- Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun: Senators GM Bryan Murray is working the phones, gauging the interest in his captain Jason Spezza. While there is interest, talks won’t likely get serious until the GM meetings in New York next week. Sources say the top candidates are in the West (Ducks, Blues, Predators and Canucks) as they haven’t really be wanting to entertain from the East (Panthers and Rangers).
“The issue the Senators are facing is they aren’t going to get as good a player back if they deal Jason Spezza,” said a league executive Tuesday.
“You don’t get No. 1 centres just anywhere. Guys who get those kinds of points are hard to come by. They’ll get a No. 1 pick in the draft but that guy isn’t going to help them anytime soon. He’ll be an impact player down the road.”
The Senators may be targeting Nick Bonino in talks with the Ducks, as they tried to get him in Bobby Ryan trade.
“The Senators won’t be getting their best offer until the eve of the draft,” the league executive insisted. “There is no sense of urgency at the moment to get anything done.
“The draft is still three weeks away. This may take until teams actually start making picks for this deal to happen. The Senators have to maximize their return for this player because teams are also looking at free agency on July 1.”
- Bruce Garrioch of hte Ottawa Sun: Contract talks between the Senators and Ales Hemsky have broken off and he’s expected to hit the open market on July 1st. Hemsky was believed to be looking for in excess of $5.5 million a season, and the Senators were not interested in going that high. Source said that Hemsky may be wanting to go to an American market where there is less attention.