Ottawa Senators general manager Pierre Dorion said he withdrew the option to trade Alex DeBrincat, who will be a restricted free agent at the end of the season, outside the March 3 trade deadline. next.
The Sens have won six of their last seven games and are seven points behind the Washington Capitals and the last playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, with three games in hand.
Traded a few days before the 2022 draft by the Chicago Blackhawks, where they received the seventh choice of the auction, DeBrincat scored 18 goals and collected 44 points in 53 games this season with Ottawa. The 25-year-old winger is completing his final year of contract which is earning him an average of $6.4 million per season. He is eligible for arbitration if the Sens make him a qualifying offer of $9 million before the free agent market opens.
Journalist Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia reports that Dorion mentioned Thursday wanting to add a defenseman by the March 3 trade deadline. The general manager also said he doesn’t believe up-and-coming unrestricted free agents Travis Hamonic and Derick Brassard will be traded.
The Senators continue to face an uphill battle for a playoff berth, as four teams sit between Ottawa and the Capitals in the standings.
Though currently injured, veteran goaltender Cam Talbot is arguably the Senators most attractive up-and-coming unrestricted free agent. With Anton Forsberg sidelined for the remainder of the season, however, the Senators’ depth was put to the test this week with Mads Sogaard and Kevin Mandolese both picking up wins following being recalled from the American League.
Talbot, acquired in the offseason from the Minnesota Wild, is 12-13-1 this season with a .905 save percentage and a 2.90 goals- once morest average. Talbot is expected to return to the game in the coming days. He receives a salary of $3.67 million.
Defenseman Nick Holden, along with forwards Austin Watson and Tyler Motte round out the list of up-and-coming unrestricted free agents for the Senators.
Schenn won’t stop playing
While the Arizona Coyotes and Columbus Blue Jackets chose to drop some players from their rosters this week for trade-related reasons, Luke Schenn is expected to continue playing for the Vancouver Canucks.
Journalist Patrick Johnston of Vancouver Province reports that Schenn will attract interest from the Toronto Maple Leafs, Boston Bruins and Calgary Flames as the trade deadline nears.
“I expect to play every night,” Schenn said following playing 19:53 minutes on the ice in the Canucks’ 6-4 loss to the New York Rangers on Wednesday.
An aspiring unrestricted free agent, Schenn is earning $850,000 for the final season of a two-year contract signed with the Canucks in 2021. The 33-year-old has three goals and 18 points in 54 games this season.
Our colleague Pierre LeBrun reported last week that the Canucks have not yet decided whether to trade Schenn, who for his part would not ask to be traded to a team with major honors.
Drafted fifth overall in 2008 by the Maple Leafs, Schenn played 917 games in the NHL. He scored 41 goals and had 187 points during his career with the Maple Leafs, Philadelphia Flyers, Los Angeles Kings, Coyotes, Anaheim Ducks, Tampa Bay Lightning and Canucks.
After trading Bo Horvat to the New York Islanders earlier this month, the Canucks have only four up-and-coming unrestricted free agents on their roster: Schenn, Kyle Burroughs, Phillip Di Giuseppe and Colin Delia.