Arbitration numbers for Ottawa Senators and Connor Brown
Bruce Garrioch: The Ottawa Senators have offered $2.25 million on one-year in arbitration for Connor Brown, who asked for $4.8 million.
Bruce Garrioch: “As I noted in my piece, the #Sens can walk away at $4,538,938 and this is where Brown’s camp has to be careful. If gets an award of $4.6M-to-$4.8M the #Sens could easily walk away and have him test UFA in what’s suddenly become a very difficult market after initial signings.”
- Puck Pedia: “New this year, if he’s awarded an amount that the Sens walk away from, he and the Sens can subsequently decide to accept the Sens original Arb offer.”
Pierre LeBrun: Kevin LaBanc’s recent deal with the San Jose Sharks for four years and a $4.725 million AAV would be a decent comparable. A four-year deal at $4.35 million AAV wouldn’t be a crazy deal.
Wayne Scanlan: “Still time to get something done through negotiation. On the current roster, Brown is an important player, but getting saddled to a big contract longer term would be a mistake. The Sens need to accommodate a lot of key contracts down the road.”
Erik Haula still drawing plenty of interest
Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic: The center free market was a little thin this year, but Erik Haula remains unsigned and there is plenty of interest.
“We’re sorting through conversations that we’ve had with numerous teams,’’ Haula’s veteran agent Jay Grossman told me Monday. “Really we’ve probably talked to 10-12 teams that have had legitimate interest. We’re just sorting through those options.’’
The level of interest of those teams is not known, and some could be looking for a bargain.
A return to the Vegas Golden Knights would make sense, but they lack the salary cap room. Term would be another question. Does Haula go the one-year out and test free agency again next offseason?