Just enough money left over for a fully loaded Nissan Pathfinder for Joseph to drive to SJ.

I agree that the likely scenario is Jospeh being packaged with Thompson to get cap compliant. Not sure Vegas is it..... but it is hard not to see that as the path.

The thing that sucks is Jospeh is a great 3rd line player - just overpaid by about $1 million imo, and will be missed on that roster. Brings a certain something to the lineup.

I respect Dorion's going for it here with the Tarasenko signing, but I still wonder if bringing in Tatar (who would have been less money) would have brought similar results..... not as good offensively, but underrated defensively.

Conjecture now.....

I believe a D core of Chabot-Chychrun, Sanderson-Zub, Kleven-Hamomic / JBD would be solid.
That means we could move Joseph and Brannstrom, neither of which I want to part with but...
... it would allow us to sign Pinto (1x $2M) and get Motte and Suter on 1 year deals. That depth would be incredible. And those additions would be a HUGE benefit to our PK.
If we don't lose any top 3 D men longterm, and Korpisola plays half decently... that's a contending line up.

That'd be a pretty SMART trade for a team like the Ducks. I am not sure how equipped they are for OFD RHD after Drysdale but Thomson has a pretty nice skillset and will most likely play in the NHL because of his PP and OZ ability

Joseph would also help 5v5 defensively and even more on the PK as the Ducks were 31st in PK% last season


Well he brings a ton of speed, he's a +skater, which has allowed him to maintain Elite PK metrics whole his career so far

The thing is he is overpaid based on LAST season, where he still paced for 26 pts... but the season he had 30 pts in 69 games, all at ES or PK, NONE on the PP... that is pretty valuable, on top of being very responsible defensively and excellent on the PK


Dorion likes to splash, he wants to have big name acquisitions on his resume... Brassard, Duchene, DeBrincat, Chychrun, Giroux, Tarasenko

The best acquisition in regards to team needs is by far Giroux. Chychrun could be very good as well but he is a LHD, need to see what happens with the RD side first before evaluating more

I have been saying it for a while but Tarasenko is NOT what the Sens neede, he's older and much more "damaged" than DeBrincat and what was the problem last season? 5v5

And why was it a problem? Team defense

None of Kubalik, Tarasenko or MacEwen are going to help in that regard

I hope we just go run and gun and try to outscore the other team because that's the exact identity of this team. At least it'll be fun but don't be surprised if we miss the playoffs.

Defense and goalies are going to be very solicited though, so expect some injuries

OK Suter and Motte but Joseph has a long track of Elite pk results. Suter had very good metrics last season though. so if you can replace Joseph by Suter while saving some cap space, that'd be constructive. 900000$ for Suter like in this ACGM would surprise me, he's worth closer to 2.0 IMO. Don't want/need Motte IMO.

I have been high on Kleven since the draft and particularly after listening to Nick Fohr's comments but it's far from guarantee that he'd had anywhere close to Brannstrom metrics in his rookie season. He'd bring a very nice physical element though. IMO, a full year in the AHL wouldn't be a bad thing for his development.

I'd rather keep Brannstrom (trade him next offseason? As I think he'd start becoming more expensive, could bring a nice young forward) and just sign Suter if they dealt Joseph like in this ACGM

Like I said, if we had the cap space I would keep Branny and Joseph. Branny is indeed coming into his own and Joseph will certainly bounce back (hate the idea of PAYING to ship him somewhere just because he had a down year). I agree that we can do without Motte. I think guys like Smejkal, Crookshank, Ostapchuk, Reinhardt are all going to make it hard on Parker Kelly or MacEwan to hang on to a 4th line spot.

I'm also big on Kleven and feel that pairing him with Hamonic is the reason Hamonic is here. I don't expect him to have the play-driving of Brannstrom this season, but I also feel we have that covered with our top 3 D men and that Kleven is better suited for what we lack than Brannstrom is. Barring injuries on our D core there's no chance Brannstrom is getting PP time.

I suppose if we just move Joseph (which would sadly cost us more than the OG post is indicating) we could still do Pinto (1x $2M) and have just under $2M to sign Suter.
if we can avoid significant injuries this season and Korpisalo is anywhere near half decent, this team has a legit shot at itop 3 of the Atlantic.

