NHL Entry Draft Future Draft Watch

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I would consider it at 17 +

This year the Sens have the following picks
1st
3rd (Tarasenko trade)
5th
6th
7th

It would be a slim pickings draft especially of they give up the 1st.

They may try to push the pebble down the road hoping the NHL reconsiders the 1st round pick penalty ..

This is really my only hesitation toward forfeiting this year's pick.
 
Curious, what position would this year's Sens first round need to be for you to consider forfeiting this year's pick instead of next?

From the chatter I've heard, next year's draft is significantly better, so if the Sens were draft anywhere in the 20s I think I might forfeit this year.

Thoughts?
I think if I were the Sens I’d have a group of maybe 4/5 guys who I’d be willing to take, all who are unlikely to be available with where they are picking.

They should be giving up their pick, we don’t want to be going into next season without a 1st, next season the Sens “should” be a team that is making a deadline deal or two where a 1st would be very valuable.

Maybe the added 2nd rounder they got from the Cozens deal makes them feel a bit better making their pick this year.
 
We also only have 1 2nd next year, so I really think that unless we absolutely sink in the last 19 games then we should forfeit this years pick.

We need to retain next years 1st as a trade deadline chip to make a heavy push, or keep it given the supposedly better depth available in next years draft.
 
I think if I were the Sens I’d have a group of maybe 4/5 guys who I’d be willing to take, all who are unlikely to be available with where they are picking.

They should be giving up their pick, we don’t want to be going into next season without a 1st, next season the Sens “should” be a team that is making a deadline deal or two where a 1st would be very valuable.

Maybe the added 2nd rounder they got from the Cozens deal makes them feel a bit better making their pick this year.
Both Jensen & Perron will likely both be gone after next season which frees up $8 mil. While they won't have a 1st rd pick they will have the money to maybe acquire a good young UFA going into his prime who could be available. At that point this team should be in a position to contend & that's usually when contending teams give up 1st rd picks to go for it. Not sure the Sens will be that good, but as the core matures, I expect they should be better next season.

They are ranked in the late teens now in this yr's draft & I expect they will use it. By this time next yr, I expect they should be ranked somewhere in the twenties. Might still get a good pick, but the Buff 2nd they got as you indicated could be ranked higher & closer to the beginning of the second rd. They might be able to make a deal with that pick to get into the first rd or get a guy who turns out better than some guys ranked ahead of him. Lots of things can happen at drafts & with prospects after drafts, it happens every yr. I'm optimistic they will get a good player at this yr's draft & do something either at the 2026 draft or sign a good player in free agency that summer.
 
How fing annoying is it we have to discuss when to just give up a 1st round pick.

The grim legacy of GMPD will haunt us for a while. Cupboards are bare, and we have to potentially wait until the 3rd round to pick.

I hope they go for all boom or bust.
 
Both Jensen & Perron will likely both be gone after next season which frees up $8 mil. While they won't have a 1st rd pick they will have the money to maybe acquire a good young UFA going into his prime who could be available. At that point this team should be in a position to contend & that's usually when contending teams give up 1st rd picks to go for it. Not sure the Sens will be that good, but as the core matures, I expect they should be better next season.

They are ranked in the late teens now in this yr's draft & I expect they will use it. By this time next yr, I expect they should be ranked somewhere in the twenties. Might still get a good pick, but the Buff 2nd they got as you indicated could be ranked higher & closer to the beginning of the second rd. They might be able to make a deal with that pick to get into the first rd or get a guy who turns out better than some guys ranked ahead of him. Lots of things can happen at drafts & with prospects after drafts, it happens every yr. I'm optimistic they will get a good player at this yr's draft & do something either at the 2026 draft or sign a good player in free agency that summer.
Why is Jensen likely to be gone?
 
Why is Jensen likely to be gone?
Age mostly, he's 34 now & will be 35 in Sept & I expect Yak might be NHL ready by the time Jensen's contract is up & take his roster spot. That doesn't mean he takes Jensen's lineup spot, it means he might start on the 3rd pairing we'll see.
 
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60 goals in 64 games, 2 games left in the regular season

Canada did not select Misa for its world junior team.

They usually make some odd choices, but this year was off the charts. It's like they intentionally skipped skill as much as they could.

Tony Tanti is a name I haven't heard in a long time!
 
Both Jensen & Perron will likely both be gone after next season which frees up $8 mil. While they won't have a 1st rd pick they will have the money to maybe acquire a good young UFA going into his prime who could be available. At that point this team should be in a position to contend & that's usually when contending teams give up 1st rd picks to go for it. Not sure the Sens will be that good, but as the core matures, I expect they should be better next season.

They are ranked in the late teens now in this yr's draft & I expect they will use it. By this time next yr, I expect they should be ranked somewhere in the twenties. Might still get a good pick, but the Buff 2nd they got as you indicated could be ranked higher & closer to the beginning of the second rd. They might be able to make a deal with that pick to get into the first rd or get a guy who turns out better than some guys ranked ahead of him. Lots of things can happen at drafts & with prospects after drafts, it happens every yr. I'm optimistic they will get a good player at this yr's draft & do something either at the 2026 draft or sign a good player in free agency that summer.
With the cap increase the UFA market is going to be a free for all. With all the money being thrown around it might be hard to attract players and the numbers to do so might be absurd. I think nothing will be guaranteed for small market teams until things balance and we get a better understanding for the new player values.

