Former Ottawa Senators UFAs Available This Off-season
Part (3/3): This week, I’ve been 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’ve been looking at players grouped together based on experience, those that are possibly undervalued. Today I will be looking at former Senators who have recently left the team.
Read about some experienced options by clicking here.
Read about some undervalued options by clicking here.
Pierre Dorion has been extremely hit or miss in terms of free agency, during his time as the Ottawa Senators general manager. Throughout his few years at the helm, Ottawa has never sought after a big fish on the market. Instead, the team has had a revolving cast of bottom-six forwards, and depth defencemen. When the team begins to enter its period of “unparalleled success,” ensuring that this lower-valued portion of the team is as impactful as possible, is important.
That’s largely been the point of this week’s UFA series; exploring new faces and options that the Senators can pursue. While sometimes the unknown and new options are appealing, it might be best for the organization to explore some players they’re familiar with. On that note, today’s edition will be a bit different. I’m going to be looking at some former Senators, brought in under Pierre Dorion, who are set to be on the open market this summer.
The one rule is that the players discussed must have finished their 2019-20 season with a team other than the Senators. This excludes Ron Hainsey, Mark Borowieck and Craig Anderson among others.
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!
Come on, who didn’t love this guy? Both on and off the ice, Dylan DeMelo was exactly what Senators fans needed to bridge them through two years of tanking. He is also the type of player the Senators badly need.
Pierre Dorion totally had the right to trade DeMelo to Winnipeg, prior to this year’s trade deadline. As the boss of a rebuilding team, it is his job to recoup as many prospects and picks as possible for your expiring assets. The 3rd round pick the team got back for him is fine. In terms of his actual on-ice value though, it’s never going to match.
Demelo was the ideal partner for Thomas Chabot. When they played together, he was the stable defensive force that a high-flying offensive superstar like Chabot needs. The two played over 1000 minutes together after DeMelo arrived in the Erik Karlsson trade, and were sensational.
There have been 17 Senators defence pairings that have played over 100 minutes together since the start of the 2018-19 season. They controlled the expected goals share better than any other of these pairings, with a 52.36 xGF%. In terms of pure chances created, using their Corsi for percent, they ranked 2nd out of the 17, with a 49.33CF%. (Stats via NaturalStatTrick)
When D.J Smith came in as head coach, the two saw far less ice time together, as the coach preferred to pair Chabot with Ron Hainsey or Nikita Zaitsev. DeMelo, therefore played most of his minutes in 2019-20 with Mark Borowiecki. Coincidentally, Borowiecki had a career year offensively, posting 7 goals and 11 assists. He gained the confidence to jump into plays, knowing he had a steady defensive partner in DeMelo.
The point of evaluating these pairings is to see what an effective complementary player DeMelo is. He has the capability to make those around him better and is the type of player every team needs. With just 10 assists in 59 games played this year, he’s never going to be a star attraction but is certainly one the Ottawa Senators have let get away. He’s a far better, and cheaper option than someone like Nikita Zaitsev.
This signing his probably the smallest likelihood out of any in today’s piece. The Senators have plenty of defence prospects, and Artyom Zub is essentially guaranteed a lineup spot come the 2020-21 season. If the Senators do decide to cut bait with some of their current ineffective options though, bringing back Dylan DeMelo should be something Pierre Dorion at least explores. This content thread below should tell you all you need to know:
The Dylan DeMelo content thread... pic.twitter.com/ICeX5s9LRt
— Craig Medaglia (@craigmedaglia) February 18, 2020
Click the ‘NEXT’ slider to see target #2!
Out of all free agent signings that Pierre Dorion has overseen, Tyler Ennis has to be the best of the bunch. He was solid at both ends of the ice, and one of the few bright spots on an abysmal powerplay unit.
Ennis tallied 33 points in his 61 games with the Senators this season. Great value for a player who was making less than a million dollars. Pierre Dorion was able to turn his risk free signing into a third round pick, by trading him to the Edmonton Oilers at the trade deadline.
Tyler Ennis, acquired by EDM, is a very productive offensive middle-six forward with a good shot. He's had a really nice season in Ottawa. #LetsGoOilers pic.twitter.com/fmhTA1YIq2
— JFresh (@JFreshHockey) February 24, 2020
The Alberta native has done a fine job of rebuilding his career and really seemed to fit in well with this Senators team. At 30 years old, Ennis probably has a couple of good years left in him. In terms of the low salary he’ll command, it would be wise of Pierre Dorion to bring him back into the fold. His blend of experience and positive on-ice impact is a win-win for the Senators.
Surprisingly, Ennis scored the most powerplay goals (5) and points (10) out of all Senators forwards in 2019-20. Considering how poor the powerplay was overall, bringing back a player who is familiar with the system and many of the current players, makes the entire thing pretty low-risk.
With the team expected to promote many young forwards next season, Ennis will likely be restricted to the bottom-six. Scoring at the same rate as this season is unlikely in that situation, but having the option to move a player like Ennis up and down the lineup should be appealing. Out of all former players, bringing back this one seems like the biggest no-brainer.
Click the ‘NEXT’ slider to see target #3!
A cheap pick-up for Pierre Dorion during the early days of the 2019-20 season, Vlad Namestnikov proved to be a handy player. Like many Senators wingers this season, he saw ice-time in many different situations, and with a rotating cast of linemates.
Vladislav Namestnikov (to Colorado for a 4th) provides a fair bit of good 5v5 defence. pic.twitter.com/fRNbewbS3s
— Micah Blake McCurdy (@IneffectiveMath) February 24, 2020
Namestnikov provides a lot of defensive value at even strength and was one of the better Senators forwards in the regard during the season. He’s shown a scoring touch when playing with a solid cast of linemates, with a couple of decent seasons under his belt in Tampa Bay and New York.
Next. Ottawa Senators: An Early Look At Centre. dark
At 27 years old, Namestnikov likely will never drive offence at 5v5, or be more than a 30 point player. However, adding some decent options available to play in the bottom-six next season should be on Pierre Dorion’s off-season checklist.
The priority for the coaching staff next season should be to give the team’s young stars as much experience as possible in the top half of the line-up, and big situations. A player like Namestnikov would be handy to have in that regard, as someone who the coaching staff already trusts, and can use to give young players a rest.
As long as he’s available, and the Ottawa Senators know what he’s capable of, they should at least gauge his interest in returning. Worst comes to worst, the Senators could always bring him back and flip him again at the deadline. No risk here.