Me too, I am tired to bleed assets all over the place. We spent 2nd + 3rd + 4th + 7th to get rid of Zaitsev and Murray (75% only!) contracts. We might have downgraded a 7th OA pick considerably with the DeBrincat saga, same as we did back then with Duchene (4th OA -> 19th OA). I could go on and on

Plus, we acquired Joseph for Nick Paul who is recognized around the league as a pretty good defensive forward good for 30+ pts at ES

I agree that Smejkal, Crookshank and maybe Ostapchuk will see some games, which is why we don't need Motte. We're so close to the cap anyway. If we could get Suter for cheap, that'd be great though but then even more gymnastic would be needed



It's not really missing Brannstrom play driving that I am worried about. Hamonic is not that good anymore. He has a huge heart and leaves it all out on the ice but he was carried by Sanderson last season. That could put Kleven in trouble this season as he's no Jake. I would rather let Kleven develop a little bit more in the AHL this season, like some sort of safe approach. I think that pairing would get caved in, opposedly to Brannstrom-Zub who are fantastic together

Chabot-Chychrun
Sanderson-JBD
Brannstrom-Zub



I don't think it would cost more than what is proposed here but at the same time, Dorion always paint himself in a corner dealing from a position of weakness... so I have no idea how it will play out

I think Pinto will be signed to a cheap 1 year bridge. Look at Dellandrea, signed for 900 000$ and had more ES points than Pinto

I am hopeful regarding Korpisalo. I didn't realize at first but his hip surgery was in March 2022 so he only played one season after that. There's a good chance he is going to be the goalie he was this season going forward

Yes, I agree with your assessments here.

I long thought Tatar would have been a cheaper and much better fit in Ottawa; with enough offensive pop to still make this team 3 lines deep and defensively sound enough to have a positive impact on that side of the ledger. And.... Joseph remains a Sen.

Even at a 30 point pace, I still think he is overpaid, but like I said, it is not horrendous. By the end of the contract, as the cap increases, it lines up just fine. More a flat cap issue.

Tkachuk-Stutzle-Giroux
Greig-Norris-Batherson
Kubalik-Pinto-Tatar
Joseph-Kastelic-MacEwen

That 1st line is already one of the best in the NHL.

Norris-Batherson have shown they were a deadly duo in 2021-22. Norris helps Batherson's defensive game. Greig would also help both-way, he had pretty good metrics in his 20 games sample, both defensively and offensively

Tatar wouldn't be asked the moon here, I have been projecting Pinto as a future Danault level player so Tatar would have actually helped him develop (like Tatar-Danault in Montreal). Kubalik is a sniper on this line which could them an offensive boost.

Joseph makes the 4th line a LOT better

Instead we had another offensive weapon (we already have more than enough) and we have a cap problem.

You'd think that Dorion would have understood with the DeBrincat experiment


Just a small comment but it depends what kind of player that 30 pts guy is. With time, I have started to value defensive play from forwards more and more. If the guy sucks defensively and only produces 30 pts, then 3.0 is a bit much. If the guy is quite responsible defensively and excels on the PK while adding 30 pts, then he becomes valuable. Think about Nick Paul... he doesn't produce much more than that, but he's exactly the guy we're missing right now

Building a hockey team is not adding the most Tarasenkos as possible, it's to mix the right recipe.

I think Nick Paul is a level above Joseph. Historically, Joseph is a 20 point producer - although I think there is a higher ceiling.

I like Joseph a lot.... and in terms of a return for Paul, it was both excellent and underrated. Dorion just botched the contract. If it was say $2.25 million, not sure we are having this discussion.

Hell, had he signed Tatar we aren't.

Yes, finding players whose games are rounded have significant value (I am a Leafs fan, and know the pain lol). I start and finish with Klingberg. Different player tha Tarasenko, yet the same discussion.

But, in terms of Jospeh, Jarnkrok is the Leafs equivalent.... and makes right around what Joseph should be. Dorion botched it.

A problem with Joseph is that he hasn't played a full season yet outside of the 56 games season in 2020-21... which make it seem like he doesn't produce that much but he actually has 29 pts per 82 games in his whole career...

But agreed that Paul is another level, he brings top defense and intangibles. He just has more impact on the game than Joseph does, even if points are similar

Also agreed that there wouldn't be ay problem if his cap hit was lower or had we signed Tatar instead of Tarasenko

Jarnkrok is fantastic and his contract make him even more valuable. I wish Sens had him instead

Jarnkrok has been fabulous.... yet maligned by Leafs fans. I find a lot of folks on CF think the big shiny name is what is needed, yet, I like you, look for the rounded fit. The sum is always greater than the parts.

I can tell you, if the Leafs had the room, I would be all over acquiring Joseph. Him with kampf and Jarnkrok or Lafferty would be a forechecking nightmare for teams.

I always find it surprising how many fans still think that points are everything but the true value in a hockey player is 2-way play. That's why teams would trade for Nick Paul but wouldn't take Mike Hoffman on waivers if they had the same salary