TSN Insider Trading: Pierre LeBrun: The Ottawa Senators will have a decision to make regarding their 2018 first-round pick. The NHL draft lottery is next month. Many have been thinking the Senators will retain their pick this year and give the Colorado Avalanche their pick for the 2019 draft.
“a lot of people assume, well, if it’s going to be a top-10 pick, which it will because the Senators currently have the third-worst record in the National Hockey League, the Senators will go ahead and use that pick this year and give Colorado the pick in 2019.
Not so fast. What if the lottery ball puts them at seven or eight, nine, 10?
I think the decision gets a little more interesting because, again, next year’s pick is not lottery protected. Are you giving away, potentially, the Jack Hughes, number one overall, pick if in your rebuild, which the Senators have announced they’re rebuilding, you’d have another season that’s a struggle next year.
So, there’s a couple factors here like Erik Karlsson. If you sign him and he’s a part of the team moving forward and then maybe your bounce back is better and you’re not worried about a lottery pick next year, but if you’re trading Erik Karlsson this off-season, then this is obviously a massive rebuild and maybe you have to protect next year’s pick.”
Some GMs have said that if the picks were in the seven to nine range, they’d consider sending to Colorado this year and hold on to next year’s pick.
Darren Dreger: Seattle hasn’t been awarded a franchise yet, but there are some names already out there as potential GMs. It seems unlikely that Ken Holland would leave the Red Wings for Seattle, but he currently doesn’t have a contract beyond this season. Vegas Golden Knights Kelly McCrimmon is another name, and he has experience with the whole expansion process. Agent Pat Brisson could be a long-shot option.
Pierre LeBrun: The Golden Knights approached William Karlsson’s camp in late January about a potential contract extension. Karlsson’s camp told them that they wanted to wait until after the season.