Joey Daccord could be attractive as a minor-league goaltending option for the Kraken.
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This time around, the situation is almost exactly reversed. The Senators are coming off another poor season but they seem to finally be back on the rise. Their rebuilding roster is full of exempt talent, and those top performers who are eligible can largely all be protected. One way or another, Ottawa will likely lose a young player, but the Senators have youth to spare and will be giving up potential rather than concrete value.
Forwards:
The first decision that the Senators need to make is whether or not this roster, as currently constituted, is worth using all of their protection slots. Ottawa arguably has multiple protection slots at both forward and defense that could go to superior players, if only the Senators went out and acquired them. While most NHL clubs are struggling to protect all of their valuable assets, the Senators have room to spare with so much of their young roster exempt from protection. Ottawa has the opportunity to acquire players who would be exposed on other teams at discount prices ahead of the Expansion Draft, as it is one of the few teams with both the ability to protect them and the picks and prospects to acquire them. If they choose, the Senators could use the impending threat of expansion to step out of their rebuild and back into competitive status by adding veterans from a desperate market.
For this exercise, assume they don’t add anyone else; those questions still exist internally. Ottawa went out and re-acquired Dzingel even though he was on an expiring contract, and the Senators were not in playoff contention this season. To this point, the two sides have not agreed on an extension, and there has been no word of one either. However, it is to the Senators' benefit to have some veterans in the locker room and Dzingel’s best seasons were earlier in his career in Ottawa. Rather than let the Kraken negotiate with him before the Expansion Draft, the Senators need to decide if they want to re-sign him and if so should do so before another team can enter the fray.
Again, assuming Dzingel remains a UFA, he is unlikely to be protected, especially if talks on a new contract have not gone far. Forward still remains the major area of decision-making for the Senators, as there are many eligible names and plenty of untapped potential. The likely locks include top young scorers Tkachuk and Batherson and veteran Connor Brown. Hard-working fan favorite Paul is also likely to be protected.
Beyond that, Ottawa could go in a number of directions. The Senators, however, are restricted by the exposure quota. Protecting the aforementioned four players leaves three spots available, but also just four forwards who meet the exposure requirements, meaning all three cannot be used on veteran lineup regulars. The leading candidates of those four to be protected are likely White and Dadonov. White has had an up-and-down couple of seasons, but the Senators believed in him enough to sign him to his current long-term contract. The same logic applies to the veteran Dadonov, whom Ottawa chased as a free agent last offseason and signed to a substantial deal. He failed to impress overall in his first season with the club but displayed his elite ability in spurts. It seems unlikely that the Senators would part with either one already if they can help it. This would leave third line center Tierney and bottom-six winger Watson to meet the quota. Neither would be a major loss for Ottawa, but either one could argue for his protection over White or Dadonov based on consistency and two-way contribution.
The final forward spot will have to go to one of the Senators’ younger, less proven forwards. Candidates include 2020-21 acquisitions Bishop and Amadio or prospects Abramov, Davidsson or Logan Brown. Because Bishop and Amadio both did little with their Ottawa experience this season and previously struggled with other teams, they are unlikely to be protected or selected by Seattle. Davidsson, who has produced in Sweden but failed to do so in North America, is probably not worth the investment. That leaves Abramov and Brown as the two most likely choices. Until recently, Abramov seemed like a safe bet considering his strong AHL production, but after he signed in the KHL for next season, his future contributions in Ottawa are now in question. Brown is a 2016 first-round pick with great size and presence at the center position who has shown flashes of promise in the AHL but has yet to make an impact at the top level. Loaded with potential as both a physical force and skilled contributor, it would be hard to watch Brown leave and succeed elsewhere, but he has been given numerous chances to do so already in Ottawa.
In goal, there are plenty of options for the Senators, but whom to protect should actually be a relatively easy decision for Ottawa. Gustavsson, just 23, looked excellent in his first NHL action this season, is a highly touted prospect, and most importantly is waiver-exempt next season. If exposed, he is an ideal option to serve as Seattle’s No. 3 goalie next season and could blossom into an NHL starter. Unless the Senators want to use him as bait to draw the Kraken away from other exposed players, they need to protect Gustavsson or he will be taken. Daccord is not all that different from Gustavsson – a young, well-regarded, waivers-exempt goaltender. However, Daccord is two years older, has performed poorly in his brief NHL history and is coming off of a season-ending surgery. Add in that he is signed long-term to a contract that becomes one-way, and Daccord is not as attractive as Gustavsson.
