Sportsnet: Elliotte Friedman on the Jeff Marek Show with Matt Marchese talking about if there’s a long-term future for Shane Pinto with the Ottawa Senators.
** NHLRumors.com transcription
Marchese: “If there was ever a guy that needed to really play well here coming, back from a suspension and this is a long one as we know the gambling suspension was half the season, it’s probably him. Like there’s a, it feels like there’s a big spotlight on Shane Pinto. Whether deservingly or not, I mean, the suspension is what it is. The precedent has been set.
But I’m really curious to see how, you know, Shane Pinto approaches this situation and his agent because it almost feels like with a 41-game runway, he might be better off just to sign a one-year deal after this is done if he plays decently enough. Because it, that’s a long time to miss hockey, and then try and get back into full swing when you’re trying to play for a contract.
Friedman: “Well, I think this, I think there’s the Senators and Shane Pinto have been talking about other deals. I always believe the one-year deal with the league minimum or his qualifying offer, whatever that was supposed to be, was going to happen this year simply because you know, Ottawa the other issue they’ve always had with Pinto trying to sign him even before the gambling stuff really became known, was that, was that they didn’t have cap room. And that was always a problem and that really hasn’t changed.
So I’m not surprised they went down this road. The one thing I have heard that has not been confirmed by either side, is that they have been working on a long-term deal. And I believe that Ottawa and Pinto have been discussing years, have been discussing long-term deals. And because it’s after January 1, any player who signs a one-year contract can now sign an extension. So Pinto, in theory, could sign an expansion anytime and I do believe that is a goal.
Like to me the biggest challenge was and I’m doing this off the top of my head after a banquet, so excuse me if my numbers are a little bit off, but I believe Pinto’s got four more years of restricted free agency. So if you’re going longer than that, you’re going into UFA terms, and then you have to adjust the numbers.
So I think that’s the question. like, are we looking at a short-term deal, a bridge or are we looking at something that takes him, cause five years would take him into his UFA.
So I thin, but I do think there’s a will there to get this time. Like I’ve heard the two sides have been legitimately working hard at it. So we know, the thing about Pinto you’re right, he owes them in some ways, and if you’ve heard his press conference last week when he first met with the media, that’s one thing he said. He basically said, like I know I made a big mistake here and I have to make up for this. And I expect him to come back and play hard.
I’ll tell you something else I heard Matty was, there was a time, I want to say was around Christmas where I heard that maybe Ottawa was thinking of moving on from Pinto. I don’t, I looked into that. I heard multiple places that that was a no. That they still consider Pinto, a very big part of their team. And centers are hard to find, like they’re really hard to find.
And I think they’re really hoping that he plays hard and he comes back and, and gives them a jolt. And I still do think as you stand here today as they consider him a big part of their future.”
