Anton Volchenkov will be a UFA this summer and with Ottawa looking like they will be heading into a re-building phase, his days in the nations capital might be numbered.
According to TSN…. “Anton Volchenkov, Andy Sutton and Matt Cullen are scheduled to become unrestricted free agents on July 1.
The Ottawa Senators would love to keep all three, but sources say that possibility only exists if all three are willing to leave money on the table to stay.
In Volchenkov’s case, NHL general managers are waiting for free agency with tongues wagging.
The 28-year old shutdown defenseman is regarded as one of the toughest men in the league. Volchenkov consistently plays a remarkably hard and very clean game – earning just 38 penalty minutes during the regular season.
A shot-blocking machine, Volchenkov has recorded 1023 blocked shots in the regular season since the NHL starting keeping track of the statistic in 2005-2006. That’s 124 more than his closest rival, Brett Clark of Colorado.” (Source:TSN)
The loss of Volchenkov would be huge for the Sens but this is the reality of the new NHL. All the pieces need to fit together at just the right moment in time, and that time has passed for the likes of Daniel Alfredsson and company.