Assessing cap-strapped Senators' cost-saving options

The signing of Vladimir Tarasenko earlier this week certainly is a boost to an Ottawa Senators attack that had taken a step backward following the trade of Alex DeBrincat earlier this month. But the move also puts them very close to the salary cap with the team still needing to re-sign Shane Pinto and leave wiggle room for in-season movement. They have less than $1M to do so, per CapFriendly, with Pinto’s contract almost certain to cost more than the space they have coming off a 20-goal season.

As a result, GM Pierre Dorion is now faced with trying to clear up money in a market where cap space is hard to come by, and there aren’t many teams that appear to be willing to take money on at this point.

Further complicating things is that the Senators don't exactly have a long list of contracts to realistically move. It’s highly unlikely that they would move any of their core pieces after signing Tarasenko. They already have five other projected roster players that are making under $1M who really aren’t going to move the needle in terms of creating cap room when you consider that they’ll need to add someone else on the roster to fill their spot.

As a result, they have only a handful of players who stand out as potential trade candidates. They all project to be regulars, but it’s plausible their role could be filled either internally by someone cheaper or by pursuing someone still in the free-agent market. Here is an overview of those potential trade options:

Erik Brannstrom – Originally acquired as the headline piece of the Mark Stone trade, the 23-year-old hasn’t exactly been able to live up to the hype. However, Brannstrom has shown slow but steady improvement and is coming off an 18-point season despite seeing his playing time dip by more than four minutes per night. The two sides were able to reach a one-year, $2M deal early in July that basically works as a second bridge contract and buys a little more time.

However, with Thomas Chabot and Jakob Chychrun in the fold, there isn’t really much of an opportunity for the blueliner to move up the depth chart on the left side.  Where he sits now — as a clear third-pairing option — is more or less his ceiling in Ottawa for the foreseeable future. Brannstrom is young enough that he might be appealing to even a rebuilding team, and the Sens could look to back-fill his spot with someone like Tyler Kleven who held his own down the stretch last season. They also may want to open a roster spot for 2019 first-round Lassi Thomson who, although he is a right-shot option, is now waiver-eligible.

Anton Forsberg – With Ottawa adding Joonas Korpisalo on a five-year contract at the beginning of the month, it’s clear that the Sens envision him as the starter of both the present and the foreseeable future. Forsberg, who had a shot at securing that role for himself, is coming off a down season, one that saw him tear his MCLs in both knees, which now has him squarely in the No. 2 role.

With a cap hit of $2.75M, the 30-year-old is right in that mid-tier second-string territory. It’s not that his contract is well above market value or anything, but it’s conceivable that Dorion could look to move Forsberg and bring in a one-year veteran (Jaroslav Halak and Martin Jones are among the remaining unsigned UFAs) at a cheaper rate, using the savings on Pinto in the process. However, it’s an idea that makes sense in theory but is going to be harder to execute as at this point, there aren’t many teams left with an opening between the pipes.

Mathieu Joseph – After being acquired in 2022, Joseph lit up the scoresheet, notching four goals and eight assists in 11 games, helping him earn a four-year deal for his troubles. Unfortunately for both sides, Joseph had fewer goals last season (three) despite suiting up 56 times. That’s not good bang for their buck on a deal that carries a $2.95M cap hit. On the surface, he’s the most logical player to try to move.

That being said, in this marketplace, that’s not going to be a contract that will be easy to move with both the AAV and the term being a concern relative to others still available on the open market. One possible outcome could be the Sens waiving Joseph, and if he clears, they’d free up $1.15M in cap room. They’d need another player to take his place on the roster, however, so the net savings would be $375K or less. Still, that would give them a little more wiggle room to work with.

Dominik Kubalik – Kubalik was part of the DeBrincat trade earlier this month, but with Tarasenko now on the roster, the 27-year-old may find himself in a bottom-six role, one he might not be the best suited for. He’s coming off a nice bounce-back year with Detroit, notching 20 goals and 25 assists in 81 games, but he was quiet after the bye week, picking up just 11 points in 33 contests.

Kubalik has one year left on his contract at $2.5M, which might be movable in this cap environment based on the season he had and the short-term commitment. Again, some of the savings here would have to be offset by a replacement player on the roster, but they could net enough room to re-sign Pinto and carry a 12th forward.

Each of these players has some value, but it has been difficult for teams this summer to both move money and extract fair market value for a player. It’s likely that Dorion will run into the same situation here with these players. With more than two months before next season gets underway, he’ll have some time to try to find the right trade. But if he hasn’t started calling teams about clearing money already, he’ll almost certainly be doing so soon.