General manager Steve Staios has done a good job improving the Ottawa Senators this offseason, and with just shy of $2 million in cap space, they will want to keep some flexibility so they don’t run into mid-season cap and roster management issues. With that being said, they do have the space to sign one player to a sub-$1 million contract, and they could look to give out some professional tryouts (PTOs) to let a player earn a contract. Here are three players who could be on the Senators’ radar for PTOs.
Kevin Shattenkirk
There is a bit of uncertainty with the right side of the third pair. With Travis Hamonic’s no-move clause, he is a lock to be on the roster, but the Senators would ideally like to have a better player in the lineup than him. Jacob Bernard-Docker is the one to fill the role now, and while he was a fine player last season, they could afford an upgrade on him too. It was reported that Bernard-Docker was being shopped, but wasn’t traded, so they could have their eye on that position as a need for improvement.
Kevin Shattenkirk was a strong depth defenseman for the Boston Bruins last season, and with his veteran presence, he could be a great asset alongside Tyler Kleven on the third pair. He brings all of the things that make Hamonic valued in terms of the experience in the league and the leadership, but at this point in their careers, Shattenkirk is more serviceable. If the Senators could sign him to a cheap deal and have him as an option, they would be in a much better position than they are currently in.
Shattenkirk isn’t a needle-mover at this point, but he can block a lot of shots and play with a bit of physicality, his defensive play has been solid, and he can still contribute offensively as he scored 24 points in 61 games last season.
Ryan Carpenter
After a 62-game season with the San Jose Sharks with some time missed due to injury, Ryan Carpenter played some good hockey for the club. He isn’t a forward with much offensive upside, with a career-high of 18 points, but he can be a physical, defensively responsible fourth-line player for the Senators. As it stands today, the fourth line in Ottawa consists of Zack Ostapchuk, Zack MacEwen, and Noah Gregor. Carpenter would certainly be in the mix with those players, and likely bump at least one of them out if he were under contract with the team.
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He has spent time as a center and winger in the league, and with Ostapchuk being a young rookie and MacEwen being a fighting specialist, having someone who has proven to be a good defensive center could be enticing for the Senators. If they were to bring him in on a PTO, he would challenge for one of those spots and at the very least, create some internal competition.
Sam Gagner
While he may not be an NHL regular on the Senators, having a player like Sam Gagner would be a great rotational option for the club. He is a great veteran who has done a bit of everything in the league and has been around long enough that he knows how things work. With only 11 playoff games in his 1043-game career, he could look to sign with a team with a better chance at a Stanley Cup, but if he joined the Senators on a PTO, he could add value to the roster in training camp.
Gagner is a great two-way player to have in the bottom-six. He is a high-energy player, and while he doesn’t play the role of a depth scorer or a shut-down forward, he does a bit of both and brings a reliable game. With 10 points in 28 games last season, Gagner showed that he still has some left to give. The Edmonton Oilers had a deep team, and Gagner fell out of favor with them, but for a lot of the same reasons as Carpenter, if the Senators could sign him to a cheap deal, the competition would be much stronger in the bottom-six.
Senators Aren’t Afraid of PTOs
Now, this is the first offseason with Staios running things, but over the past few seasons, the Senators have given PTOs to players like Tyler Ennis, Derrick Brassard, Michael Dal Colle, and Josh Bailey. Two of these turned out well, while the other two didn’t earn a contract. Brassard and Ennis both had good stints in Ottawa after their PTO, and they could look to replicate something like that this season.
