Talks to keep Claude Giroux with the Ottawa Senators have reached a pivotal stage.
Owner Michael Andlauer and Steve Staios, the club’s president of hockey operations and general manager, sat down with Giroux’s Los Angeles-based agent Pat Brisson during last week’s National Hockey League Combine in Buffalo and agreed to continue the talks this week.
“It takes two sides,” Staios told reporters at the club’s alumni charity golf tournament last Friday. “There’s good dialogue between both sides and I think we want to find some common ground.”
The two agree that the Senators would like to keep the 37-year-old veteran winger and his first choice is to stay. Both sides have now intensified their efforts to finalize a deal that will prevent Giroux from entering unrestricted free agency on July 1.
The clock is now ticking because the closer Giroux gets to free agency without a contract, the more he may be inclined to test the market.
Giroux is comfortable here. He lives in Ottawa full-time, his wife Ryanne gave birth to the couple’s third child recently and this is their home.
Nobody can argue that Giroux has been one of the best free-agent signings in the history of this franchise. He plays a role on and off the ice.
What both sides are trying to determine is what a new contract looks like. It’s a little surprising this deal hasn’t been completed because it shouldn’t take that long, but a negotiation has to take place.
Andlauer sat in on the meeting in Buffalo because he feels Giroux is an important part of the club’s makeup.
We’re led to believe that the Senators would like to sign Giroux to a one-year extension and that was the length of their initial offer. This is a contract for an over-35-year-old player, which means it won’t offer any cap relief if Giroux’s game falls off..
The discussions in Buffalo were cordial, but sources say heading into this week, the two sides had a gap to bridge to get a deal done to keep Giroux from testing the market.
Signed to a three-year, $18.5-million US contract on July 1, 2022, Giroux made $6.5 million last season. He is willing to take a reduction in pay, but how much? What does the structure of a new contract look like?
In 245 career games with the Senators, Giroux has contributed 71 goals and 122 assists for 193 points. The only game he missed in three seasons was down the stretch this year while being rested for the playoffs.
Averaging more than 19 minutes of ice time, Giroux ranks among the best faceoff men in the league with a 61.5% winning percentage last season. Giroux finished with 15 goals and 50 points in 81 games last season.
He was mostly used on the club’s top two lines, but also on the club’s power-play and penalty-killing units.
Last month, Postmedia spoke with several league executives after the club was eliminated in the first round of the playoffs by the Toronto Maple Leafs.
They estimated at that time that Giroux’s next deal should have a base salary in the $3 million range plus achievable bonuses that could allow him to make between $4.5-to-$5 million.
The Senators have $15 million in cap space.
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The club has to sign winger Fabian Zutterland, along with goaltender Leevi Merilainen, who is expected to be the backup. Both are restricted free agents and, in Merilainen’s case, he will be looking for a one-way deal.
Zetterlund has the right to file for arbitration, so he’ll be in for a healthy raise. His qualifying offer will be $1.5 million.
Forward Adam Gaudette, an unrestricted free agent, hasn’t closed the door on returning to the Senators. His camp is expected to engage in talks with Staios in the coming days to see if there might be a fit. Gaudette had a terrific year with Ottawa.
Andlauer stated on Friday that the club won’t be spending to the cap.
“We’re a small-market team,” he said. “We did well in the playoffs with our gate, but some teams did two-and-a-half times more revenue than we did. So, it gives you a perspective of where HRR (hockey-related revenue) is and where we fit in.
“I’m OK with that. I think we’ll be competitive. That’s why Belleville is such an important piece in ensuring that we draft and develop properly, so we have the advantage of having great players at an entry-level salary. It takes time. We’re close to the cap over the next couple of years.
“We have a core group of players who are getting into their prime, and we want to make sure we support them and make sure that it allows us to get over the top and win the Stanley Cup. That’s what we’re going to do.”