TSN’s Hockey Insiders on Ottawa getting their first-rounder back, the Ducks and John Carlson, the struggling Leafs, why Rasmus Andersson hasn’t extended yet and a UFA crop thinning with Nick Schmaltz’s signing.

Senators regain first-round pick after NHL modifies penalty

Duthie: Your two insiders today are Chris Johnston and Pierre LeBrun.

Gentlemen, the 32nd overall pick in the draft usually goes to the Stanley Cup champion. Maybe that’s a good omen for the Ottawa Senators who get their first-round pick back, the one that was taken away by the NHL for their role in an invalidated trade four years ago. Huge relief in Ottawa, CJ?

Johnston: Yeah, huge relief and really a huge victory for Michael Andlauer, the owner of the Senators. And you may recall when this punishment was levied by the NHL a couple of years ago, Andlauer was pretty outspoken about him not liking that they’d been penalized in that way. Over time, he got a lot less publicly outspoken about it.

I think really the fact he was able to deal with this behind the scenes led to the NHL coming around and seeing things his way, which is that A) he wasn’t owning the team at the time that this happened, and B) it wasn’t the current management staff in place when this all happened.

And so as the NHL did 15 years ago with the New Jersey Devils, they give Ottawa a pick. Yes, there’s still a penalty, they have to pay a $1 million CAD fine. It’s the 32nd pick rather than a higher one. But it’s better, certainly, than getting nothing.

Ducks hope John Carlson isn’t a rental

Duthie: Absolutely. One of the bigger deals in a quiet deadline was 36-year-old John Carlson going from Washington to Anaheim. Technically, at the time, it goes into the rental category because he’s a pending UFA. But the Ducks hoping to change that, Pierre?

LeBrun: That’s exactly right, James. They don’t want to rush into it. I mean, they want to give John Carlson, who was really crushed by being traded by the only team he’s ever played for, some time to settle down in Anaheim and get the lay of the land. John Carlson’s family is slated to come out and join him soon. And so, they want to let the dust settle and let him get acclimatized to being an Anaheim Duck.

But the plan is for Anaheim to approach him and his agent Rick Curran at some point here and start talking extension. They want him to be with them past this year. They’ve got a young team. They value the fact that he’s still a top-end defenceman. And so that’s the plan, whether that’s just before the playoffs, which are still five weeks away by the way which is nuts, or whether it’s after the playoffs, they tend to have that call. I think a two-year extension makes a lot of sense. He’s making $8 million right now. I don’t see him taking a pay cut. We’ll see where it goes.

No changes expected in Toronto before end of season

Duthie: Playoffs feel a really long way away for the Toronto Maple Leafs right now. That long losing streak tosses them way out of the race. And it’s the kind of a streak, CJ, that could get somebody fired, but not at this time, at least not yet?

Johnston: No, at this point in time, from talking to people around the organization, the sense is, they want to get through this period. We’ll call it no man’s land. Bit of a death march, obviously, with the playoffs having faded from view for the Maple Leafs.

But while all of the people outside were asking, what’s going to happen with the management staff? What about Craig Berube and the coaching staff? Will Auston Matthews stick around? All these questions, I don’t believe we’ll get any clarity on whatsoever until after mid-April. The Leafs play their final regular-season game on Apr. 15. And so, yes, it leaves everyone in kind of a weird spot right now as they’ve been losing a lot of games. And there’s still a lot of games yet to be played, but that’s just where they’re at. I don’t get the sense we’re going to see any action taken before the last games played this season.

Why hasn’t Rasmus Andersson extended yet?

Duthie: Pierre, you talked about that possible extension for Carlson and Anaheim. When Rasmus Andersson was dealt from Calgary to Vegas, I think we all assumed there would be a quick extension there. Why hasn’t that happened yet?

LeBrun: Well, I’ll give you certainly one reason, and that’s the fact that even if they wanted to extend him right now, they couldn’t just because of a CBA rule. We used to call this in the old days, the tagging rule, whether or not a team had tagging space for next year’s payroll. They actually changed that terminology in the 2020 MoU in the CBA. Don’t worry, James, I won’t get into all that.

But the bottom line is it’s called projected cap space for next season now in the CBA. And Vegas only has $3.2 million in projected cap space for next year because they have to carry Alex Pietrangelo’s $8.8 million on it for next year. They’ll have time to clean all that up under the cap, whether it’s moving money after the season, or certainly waiting for off-season LTIR for Pietrangelo. Either way, they got lots of time to sign Andersson, but technically they can’t do so right in the moment.

Schmaltz signing further depletes razor thin UFA crop

Duthie: You guys always make fun of me rightfully when I panic about no trade possibilities at trade deadline.

Pierre, should I be panicking about July 1st in free agency right now with the crop that’s out there?

LeBrun: I almost made you that face, James, but I’m not going to do it again. Enough people made fun of me last week, thanks to you. But yeah, you should be panicking. It’s a very thin crop. And listen, if I were to tell you right now who the highest-scoring pending UFA is right now, would you guess it? It’s Darren Raddysh. And listen, great for Darren Raddysh. He’s having a career year. He has stuck with it. He’s getting the best opportunity he’s ever had in pro hockey with the Tampa Bay Lightning this year in terms of role and usage and minutes. And he’s having a spectacular year and the Lightning hope to keep him and eventually sign him.

But Alex Tuch is the biggest name left on what is otherwise a very thin crop after Nick Schmaltz signed. And you know, the Sabres still want to sign Alex Tuch. My understanding on this day is that they continue to work at that. They’re just not there. But at least talks have not been shelved. That’s the positive I got as an update on this day. You know, Tuch can certainly ask for double digits for an AV because Adrian Kempe signed for $10.63 million a year, but Nick Schmaltz signed for $8 million a year, the Sabres certainly can point to. So somewhere in between those two deals, perhaps an extension for Alex Tuch, but it’s not there yet.

Duthie: Well, there’s a decent chance Canada might be playing in soccer’s World Cup on July 1st, so maybe we’ll all be distracted by that. Thanks, guys.