Dorion and Duchene’s agent hold preliminary talks
TSN: Bob McKenzie said on Insider Trading that Matt Duchene’s agent Pat Brisson and Ottawa Senators GM Pierre Dorian met up in Toronto yesterday.
“The obvious point of discussion there was preliminary talks about Matt Duchene’s future, he’s an unrestricted free agent at the end of the year and he’s eligible for an extension at any time now unlike Mark Stone who can’t get one until January 1. Lines of communication are open, nothing more than that at this point.”
Stone more rooted in the community than Duchene is
Chris Nichols of Nichols on Hockey: Bob McKenzie was on TSN 690 radio this morning and noted that it is still early when asked if he thinks that Senators would be able to re-sign Matt Duchene.
“I think a lot of it will depend on how things go. If I’m Matt Duchene and Mark Stone, I may or may not be predisposed to return to the team. But what I would suggest is if the thing’s as bad a tire fire as everybody anticipates it’s going to be, well then you’re certainly in a position where you’re like, ‘I don’t know if I have any sane reason to sign up for many more years of this,’ especially for a guy like Duchene, who’s not a born and bred Ottawa Senator like Mark Stone was, and got himself into a situation in Colorado where he felt like the organization wasn’t going anywhere and wanted out, only to get out and find out that he might be in as bad or worse a situation with Ottawa.”
McKenzie continues that the Senators are off to a good start, but adds that it’s really early in the season. Duchene doesn’t really have any ties to the community, like Stone who has been rooted in the city for a while.