While Sens Nation waits on a new team owner, clearly the show must go on. Here's a list of the top five off-season priorities in Ottawa.
1) RFA Alex DeBrincat
Alex DeBrincat is an RFA on July 1st and was very careful in his season-ending interview about how excited he would be to sign an extension. The belief is that he holds all the cards.
He holds cards. But so do the Senators.
Senator GM Pierre Dorion has already indicated a qualifying offer will be made at $9 million. DeBrincat can sign it and play out the season with the intent of going to UFA next summer. This will also give the Senators until the trade deadline to decide how badly they want to keep him.
DeBrincat can also sign an extension at any point. The issue then becomes what to pay him vs core players like Tim Stutzle, Brady Tkachuk, Thomas Chabot and Josh Norris.
2) RFA Shane Pinto
22-year-old Shane Pinto had a solid first full season in the league (20 goals, 35 points) and played above his weight with the Norris injury.
Dorion has already stated that not everyone can have a long-term contract. The question becomes what does he project Pinto to be? Is he part of their key seven player profile or a support piece? Pinto can gamble on himself and take a short-term deal.
If the Senators want to go longer-term, they might need to pay above market value today to do it. Depending on how DeBrincat plays out, money could be shifted Pinto’s way to get those extra years.
They can use the Colin White contract as a barometer. Obviously, that's a mistake they wouldn’t want to repeat. White and Pinto both had similar first full years in the league. Similar term at lower AAV would seem to make sense.
Going short-term could cost the Senators more in the long run.
3) RFA Erik Brannstrom
Dorion is on record that they're going to pursue an extension with Brannstrom. He just had his best season as a Senator and established himself as a defenceman who can play in their top five.
With Chabot, Jake Sanderson, Artem Zub and Jacob Chychrun in play for next season, he's only a five, at best, for the Senators.
The Senators don’t have a selection in the upcoming draft until round 4, courtesy of the Chychrun, Nikita Zaitsev and Matt Murray trades. Do they want to make Brannstrom into something he probably isn’t or recoup their investment?
Is Brannstrom a bottom pair defenceman on a playoff team? Look at the bottom pair defencemen on the Carolina Hurricanes, Florida Panthers, Vegas Golden Knights and Dallas Stars. There are no Brannstroms on those rosters.
4) Free Agent/Trade for Goaltender
With Anton Forsberg on the mend and scheduled to be ready for training camp next season, the team is still left with a big hole to fill come opening night.
The team is moving on from Cam Talbot and, based on the sample size from Mads Sogaard, it seems clear there is something there. However, Sogaard is still very young and missed a lot of time to injuries last year.
Rumours are that Darcy Kuemper (4 years left, $5 million AAV) and Connor Hellebuyck (1 year left, $6.17 million AAV) may be available.
UFA options include names like Carolina's Freddie Anderson (34), Pittsburgh's Tristan Jarry (28), Columbus's Joonas Korpisalo (29) and even Adin Hill (27), who is minding the Vegas net in place of the injured Laurent Brossoit.
Options exist with and without championship pedigree.
5) Jake Sanderson: Eligible for Extension July 1st
Does Dorion have another magic trick up his sleeve like the one that got Tim Stutzle on an eight-year extension a year early?
Jake Sanderson could look at the money that Stutzle clearly left on the table and gamble on himself. Would Dorion be willing to make Sanderson the highest paid player on the team to get that eight-year contract done now?
Colorado's Cale Makar has a $9 million AAV cap hit. Tkachuk took $8.2 on a seven-year deal. Stutzle agreed to $8.33 on an eight-year deal.
Surely the sweet spot on a long-term extension lies somewhere between Makar and those two Senator pillars.