Funny enough, starter Murray is likely not in contention for protection at all. After Murray's Senators career started dismally this season, Seattle is not touching his contract with three years remaining at a $6.25 million average annual value. If the Kraken do, Ottawa will rejoice. As for 2020-21 primary backup Hogberg, he has signed overseas, and the Senators have already revealed that he will not be qualified. The Kraken will not be interested in a 26-year-old UFA signed elsewhere. The final option in net, veteran Forsberg, is a career No. 3 who is also not a risk to be selected.
On defense, the decision is too easy, hence the question of whether Ottawa should add veterans to its roster before the Expansion Draft. Chabot is the lone lock and also the only player worth protecting on most NHL rosters. Waiver claim Mete looked good upon his arrival to Ottawa and is likely to be protected. The decision thus comes down to Zaitsev versus Brown, one is protected and the other fills the exposure requirement. Zaitsev was an everyday starter for Ottawa this season, but a poor one and signed to a bad, multi-year contract. Brown was a part-time player this season and showed little upside. Neither player should be protected, but the Senators will protect Brown as Zaitsev’s contract makes him the less likely of the two to be surprisingly selected by Seattle.
With capable veterans in Tierney and Watson (or Murray and Zaitsev if Seattle is struggling to hit the cap floor), the Senators could provide an NHL veteran to the Seattle roster. More likely, however, it will be one of their young prospect forwards who is selected. Of the group, Abramov might still be the most attractive, and his KHL commitment for next season could actually be seen as a benefit. The Kraken must select 30 players, most of whom are not waiver-exempt, but can have only 23 players on the roster. A talented scoring forward playing overseas next season is a safe way to add future potential who also doesn’t need a roster spot and can’t be stolen on waivers. Abramov could return in a year or two and step right into a starting role.
As noted, Daccord could also be attractive as a minor-league goaltending option for the Kraken, who will have few players who can safely clear waivers and could value that depth in net with Daccord, who brings experience and a track record of success in the NCAA and AHL.
The other option for Seattle would be to negotiate with one of Ottawa’s impending free-agent forwards. Without a ton of options to select from the active roster, the Kraken could agree to terms with a Dzingel or Stepan.
Slide 1 of 46: In the world of sports, we love our round-number milestones. In the NHL, the line of greatness has long been set at the 500-goal mark. That makes sense, given that only 45 players have ever reached it. With what could be a shortened season, it might be a couple of years before we get the 46th, because Sidney Crosby is still 38 goals away. Most of the members of the 500 Goal Club are in the Hall of Fame, and all of them have an argument to be there. This includes the two active players who have hit the mark. Here are the members of this elite group, in order of increasing career goal totals.
Slide 2 of 46: McDonald really left it late in his career. In his final season he scored only 11 goals, but that last one got him to 500. Then, that same season, he won his first Stanley Cup, with the Calgary Flames. After that he immediately retired, having hit two huge milestones.
Slide 3 of 46: It took Mullen a while to get his 500th goal. He had only a single-digit goal total in his last two seasons and finally got over the hump in his age-39 season. It was a bit of NHL history, as Mullen was the first American player to score 500 goals.
Slide 4 of 46: Bondra was the star of the Capitals for over a decade, as 472 of his career goals came in Washington. He also twice led the league in goals, including one 52-goal season. Bondra stuck around for a final season with the Blackhawks when he scored five goals, giving him 503 when he retired.
Slide 5 of 46: The first three names on this list played at least part of their careers during a time when scoring in the NHL was quite high. Although, to be fair Bondra also had to play in the era of the neutral-zone trap. Beliveau, beloved in Montreal, began his career in 1950, a time when guys scoring 50 goals in a season was largely unheard of. Beliveau never did that, but he did lead the league in goals twice en route to 507 career goals.
Slide 6 of 46: If you are a Buffalo fan of a certain age you may remember Perreault, but otherwise he’s a bit underrated for how good his career was. He spent his entire career with the Sabres, winning a Calder trophy for Rookie of the Year when he scored 38 of his 512 goals.
