Senators Not on Same Page With UFA Travis Hamonic; Suddenly Circle Back on Larsson

Larsson is a 2015 first rounder who's played 172 NHL games and provides excellent organizational depth.

The Ottawa Senators had what looks like a change of heart on Thursday, signing Jacob Larsson to a one-year, two-way contract. 

The contract will carry a value of $775,000 in the NHL and $325,000 in the AHL. That's a nice payday for an AHL player.

Larsson is a 2015 first rounder who played 165 NHL games for the Anaheim Ducks before joining the Senators last season. He suited up for 7 games with the Senators but mostly spent the year in Belleville, playing 55 games and scoring 17 points.

What's curious is that two days earlier, GM Pierre Dorion told the media that Larsson was among his restricted free agent players who would not be receiving a qualifying offer. So something changed from the player or the team's perspective. Maybe this was an offer Larsson initially refused then circled back on.

Or perhaps a player is about to fall unexpectedly out of the Sens' defensive depth tree. At the same time the signing was announced, TSN's Darren Dreger reported that talks with UFA Travis Hamonic aren't going particularly well.

The Hamonic talks may have nothing to do with the change of heart on Larsson, but the timing certainly hints at it. If Hamonic does leave, Larsson nicely backfills Ottawa's depth in the 7-12 window. He's a very good asset for Belleville who won't hurt you if you need him to play games in the NHL. 

At the Senators' year-end media availability, Hamonic was very outspoken about wanting to return to the Senators next season.

"The community has embraced us," Hamonic said. "So off the ice it's been a great spot for me and my family. And on the ice, how could anyone not want to be a part of the Senators? They're an exceptional team on the rise."

But nothing changes a player's tune faster than a "one-year, low-dollar pitch." 

Hamonic could still be re-signed, of course, but if he isn't, there's suddenly a full-time NHL opportunity opening up behind Jake Sanderson, Jakob Chychrun, Thomas Chabot, Artem Zub and Erik Brannstrom. 

That would be exciting news for a number of bubble players like (in no particular order) Larsson, newcomer Nikolas Matinpalo, Jacob Bernard-Docker, Lassi Thomson, Tyler Kleven, or Max Guenette.