Mark Fraser has been released from his tryout deal with the Toronto Maple Leafs and is expected to sign a one-year, two-way contract with the Ottawa Senators worth $800,000 at the NHL level, according to the Ottawa Sun’s Bruce Garrioch.
Fraser, as TSN’s Travis Yost highlighted on Twitter, hasn’t been an All-Star in recent seasons. Playing for four teams over the last three years, he garnered a cumulative -1.68% score-adjusted CF%Rel, while contributing very little offense.
He’s added a single goal and 13 assists through 121 NHL games in the last three seasons, with just six of those points coming in play over the last two seasons.
Mark Fraser's only defender I can find last three years to rank bottom 10% in:
Penalty differential;
Point/60;
ScoringChance%; and
Corsi%— Travis Yost (@travisyost) September 28, 2015
Ottawa may just be looking for added insurance on the blue line with a reasonable price tag (the two-way nature accomplishes the latter), with some questions lingering about their third pairing through camp. A lot hinges on Jared Cowen coming into the season better than he was last year and they may be hedging on that bet a bit, even if the insurance may not be a long-term solution to the problem.
