In their darkest moments, all Senators fans really wanted was to have a normal NHL franchise.
A team that spends money on free agents, but not recklessly. A team that traded and drafted well assembled a competitive roster and had a chance to win its share of hockey games.
For many years, fans were treated to something very different. They suffered from comments from ownership that the franchise could be moved, embarrassing videos that went viral, the Uber debacle, a Melnyk/Out billboard campaign, and ultimately a humorous approach to mistakes and losses that brought us the dark theme of “Sickos” – – Senators fans loyal to the cause, not because of what the Senators are, but in spite of what they have become.
And now, within two weeks, all of that has turned upside down. The Senators have changed all preconceived notions about how this franchise works.
Pierre Dorion, who was the Clark Kent of general managers, donned a cape and went to work. A bit of Superman-style business, moving the contracts of goaltenders Matt Murray (minus 25 percent) and Colin White while stealing sharpshooter Alex DeBrincat in a deal with Chicago, signing Claude Giroux as a free agent for three years at a price of 6.5 million AAV, adding veteran goaltender Cam Talbot via trade and then locking up their young center Josh Norris on an eight-year deal ($7.95 AAV).
After five years of missing the playoffs, never signing a big free agent, and seeing stars like Mark Stone and Erik Karlsson leave town, this was stunning stuff.
In the big picture, these transactions weren’t so much Herculean as they were moves by a normal, thriving franchise, not one that was handcuffed in the name of a deep rebuild after 2017. That’s the ester-Sens contrast with today’s Sens, which makes it feel like a superhero job.
The Summer of Pierre was a long time coming.
And if management wants to insist that the recent relocations and big spending were “part of the plan,” and they would have been even if the late owner Eugene Melnyk was still alive and running the team instead of daughters Anna and Olivia and a board of directors, this is good.
Regardless, the wave of euphoria that swept through the nation’s capital, Gatineau, and the Ottawa Valley is unmistakable.
The fun, lively and engaging posts on the senators’ social media channels are a breath of fresh air. The box office reported a spike in season tickets (not to mention sales of No. 28 Giroux jerseys and, from fans online, “Hot Pierre Summer” T-shirts. For the first time in many years, people in the region are feeling optimistic about their team, beyond the overburdened expectations placed on their young talent acquired through trade and recruitment during the bottom years.
Now comes the challenge of putting it all together. Looking for chemistry in lines that include newcomers Giroud and DeBrincat at point guard is yet to come.
As Norris noted in a call with reporters on Zoom late last week after signing his long-term contract, the Senators won’t be sneaking up on anyone anymore.
“We’ll be a lot better on paper, that’s for sure,” said Norris, top scorer with 35 goals in 66 games last season. “And with that comes a lot more expectations. I’m not going to get into playoff talk or anything like that, but obviously there’s buzz around it and everything. I guess that comes with the territory when you get better players and your team is stronger.
“We’re going to have to figure things out along the way and grow together as a group,” he said. “It’s so encouraging and refreshing to see some of the pieces we’ve added.”
This is all new territory after the sad days and yet, again, not unusual for good and thriving NHL franchises. It just means the Senators are backing away from the Arizona comparisons.
On the first day of free agency, even after taking on DeBrincat’s contract ($6.4 AAV), the Senators had a projected cap hit of $53 million. Today, that cap hit $70.8 million. Still south of the league’s biggest spenders, but with upcoming contracts for RFAs Mathieu Joseph, Erik Branstrom and Alex Formenton, plus possibly another D-man contract, Ottawa is heading north quickly.
The beauty of the Sens’ spending is that it made all these additions without messing up the structure of the basic contract. Capt. Brady Tkachuk ($8.2M AAV), Thomas Chabot ($8M), Norris ($7.95M) and Drake Batterson ($4.975) are tied for the long term in an orderly, sane hierarchical fashion below the captain. The bottom line — $29 million for four key young pieces (with center Tim Stützle to be added next year).
Compare that to the Toronto Maple Leafs with $33.5 million tied to three players – Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner and John Tavares. Matthews can become an unrestricted free agent in 2024. Tavares is 31 and clearly on the decline.
It’s easy to see how the window for Ottawa to be a contending team in the Atlantic Division is open wider, longer than that of its provincial rival.
There will be financial challenges along the way. What will the Stützle get? DeBrincat should receive a $9 million qualifying offer after this upcoming season. Will Ottawa re-sign the scoring winger – just 24 – or get something for him before he becomes a UFA in 2024? There is plenty of time to fix this.
In the meantime, Senators fans will enjoy this glorious summer that saw their team come to light. They are proud of what their precious Sens have been able to do in the offseason and can’t wait to see how it shapes up on the ice.
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