Slide 7 of 46: Roenick has never been afraid to mince words, which is why he is no longer employed by NBC Sports. Quibble with his personality, but you can’t argue with his career. JR had two 50-goal seasons with the Blackhawks and then became one of the first stars for the Coyotes after the move from Winnipeg. He retired with 513 goals.
Slide 8 of 46: Yes, that’s right. Turgeon scored 515 goals in his career. Surprised? We don’t blame you. While he was obviously a great player, few people ever viewed Turgeon as a true star. After all, he made only four All-Star Games in his 19 seasons.
Slide 9 of 46: Hawerchuk timed his career pretty much perfectly. He began in 1981, a time when goals were plentiful in the NHL. The Hall of Famer had at least 37 goals in each of his first eight seasons. Hawerchuk ended his career just as the trap was taking hold, and sure enough his scoring dropped. Interestingly, Hawerchuk retired when he was only 33, but he still had 518 goals.
Slide 10 of 46: Verbeek earned a great nickname in his career: Little Ball of Hate. He also earned himself 522 goals. There was a bit of a compiler in Verbeek, as he played in 20 seasons and never once had 50 goals. That may be what is keeping him out of the Hall of Fame.
Slide 11 of 46: We remember Trottier from his time with the Islanders when he won four Stanley Cups. He also won a Calder and a Hart in New York. He then ended his career with three seasons in Pittsburgh as a veteran depth player, but he won two more Cups that way. Trottier scored exactly 500 goals with the Islanders and then added 24 more in Pittsburgh.
Slide 12 of 46: Will Hossa make it into the Hall of Fame? He retired only a couple of years ago, so he hasn’t been eligible yet. He was never a superstar, but he was always racking up goals as a key piece on some excellent teams. Hossa made five All-Star Games and finished with 525 goals after an illness ended his career.
Slide 13 of 46: It’s impressive Mahovlich scored 533 goals in his NHL career, but he could have had even more. After spending 18 years in the league, he played four more in the WHA. Granted, the competition wasn’t as stiff, but he scored 89 goals in the league, playing until he was 40. Of course, those years were included in the decision when he made the Hockey Hall of Fame.
Slide 14 of 46: Tkachuk has the most career goals of any Hall-eligible player. This is in spite of the fact he had two 50-goal seasons and won an Art Ross Trophy. He finished with 538 goals but hasn’t made the Hall since retiring in 2010. Tkachuk now has two sons, Matthew and Brady, racking up goals in the NHL.
Slide 15 of 46: Mikita will forever be iconic for being honor in “Wayne’s World” with Stan Mikita’s Donuts. Interestingly, he led the NHL in assists three times and points four times, but he never won the Art Ross. He scored 541 goals, all with the Chicago Blackhawks. Hence, the “Wayne’s World” love.
Slide 16 of 46: Richard started his career in 1942, earlier than anybody else on this list. He was also the first player ever to score 50 goals in a season, doing it in only 50 games. The Rocket led the league in goals five times and managed to notch 544 career goals without even playing in 1,000 career games.
Slide 17 of 46: Goulet may be the most surprising 500-goal scorer. That may be because he played almost all of his career with the Quebec Nordiques, a team that hasn’t existed for decades. They aren’t exactly showing Goulet love in Colorado. The French Canadian is in the Hall, thanks largely to his 548 career goals in the NHL (plus 28 more in the WHA).
Slide 18 of 46: Francis is an all-time underrated player. He’s fifth in career points! And yet the only awards he ever won were the Selke and three Lady Byngs. While he was better as a playmaker than as a goal scorer, he still notched 549 goals before starting a career as a coach and front office executive.
Slide 19 of 46: Bobby Orr may have been the star of the ‘70s Boston Bruins, but Bucyk was a vital player as well. In his best season, when he was first-time All-NHL, he scored 51 goals and won the Lady Byng. Bucyk spent 21 of his 23 seasons in Boston, playing until he was 42, and he retired with 556 goals.
Slide 20 of 46: Jean Beliveau handed the reins of the Canadiens to Lafleur, and he ran with them. The Flower had six consecutive 50-goal seasons, leading the league in goals once when he scored 60. He won two Harts and a Conn Smythe and naturally is in the Hall of Fame. It’s weird he spent three seasons at the end of his career not in Montreal, but it helped him tally 560 goals.