This is the year to make a big UFA splash in order to avoid any major UFA needs for the next 2-3 years.
 
Zetterlund was our big free agent splash. Instead of gambling on the free agent market, we acquired a pending restricted free agent whose rights we would still hold for 2 more seasons.

Look at all the free agents we were rumoured to be in on last year before striking out and trading for Jensen. We aren't a prime destination. It's not realistic to expect us to make a splash. Look at out biggest free agent signings the last few years, Tarasenko, Korpisalo, Dadonov, in each case we either had to overpay in dollar or term.

We only have 18.4M of cap space with 14 players signed. We have to pay Giroux and Zetterlund, which will cost us 8M-10M total. People will bring up Zetterlund playing on the fourth line, but he is arbitration eligible so he has leverage to get a decent number on a 1 or 2 year deal if they can't figure things out long-term. Perron probably set the floor for Giroux. The most optimistic situation is probably Giroux at 4.5M and Zetterlund at 1 year 3.5M.

That leaves 8M to 10M to fill 7 roster spots, while also ideally leaving a cushion to bank cap space throughout the season. Let's say they want to bank a 1M-2M cushion, that could leave about 7M for 7 players, which sounds about right with salaries ranging from 800k to 1.XXM.

Staios was upfront during the SSM Q&A that being up against the cap made it difficult to make moves throughout the TDL until the Norris trade freed up a bit of cap. The cap situation he inherited last offseason wasn't by his own making and took the entire season to fix starting with dumping Korpisalo and Joseph, and ending with Norris for Cozens. So I doubt they go right up against the cap again.

Staios also said they expect now to mostly have the same team going forward. Of course, things can change, but it doesn't sound like we're going to be in a position either on paper or philosophically to make a big UFA splash.
 
With the cap increase the UFA market is going to be a free for all. With all the money being thrown around it might be hard to attract players and the numbers to do so might be absurd. I think nothing will be guaranteed for small market teams until things balance and we get a better understanding for the new player values.

This is the year to make a big UFA splash in order to avoid any major UFA needs for the next 2-3 years.
Do we have the resources or cap space to make a big splash? I doubt they are moving Perron, Giroux or Jensen, if fact my expectation is that they allow both Perron & Jensen to end their contracts here since they have two players in the org already as replacements in Zetterlund & Yakemchuk. And if what we hear is correct they will likely re-sign Giroux for another yr or two. it's also possible Halliday is promoted to fill one of the UFA spots. I am more inclined to think it will be the yr after they make a splash in free agency over this summer, although I would like to see them add at least a better 4th line player who can fill a role this team needs for the next few yrs. I don't see Cousins, Forsberg, Hamonic or Highmore returning & their money going towards those who need raises & for those whose contracts are going up for next season.
 
Do we have the resources or cap space to make a big splash? I doubt they are moving Perron, Giroux or Jensen, if fact my expectation is that they allow both Perron & Jensen to end their contracts here since they have two players in the org already as replacements in Zetterlund & Yakemchuk. And if what we hear is correct they will likely re-sign Giroux for another yr or two. it's also possible Halliday is promoted to fill one of the UFA spots. I am more inclined to think it will be the yr after they make a splash in free agency over this summer, although I would like to see them add at least a better 4th line player who can fill a role this team needs for the next few yrs. I don't see Cousins, Forsberg, Hamonic or Highmore returning & their money going towards those who need raises & for those whose contracts are going up for next season.
We have the cap space to sign an impact UFA this offseason. Whether Andlauer spends to next years ceiling is TBD but one would hope considering we are entering our "go for it" window. I don't expect we will spend to the cap in subsequent years as it marches up to $115M as predicted but we may not need to if we find some value this year and get one more piece locked in for 2/3 years. I think the market is going to be very touch and go after next year and teams like ours should set themselves up now so as to not be desperate in 2 years.

Someone like Mangiapanne who can compete for a top 6 spot with Zetterlund and/or cement the third line and push Claude down to the fourth is the type of luxury I would like to see. Or push for a bona fide top 6 in Ehlers or Duchene but that's getting into the arms race which I don't expect we'll do.

Also, I think they run it back with Cousins. He should come cheap again and he has been great for us.
 
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We have the cap space to sign an impact UFA this offseason. Whether Andlauer spends to next years ceiling is TBD but one would hope considering we are entering our "go for it" window. I don't expect we will spend to the cap in subsequent years as it marches up to $115M as predicted but we may not need to if we find some value this year and get one more piece locked in for 2/3 years. I think the market is going to be very touch and go after next year and teams like ours should set themselves up now so as to not be desperate in 2 years.

Someone like Mangiapanne who can compete for a top 6 spot with Zetterlund and/or cement the third line and push Claude down to the fourth is the type of luxury I would like to see. Or push for a bona fide top 6 in Ehlers or Duchene but that's getting into the arms race which I don't expect we'll do.

Also, I think they run it back with Cousins. He should come cheap again and he has been great for us.
I need to eat some crow regarding Cousins. He's had some stupid penalties, but he hasn't been a rat like he was in Florida. I won't be surprised if he prices himself out of Ottawa though. Some team might throw $1.5-2 million at him over a few years which he'll probably take as his chances to cash in on FA lessen.

Mangiapane, Faksa, Fabbri, Iafallo, or Rielly Smith type players could be decent affordable middle 6 options.
 
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