On the Ottawa Senators …
Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Citizen: Ottawa Senators GM Pierre Dorion would like to add another forward before trade deadline. Dorion has been working the phones hard this in the last month looking to bring in some added depth.
The Senators put a waiver claim on Matt Nieto, but the Colorado Avalanche had a better waiver priority.
Basically only the Arizona Coyotes, New York Islanders and Avalanche are sellers.
The Coyotes have pending free agent Martin Hanzal, but they want a player that can immediately help out in return.
“It’s tough to make a trade right now,” a league executive said on the weekend. “Teams do a lot of talking but they don’t want to do anything or they find a reason not to do it.”
Ken Warren of the Ottawa Citizen: Senators forward Zack Smith is a pending free agent who has been playing on a line with Derick Brassard and Mark Stone. The Sens and Smith have started contract extension talks.
“We’ve have some preliminary talks,” Smith said following Tuesday’s practice, in preparation for Thursday’s game against the Pittsburgh Penguins. “I don’t think we’re in a rush and I feel like both sides want to get something done. I want to be play here and I think (management) wants me to be here, too, but it’s the agent who talks about money.”
Smith is in the final year of his four-year, $7.55 million deal. His salary this year is $2.3 million, with a cap hit of $1,887,500.
His scoring is up this season, and he could get $4 million a year.
“There’s no secret that a lot of contracts, or pretty much all contracts, mostly depend on numbers, and not as much on the intangibles, sometimes,” he said.
“In that way, it’s nice to be able to prove I’m able to play in different situations and circumstances on the team and not just be pigeon-holed.”
