Ottawa Senators: Re-sign Anthony Duclair and increase his role

The Ottawa Senators have a number of impending free agents to make decisions on, but there is one that should be fairly straightforward.

Anthony Duclair joined the Ottawa Senators on trade deadline day, arriving as part of the deal that saw Ryan Dzingel move to the Columbus Blue Jackets.

The trade saw the Laval, Quebec native join his fifth NHL team in just as many seasons – with persistent concerns regarding his work ethic following him throughout his career.

In Ottawa, however, Duclair looked to be taking his fresh start seriously – earning eight goals and 14 total points in 21 regular season games.

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His brief stint in the Canadian capital helped see him earn 19 goals on the season, the second-highest single season tally of his career to date.

Duclair has been used sparingly since arriving in Ottawa, averaging just 13:41 on the ice – though this was an increase over his 12:19 average with the Blue Jackets.

While still sporting a fairly low Corsi rating (47.4%), Duclair managed to maintain this despite playing far less in the offensive zone than in Columbus.

Duclair had a 47.5% Corsi rating while starting in the offensive zone a whopping 64.% of the time in Ohio while managing an identical rate while starting there just 50.9% of the time in Ottawa.

The 23-year-old winger also managed to improve both his goalscoring average and overall shooting percentage since the trade.

In Columbus, Duclair was averaging 0.21 goals per game with a shooting percentage of 12% – seeing this increase to 0.38 goals per game and a shooting percentage of an astonishing 20% with the Senators.

As a restricted free agent that cost just $650,000 this past season, it is unlikely that Duclair could command much in his next contract.

The Ottawa Senators should look to sign Duclair for at least another two seasons, giving him the opportunity to prove his worth to the organisation while also seeing the team retain a player that has the potential to score 20 goals for a relatively low cost.

The Senators should also look to increase Duclair’s role on the team next season, further giving him an opportunity to contribute and earn himself a bigger payday down the road.

The 2019/20 season is likely to be one of very low expectations for the Ottawa Senators, with the prospect of securing the likes of Alexis Lafrenière via the draft sure to be on the mind of general manager Pierre Dorion.

With very little to play for next season, giving Duclair a slightly increased role can do much to help the team’s rebuild.

It would give the Ottawa Senators time and a decent sample size with which to judge Duclair’s long-term value.

What do you think Sens fans? What sort of deal should the team re-sign Duclair to? Would you be happy seeing him given more ice time next season? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!