Slide 21 of 46: For a long time, Joe Mullen was the all-time leading American goal scorer. Then Modano came along (also Keith Tkachuk is American, but he’s below Modano in career goals). Modano had only one 50-goal season, and after an entire career with the Stars he spent one season with the Red Wings where he scored only four goals. However, it was still a great career, culminating in 561 goals, still the most of any American.
Slide 22 of 46: We’ve reached the first active player! That means by the time you read this the numbers might be different, depending on when and if the season resumes. Marleau, now with Pittsburgh, along with Joe Thornton, still is viewed as one of the two faces of the San Jose Sharks as a franchise. He has 518 career goals in teal and black, and overall he has 562 goals.
Slide 23 of 46: Now we get to a guy whom Marleau could still pass in career goals, and maybe even has if you are reading this in the future. Nieuwendyk won a Calder in Calgary and a Conn Smythe in Dallas, and he racked up some goals at a couple of other stops. He barely spent any time in New Jersey but weirdly ended up scoring his 500th goal there. The Canadian added more, finishing with 564 goals.
Slide 24 of 46: We have our first tie! Sundin, like Nieuwendyk, has 564 career goals. That makes him the highest-scoring Swedish player in NHL history. He’s also scored the most goals in Maple Leafs history.
Slide 25 of 46: What could have been? If not for injury, Bossy would be much higher on the charts. Of his 10 NHL seasons, he scored at least 60 goals five times. He never had fewer than 38 goals in a season, and that was in his injury-shortened final campaign of his career. Bossy was only 30. He could have finished with way more than 573 goals.
Slide 26 of 46: Recchi was a compiler but a steady presence. He had many 20-goal seasons over his 22-year career. Recchi played in 1,652 games overall and kept scoring double-digit goals per season well into his 40s. That helped him register 577 goals before finally hanging up his skates for good.
Slide 27 of 46: Yes, Kurri played the bulk of his career in the ‘80s and early ‘90s when goals were plentiful. Sure, he spent a lot of his career alongside Mark Messier and Wayne Gretzky. The Finn finished with 601 goals. He’s the first 600-goal scorer on this list. Obviously, he was a great player, even if he had some help.
Slide 28 of 46: This may surprise you, especially if you remember Ciccarelli from the end of his career when he made his bones deflecting pucks in front of the net on the power play. Early on, though, he had a more well-rounded game. Ciccarelli had several 40-goal seasons, and all those deflections added up. He finished with 608 goals.
Slide 29 of 46: This is the first, but not the last, Hull on this list. Bobby was one of the first guys to harness the slap shot. This was also a time when stick curve rules were more lax, and Hull was known for having a wicked one on his stick. Hull had 610 goals in the NHL, but he actually spent a ton of time in the WHA. He spent seven seasons with the Winnipeg Jets, before they moved to the NHL, scoring a whopping 303 goals. That’s second most in WHA history.
Slide 30 of 46: Sakic is the face of the Colorado Avalanche, thanks to his play on the ice and his work in the front office. He spent his entire career with the franchise, seven in Quebec and then 13 in Colorado. He never won an Art Ross, or led the league in goals, but he still tallied 625 of them, 391 of which came after the franchise’s move.
Slide 31 of 46: We have our second and final tie. There was a stretch of time when Sakic and Iginla were both in their primes and among the best players in the NHL. However, Iginla was playing until as recently as 2017, which is why he isn’t in the Hall of Fame yet. After all, a guy with 625 career goals is a lock to be in the NHL, especially considering that he began his career in 1996, well into the throes of the trap era.
Slide 32 of 46: Andreychuk was never a superstar and only made two All-Star Games, but he kept himself in great shape, which is how he was able to rack up so many goals. He had 20 goals in his five final full seasons, including one season when he was 40. After the lockout he returned for a shortened season as a 42-year-old, adding six goals to his total. That got him up to 640.
Slide 33 of 46: Cue the Irish jig! Detroit Red Wings fans of the ‘90s will get that reference. An Irish tune was played whenever Shanahan scored at Joe Louis Arena, and he did that many times. After all, he tallied 356 of his 656 career goals wearing the Winged Wheel. Also 44 of them were in his one season with the Hartford Whalers.
Slide 34 of 46: He was known as “Lucky Luc,” and that’s maybe because of some of the guys he had as teammates. Although, it’s actually Wayne Gretzky who joined him in Los Angeles, not the other way around. Also, Robitaille hit the ground running in his career, as he scored 45 goals in his Calder-winning rookie campaign. Those were the first goals of the 668 he finished with.
