All Scenarios are on the Table for Senators’ GM Pierre Dorion

With only four weeks remaining until all 32 NHL clubs get together for the annual Entry Draft, it’s no secret general manager Pierre Dorion is seeking to bolster his team’s roster this offseason. On more than one occasion Dorion has intimated a desire to add a high-end forward in addition to a top-four pairing defenseman.

Players such as this are tough to come by in trade without giving up value in return. However, the one thing the Senators have in their arsenal is plenty of collateral. The team currently possesses 11 picks for the upcoming July 7-8 Draft, including the seventh overall selection, plus two picks in each of the second and third rounds.

But to acquire a coveted player, Dorion will also have to dip into his cupboard of prospects and then some to get Senators’ fans what they desire.

It wouldn’t be a shock to hear names such as d-men Jacob Bernard-Docker, Lassi Thomson, forwards Ridley Grieg, and Egor Sokolov being tossed around in conversation.

It’ll certainly be interesting what route the Senators take heading into the Draft.

Dorion and his hockey ops staff have a few options to discuss in the coming days. Does the GM swap their seventh overall pick for a forward, a blue-liner or choose to keep the selection for themselves?

There’s no real wrong decision.

Full Press Hockey Draft guru and frequent contributor to Sirius XM Hockey Prospects Show, Russ Cohen explains the Senators’ dilemma.

“The Ottawa Senators have had a lot of top picks. If they’re able to acquire a difference-maker with some term. I could see them trading the pick. The way this happens is if a player of high value is still on the board and wasn’t expected to be,” noted Cohen.

Conversely, keeping the pick could net the club a skilled goal scorer in forward, Joakim Kemell. Kemell turned 18 only in April and still finished tied for third in goals for JYP – netting 15 goals in 39 games, playing in the Finnish Liiga.

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From Cohen’s latest Mock Draft

“I admit Kemell may not be here, but there is a scenario where he could be, and if he was the Sens would jump at him. They have a need in the organization on the right side with an elite wrist shot and precision passing.”

Cohen feels there’s a chance highly-touted Swedish winger Jonathan Lekkerimaki or Winnipeg Ice forward Matthew Savoie may also be available if the Senators choose to follow this route.

On 17-year-old Djurgardens junior Lekkerimaki – “This offensively gifted player had five goals and 15 points in the U18s. He was the top scorer and got a gold medal. He has a quick trigger when passing, and a deadly wrist shot on the power play. A future second-line fit.”

At five-nine, 175 pounds, Savoie could fall, but his 90 points (35 goals, 55 assists) in 65 games as a Western League rookie can’t be ignored.

Senators Chief Amateur Scout Trent Mann also discussed the Draft and the club’s multiple options in a TSN1200 interview Wednesday morning.

“On the top end of the Draft – at this point – in every Draft there’s always a player or two who’s going to be something that – you know what? I didn’t see that. I have no problem being the first to admit that. But right now there doesn’t appear there’s a superstar quality kid. There’s no Crosby’s, no McDavid’s or Matthews’ at this point in time,” said Mann.

“It kind of starts from there, if you’re being picking below there. Where this year, it’s a little bit more wide open right off the hop, so I think it can go in a lot of different directions. Those teams that pick based on need – if they decide to pick a defenseman earlier than you would – a certain type of forward they might pick a little earlier – you have to be ready for all those scenarios for sure.”

“I know (New Jersey Devils GM) Tom Fitzgerald has been open in the media, number two (selection) is up for discussions. And Pierre has been very open too. He’s willing to do whatever he needs to do to help us this year to take another step. I’ll leave that to those guys to figure out, of course. But we’ll be ready for whatever the scenarios are because once they start picking, there’s going to be a good player at seven, that’s for sure. Maybe there’s a player we can loop back a couple of spots if we feel there’s not a big difference if Pierre makes a deal to help us now. There are all kinds of scenarios. and I’ll let Pierre do the job on that one.”

There are several players rumoured to be on the trade block.

Minnesota Wild pending restricted free agent forward Kevin Fiala leads the way. The 25-year-old is fresh off a career-high 85 points (33 goals, 52 assists) in 82 games, and is seeking to a substantial raise from his $5.1 million salary of last season.

The Wild have a cap crunch, and GM Bill Guerin admitted at his season-end presser, that the likelihood of moving a core player is strong.

With one year remaining on his contract prior to hitting unrestricted free agency, right-shot d-man Matthew Dumba is also a Wild trade candidate.

Winnipeg Jets centre Pierre-Luc Dubois reportedly hasn’t opened negotiations with his team on a new deal. The 23-year-old pending RFA recently played the left side on a line with Senators’ Drake Batherson at the IIHF World Championships, earning team MVP honours.

Other players that will garner interest over the next month include forwards Anthony Beauvillier (Islanders), Brock Boeser (Canucks), Alex deBrincat (Blackhawks), Dillon Dube (Flames), Anthony Duclair (Panthers), Andrew Mangiapane (Flames), Jonathan Marchessault (Golden Knights), Jesse Puljujarvi (Oilers), Dylan Strome (Blackhawks).

On the back end, Coyotes Jakob Chychrun‘s name has been out there since mid-season. Canes Ethan Bear, Lightning Erik Cernak, Penguins Brian Dumoulin, and Kraken Carson Soucy may also be available.

With the accumulation of assets over the past few campaigns, Dorion has positioned the Senators in a prime position to take full advantage of teams with little or no cap space.

Then there’s always free agency, but selling the concept of a club being playoff competitive in one more year or two may be a hard sell.

Of course, Senators’ fanatics want nothing more than their local team to ink pending UFA forward Claude Giroux to a deal. It’s definitely something to keep an eye on, though the 34-year-old Ottawa area resident may wish to chase a Cup towards the end of his career rather than settle to skate at home.

Pending UFA’s of possible interest to the Senators include Avalanche forwards Andre Burakovsky, Valeri Nichushkin, Penguins Kasperi Kapanen, Igor Mikheyev (Maple Leafs), Ondrej Palat (Lightning). Defensemen Calvin de Haan (Blackhawks), Ilya Lyabushkin (Maple Leafs), Josh Manson (Avalanche), and Colin Miller (Sabres).

While we won’t know until approximately 7-8 pm July 7 which path Dorion and the Senators take, it’s fun to speculate along the way.