On Brandon Pirri …
Larry Brooks of the NY Post: Brandon Pirri didn’t get a qualifying offer from the Rangers and not a lot of NHL interest. He’s expected to join ZSC and former Rangers team Kevin Klein in the Swiss league.
He could play in Europe this season and then join an NHL team when their season is done.
Elliotte Friedman: Looked into the Pirri reports yesterday and it looks like he still plans on staying in North America.
On the Ottawa Senators …
Bruce Garrioch: Senators GM Pierre Dorion said that he is still working on a deal for RFA forward Ryan Dzingel.
Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Citizen: The Senators are hoping to avoid salary arbitration with Dzingel. Dorion spoke with Dzingel’s agent Don Meehan yesterday but it appears the sides are not close on a deal.
“We’re still in negotiations. We talked this morning,” Dorion said during an afternoon teleconference. “While we’d like to avoid arbitration and Don Meehan would like to avoid arbitration to, but, at the same time, we understand it’s a process and, if we can’t come to an agreement, we’ll just go to arbitration Friday at 9 a.m.”
Dzingel is the last of the Senators RFAs. Once Dzingel is signed or goes through arbitration, Dorion won’t stop working and will continue to look for ways to improve the team.
“You’re never done,” Dorion said. “Is this the the last thing we’ll do all summer? I don’t want to tell you yes because you never know. As recently as this morning, I was talking to another GM about a possible trade and there’s always that avenue.
“There’s always guys looking for a jobs. There’s always the possibility of bringing guys to camp on (pro tryouts). We feel that we have depth right now, especially with good young prospects that can step in right away. Right now, we feel we’re headed in the right direction with the group of guys we have, but shopping is never done.”
