Undervalued UFA Options For The Ottawa Senators This Off-season
Part (2/3): This week, I will be looking at different types of UFA targets for the Ottawa Senators during the 2020 offseason. Much of the focus for the team has rightfully been on the upcoming draft and crop of players likely to be promoted from Belleville. However, there are still many holes on the roster that need to be plugged. In this series, I will be looking at players in three different groups based on the possibility of bringing back former players, experience and those that are possibly undervalued.
(Read about some experienced options by clicking here.)
This week, we’ve already taken a look at some of the experienced options for the Ottawa Senators in the upcoming UFA class of 2020. We’ve established that the current NHL group is moving forward steadily, and the incoming wave of prospects is great. There is still lots of room for improvement that can take the Senators from bottom-feeders to playoff hopefuls.
While the team should have plenty of cap space for next season, it’s important that Pierre Dorion and company spend wisely. The Ottawa Senators will still have very low expectations on-ice next season, so there is still time to continue rolling the dice on a couple of players.
Examples here are going to be similar to the cases of Anthony Duclair, and more recently Jayce Hawryluk. Low-risk pickups that have resulted in the Senators acquiring solid roster players, on cheap contracts.
Click through the sliders at the top to see some examples of low-risk and high-reward UFA players that the Senators should target this summer!
‘Chucky’ is likely to be the most divisive player on this list. There’s absolutely no covering up his horrendous 2019-20 campaign. After starting the year in Pittsburgh, he quickly turned into a liability, especially on the defensive side of the puck. By the end of his time with the Penguins, he was a healthy scratch. After being a cap dump in the Jason Zucker trade, Galchenyuk looked slightly better in Minnesota, but still at replacement level.
The surprise shouldn't be that Alex Galchenyuk is a healthy scratch, but that it took this long. Would look good on an AHL powerplay though. #LetsGoPens pic.twitter.com/AfwqhzDDms
— JFresh (@JFreshHockey) February 6, 2020
So what exactly is the appeal here for the Senators? Well, he’s got a decent track record, with a pair of 50+ point campaigns with the Montreal Canadiens. Galchenyuk also has some decent value on the power-play, and considering the Senators’ struggle with the man advantage last year (31st in the NHL), they could use all the help they can get.
All of Galchenyuk’s issues point to his defense. Perhaps some time with a defensive specialist like D.J. Smith could do him some good. If he can limit the amount of chances against his team when he’s on the ice, he’ll become a much more effective player. There’s a reason why he was once a 3rd overall draft pick.
Not likely to have a lot of takers this summer, Galchenyuk should cost somewhere around the $1m mark. That’s pretty low for a 26-year-old that once looked to be on the verge of stardom. Anthony Duclair was in an extremely similar position before being dumped on the Senators, and if he’s proven anything, taking a gamble on a former high ceiling player is always worthwhile.
Click the ‘NEXT’ slider to see target #2!
Another highly touted player that hasn’t quite lived up to expectation. Jimmy Vesey was the talk of the town in the 2016 off-season. It felt like every team wanted a chance to sign the college superstar from Harvard. The New York Rangers eventually won out, but his stint in the big apple was short-lived. After a season with the Buffalo Sabres, Vesey seems like he’ll never reach the high expectations set that summer, posting just 9 goals and 11 assists in 64 games.
The Sabres look set to allow Jimmy Vesey to walk to the UFA market, but there could be some value here. Vesey is an effective NHLer in the offensive zone. His teams consistently generate and suppress offence at an impressive rate with him on the ice. Only three Sabres forwards were on the ice for more than his 664 chances (shots on goal + blocked shots + missed shots) last season.
Offensively, we’ve likely not yet seen the best of Vesey at the NHL level. This is a player who scored 16, 17 and 16 goals in his first three seasons respectively, before his step back this season. That’s very respectable for a player operating on third line minutes. With some increased chances, the Senators could try and unlock the potential he once showed.
Like Galchenyuk, Vesey struggles a bit in his own zone, but not to the point where he couldn’t be corrected in a strong system, or with better linemates. He’s played on teams with pretty terrible defensive numbers in the past (New York Rangers & Buffalo Sabres), so coming to a Senators team on the rise might be a good fit for all parties.
Vesey made $2.275m last season. After an underwhelming campaign, he should come in under that price. That’s reasonable value for another younger player that would be able to move up and down the lineup, and take some pressure off of the rookies.
Click the ‘NEXT’ slider to see target #3!
Replacing the minutes of a player like Ron Hainsey with someone like Trevor van Riemsdyk would immediately improve the Senators. That’s not to say someone like TVR is a world-beater, but speaks to how replacing an aging defensive liability with a consistently good defender could increase the team’s fortunes.
Van Riemsdyk has had an interesting career. After showing tons of promise in his early days in Chicago, he was a casualty of the team’s salary cap issues, and has had an up and down ride as a Carolina Hurricane. 2017-18 and 2018-19 were both fine years, but when the team opted to bring in Joel Edmundsson and Jake Gardiner in the offseason, it diminished his role. If he hits the open market this year, the Senators should be all over him.
After averaging nearly 20 minutes of ice-time per night as a sophomore, his ice time has decreased each year, to a low of 14:52 this season. He’s really been a victim of playing for strong defensive teams, which have pushed him further down the lineup. TVR is never going to drive a pairing due to his lack of offensive tools, but is a strong complimentary defender.
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TVR’s two most common partners this season were Jake Gardiner and Jaccob Slavin, who both have good offensive and shot suppressing qualities. These pairings all had good shot metrics, with a CF% (corsi for percent) of 57.45% and 51.84% respectively.
With offensively minded defencemen like Thomas Chabot, Mike Reilly and Erik Brannstrom set to be in the Senators lineup next season, perhaps the defensive presence of a player like TVR could have a similar effect on these players.
If the Ottawa Senators are truly determined to bring in a UFA to soak up some heavy defensive minutes, why not seek out an upgrade, as opposed to continuing with the status quo? As long as there are better options better than Mark Borowiecki and Ron Hainsey out there, Pierre Dorion and management should be exploring.
All stats via NaturalStatTrick.
Contract Information via CapFriendly.