Slide 35 of 46: Speaking of coming out of the gates with a bang, nobody has ever done that quite like Selanne. No seriously. The Finnish Flash scored 76 goals as a rookie, still an NHL record. It was one of three seasons where he led the league in goals, two of which came in Anaheim where he played the bulk of his legendary career. Selanne hung on until he was 43 but never quite got to 700 goals. Still, finishing with 684 is none too shabby.
Slide 36 of 46: Lemieux had a great career. He scored 690 goals and won three Hart trophies. And yet it could have been so much better. Injuries and illness limited “Super Mario” to a mere 915 career games. That’s an incredible goals-per-game ratio. With better health, Lemieux would have soared past 700, and possibly even 800, goals.
Slide 37 of 46: Early in his career, Yzerman was an offensive dynamo. He had back-to-back seasons with at least 60 goals. Then Scotty Bowman showed up and got Stevie Y to focus on his defensive play. It won him a Selke and helped him lift three Cups but may have hindered his goal scoring a bit. Despite that, he finished with 692 goals, eking past Lemieux.
Slide 38 of 46: Speaking of contemporaries who just eked past each other, and franchise legends, Messier finished with 694 goals. Of course, he retired two seasons before Lemieux and Yzerman. What’s the matter, guys? Couldn’t hang on to score a few more goals? Yes, Messier spent a lot of time in Edmonton with Gretzky, but he scored 302 goals after leaving the Oilers.
Slide 39 of 46: We’ve got our final active player and also, the first member of the 700 goal club. Ovechkin did that in 2019-20, and he’s shown no signs of slowing down. He’s led the NHL in goals eight times. Some are even wondering if Ovechkin could take a run at the career mark for goals. He has a long way to go, but he’s only 35, and he already has 716 tallies.
Slide 40 of 46: We don’t expect you to be surprised by the fact Gartner scored over 700 goals in his career, but only because we’ve spent over a decade saying, “Can you believe Gartner scored over 700 goals in his career? It’s true, though. He never led the league in goals or points. He never made an All-NHL team. What he did, though, was score at least 30 goals in 17 of his 19 NHL campaigns en route to 708 career goals.
Slide 41 of 46: Esposito was the first player to hit the 700-goal mark. He completely changed the landscape of the NHL when he scored 76 goals in the 1970-71 season. That was one of the six times he led the league in goals, and that was six consecutive seasons by the way. When all was said and done, Espo had 717 goals, mostly with Boston.
Slide 42 of 46: It was hard for Dionne to get as much love as he deserved, given that he began his career in the shadow of Phil Esposito and then found himself overshadowed by Wayne Gretzky. He never led the league in goals, and won only one Art Ross. Dionne won two Lady Byngs but zero Harts. Oh well. He’ll have to settle for having 731 goals.
Slide 43 of 46: For years, Dionne was the third-highest goal scorer in NHL history. Then, Hull, son of Bobby, bested him. This is a dude who scored at least 70 goals three seasons in a row. Once he lit the lamp a whopping 86 times! He had at least 25 goals in every season of his career (we’re forgetting about his five-game stint with the Coyotes) and tallied 741 total goals.
Slide 44 of 46: Jagr is another case of what could have been. When he was 35, Jagr left the NHL and went to the KHL. He then returned when he was 39. Had he stayed, might he have set the record? He left the NHL with 766 career goals. We say “left the NHL” because he’s still playing in the Czech Republic. After all, Jagr played in the NHL until he was 45. That kind of balanced out the years in Russia.
Slide 45 of 46: Now we get to the big two. Let’s start with Mr. Hockey. Before "The Great One," he was the greatest player in NHL history. Howe did play 26 seasons in the NHL, which is partially why he managed to score 801 goals. On top of that, he played six seasons in the WHA, suiting up for the Whalers until he was 50. He added 174 more goals in that league.
Slide 46 of 46: You knew where this list ended. Gretzky owns so many NHL records, yet he was actually more of a playmaker. Gretzky led the league in assists 16 times but led in goals “only” five times. Of course that includes a season where he scored 92 goals, a record that will never be beat. When Gretzky hung up his skates, he had 894 goals. Will somebody beat that record someday? Possibly, but for now, nobody has scored like Gretzky.
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