and has been a notable part of the Czechia national team, having played for them at the Olympics and worlds. He’s a big, powerful winger with good skills who can help on both special teams. His skating is just OK and whether he will score in North America is a question, but his style lends itself to a real chance to play NHL games.
A big, powerful winger?
Sounds like the kind of player the Senators have been targeting in recent years to build up the team’s forward depth. After drafting Egor Sokolov in 2020, the Senators took a look Julien Gauthier after flipping Tyler Motte to the Rangers at the 2023 trade deadline.
Here is what Dorion had to say about the player from the team’s official press release:
"Jiri's signing is a good addition for us; it improves our depth and provides us with an additional bottom-six option at forward. He's a big body who's strong with previous experience playing in North America which should help his transition to a rink with smaller dimensions. We're pleased that he's committed to the Senators for the next step in his career."
It has been seven years, but Smejkal has played in North America. He appeared in parts of three seasons with the WHL’s Moose Jaw Warriors.
After giving 144 games to players like Parker Kelly, Patrick Brown, Dylan Gambrell and Jake Lucchini and only got 10 goals of production, rolling the dice on a free agent in hopes that he is a late bloomer is not a terrible play.
The Senators simply did not get enough offence out of their depth players, even if some of them were credible defensively. If Smejkal offers solid two-way play and a chance for more offence than what the team got last season, it is the kind of low-risk/upside play that they should be making — even if he just winds up being a recall option for the team from Belleville.
At the very least, he represents some left wing depth at a position where the futures of Alex DeBrincat, Alex Formenton and Derick Brassard are up in the air.
Ownership Situation Ramping Up
On the recent ‘32 Thoughts Podcast’, Elliotte Friedman dropped some interesting bits updating listeners to the Senators’ ownership situation.
“Well, Bruce Garrioch had an article on Friday, I think it was, about Ryan Reynolds and the Remington Group preparing a billion-dollar bid. I don’t have any reason to believe Bruce is wrong about that. I think he’s right. It’s been reported that the deadline is May 15th, but I think a push is coming from Reynolds and Remington. I think they’re going to push hard this week. I believe that group has been in contact with the NHL in the last little while about what it’s thinking and what it would like to do. I think there is some alignment with the Melnyk family. I think there’s some alignment with the local potential part of the ownership group – which is Jeff York. I think they have been getting everything in line and I don’t have a 100% answer what ‘clarity’ is going to mean yet, but I think this week we’re going to get some indication about how serious they are and that they’re ready.”
After learning that Reynolds’ group was the only one to reach out to the indigenous group that has a land claim on LeBreton Flats, it can only be encouraging to hear that they are also making inroads with the Melnyk family and the local business community.
They have adopted a thorough approach and assuming it carries through to other parts of the hockey operations and business sides of the organization, that is all fans can ask for. All I want is a credible organization that hires smart people and uses them to insulate their decision-makers to make the best and most informed choices possible. If you are pulling for Reynolds’ group to win the bid, everything sounds really promising.
Reynolds is not the only other celebrity linked to the Senators. The Athletic’s Ian Mendes broke the news that Snoop Dogg was attached to the Neko Sparks group.
“The hip-hop icon loved the idea of joining this initiative on the ground floor, with the hopes of assembling the most diverse ownership group in the history of the NHL.”
Mendes even interviewed Snoop Dogg in a follow-up article.
I have no skin in the game or any favourites for who ultimately winds up getting the team, but fans have to be ecstatic that a few groups are doing their due diligence and are enthusiastic about growing this game on a local and global level — especially to communities often do not have the opportunity to play it.
If the Neko Sparks group is unsuccessful, I wonder if the successful bid would look at whether some of the interested partners from other groups would look be interested in joining theirs.
According to that same ‘32 Thoughts Podcast’ episode that I mentioned earlier, Friedman stated that some groups had discussed merging, but those conversations went nowhere.
“The other thing too is I had heard there had been some conversation about some of these groups combining. I don’t think that’s going to happen. I think it kind of fell apart over the last week or two, but I do think there was some conversation between Reynolds, Remington, and some of the other groups about getting together but I think it fell apart.
“I think if anything, people talk to them about joining them. I heard there were conversations, but it fell apart.”
Not sure how time sensitive these discussions were, but as this ownership sale nears its end, maybe these talks pick back up.
Borowiecki Retires
Longtime Senator Mark Borowiecki announced his retirement on social media yesterday and it was not a surprise to see the outpouring of support for one of the most popular players to ever put on a jersey.
His story is an exceptional one. The Senators were hosting the 2008 NHL Draft in Ottawa when they unexpectedly took Borowiecki with their fifth-round pick. Despite living in Kanata and being a short drive away, Borowiecki was not in attendance. When he learned he was drafted, he sped over to what was Scotiabank Place.
From that moment, Borowiecki worked his way to the game’s highest level. And even when he arrived, he was not the most endearing player. Although his physical prowess and willingness to drop the gloves earned him praise, modern analytics work showed that the Senators were regularly outshot and outscored when he was on the ice. For it, he became a target of lineup decision angst.
Like everything else in his career, Borowiecki fought through it and became a useful player — defying all expectations by playing 375 games for the Senators and becoming one of the most popular players on the team through the combination of his play, character and social activism.
All the best to Borocop and his family as he transitions to the next stage of his career, but the Senators would be stupid not to hire Boro and get him involved as a brand ambassador.