NHL Watcher: Darren Dreger on TSN 1050: “If he goes on a 3-yr bridge, I don’t think Brady Tkachuk makes it past year 2, maybe early into year 3. As long as Melnyk is the owner of the Ottawa Senators he’s not going to want to wrestle with another dispute and now we’re starting to speculate on trade”.
Shawn Simpson: “If the Sens adopt a policy of forcing core pieces to sign long term deals, or they will be moved along. What a dangerous road to travel. You are almost forced to trade players out of entry level, so you can maximize trade value.”
Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun: The Ottawa Senators are doing their best to sign Brady Tkachuk to a long-term contract according to Senators president of business operations Anthony LeBlanc on CFRA radio.
The stalemate continues and his availability for the season opener is in jeopardy.
“I do have the benefit of being involved with Eugene and Pierre and being able to see how those things are going,” LeBlanc said. “It’s interesting, and, if you’ve got a second, I will catch you up a little bit. When these things stretch on, they take on a bit of a life of their own.
“And, unfortunately, and this may be a little bit of news for you, you can’t believe everything you see on social media. But, unfortunately, what we’ve seen in the last couple of days is conjecture that the problem is the owner is getting involved and dictating (the negotiations), and that part couldn’t be further from the truth.”
LeBlanc said that prior to the start of negotiations GM Pierre Dorion met with owner Eugene Melnyk with comparables and what they should offer him. He wants to build around Thomas Chabot and Drake Batherson.
Term is still an issue. The Senators think the eight-year contract offer at $8 million a season is a fair offer. The Senators don’t want to sign him to a three-year deal.
“I’m not involved in the negotiations, but I can tell you (that) the parameters laid out by Pierre, Eugene looked at it, and said, ‘That makes sense.’ And that’s really the situation right now,” LeBlanc said. “Pierre is continuing to manage the process. He feels it’s going in the right direction.”
