On the Ottawa Senators …
Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun: Sources say that Senators GM Pierre Dorion is trying to trade defenseman Dion Phaneuf now that he wouldn’t waive his no-movement clause for the expansion draft.
The Senators would like to protect Erik Karlsson, Cody Ceci and Marc Methot.
Phaneuf submitted a new list of 12 teams yesterday.
Sources saying teams that are looking for a defenseman and may have some interest in Phaneuf include the Arizona Coyotes, New Jersey Devils, Tampa Bay Lightning, Colorado Avalanche, Calgary Flames, Edmonton Oilers, Buffalo Sabres and San Jose Sharks.
“We’re in a situation where we felt that this could happen,” Dorion told reporters Thursday at the Canadian Tire Centre. “Is it trade? That’s a possibility but trades are way easier to talk about than to do.
“At the end of the day, Las Vegas is paying a lot of money to come into this league and to be part of this great product that we put on the ice. They’re going to get someone from our team and from Day 1 we’ve been ready to accept that.”
Ian Mendes of TSN: If the Senators were to go the 4-4-1 route instead of 7-3-1, they may have lost someone like Derick Brassard, Jean-Gabriel Pageau or Zack Smith.
Dorion was on TSN 1200 and said that he’s getting calls on Phaneuf, Methot and Ceci.
“Guys are calling on all three,” Dorion told TSN 1200 hosts Steve Lloyd and Todd White. “But that doesn’t mean any one of the three will get traded.”
Dorion doesn’t feel he has to make a make a trade before the expansion draft.
“I’m not saying we’re going to stay status quo, but if we don’t do anything, I feel more than comfortable with this team,” added Dorion. “We’ve got a lot depth – especially on defence. Defence is the last thing I’m worried about. I’m not worried about defence and I’m not worried about goaltending.”