Latest news with #Sens
The Independent
23-05-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Teacher suspended after holding minute's silence for Gaza victims
A teacher in France has been suspended for nearly two months after holding a minute's silence for Gaza victims in her class. The physics and chemistry teacher at the Janot-Curie high school in Sens, Yens, was told by the local education authority that she failed to respect the principle of neutrality when she was suspended on 31 March. On 25 March, days after resumed Israeli strikes ended the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, the teacher is accused by the Dijon education authority of having organised a minute of silence for the Palestinians killed in the week before. This was done on her own 'personal initiative', the education authority told The Independent - but this claim has been disputed by teaching unions. "Respecting neutrality is a duty for civil servants, enshrined in their status, and any failure to comply with this obligation triggers disciplinary proceedings," the authority explained. But the education branches of French unions FO, CGT and Sud insist that the students had requested the silence. 'The teacher agreed, at the end of her class, to observe this time of homage with the students who wished to do so," they said. "We demand that this teacher be reinstated immediately, that all charges be dropped, and that her dignity be officially restored in the eyes of the school, staff, and parents," the unions added in a joint statement. Equally outraged were political figures including the first-secretary of the Socialist Party (PS), Olivier Faure. 'A minute of silence requested by the students, with those who do not want to join being able to withdraw, to pay tribute to the victims in Gaza, and it is the teacher who is suspended... really???' he wrote on X. 'We are standing on our heads.' It comes as France's relationship with Israel becomes increasingly strained, after Israeli ministers responded furiously to condemnation by Western allies over its actions in the Gaza strip, including the previous 11-week blockade on aid and its resumed offensive. President Emmanuel Macron joined the UK and Canada in issuing their strongest condemnation yet of Netanyahu's government. A statement demanded Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu halt his 'egregious' actions in Gaza, threatening 'concrete actions' over the 'intolerable' human suffering inflicted on the enclave. Following the fatal shooting of two Israeli embassy staffers in Washington DC on Wednesday night, Mr Netanyahu echoed earlier statements by fellow ministers l aying the blame at the door of the UK, France and Canada. 'I say to President Macron, Prime Minister Carney and Prime Minister Starmer: When mass murderers, rapists, baby killers and kidnappers thank you, you're on the wrong side of justice,' he wrote on social media. 'You're on the wrong side of humanity and you're on the wrong side of history.'
New York Times
14-05-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Could the Senators tender an offer sheet this summer? Mailbag, part 2
We are back with more of your questions from the Senators mailbag. If you missed the first batch of responses, here's part one from Monday morning. This one has insights on the Senators' offer-sheet situation, potential selections for the Sens at No. 21 in next month's draft and what it's like covering the Senators compared to previous beats. (Note: Questions have been lightly edited for length and clarity.) Advertisement St. Louis showed how to properly do an offer sheet. You can make your team better by making another team worse off; that's a win. So, can you look at some offer sheet options for the Sens? I kind of like Matthew Knies. Great player, and Toronto has to think about Marner, Tavares and some other players. Why not offer-sheet him? Who else? — Norm M. I'd keep my expectations low on a potential offer sheet, Norm. The Senators are likely to keep their 2025 first-round pick, meaning they'll have to give up the 2026 first-round pick as a penalty for the Evgenii Dadonov trade mishap. The Senators also don't own their 2026 second-round pick (unless they swing a deal with Utah to get it back). So they're ineligible to make an offer sheet beyond the lowest two compensation thresholds as shown below. But while offer-sheeting players like Matthew Knies or J.J. Peterka seems pretty unlikely, it doesn't mean there aren't restricted free agents worth looking at. Remember, the Blues took advantage of the Oilers being pressed against the salary cap limit last summer and managed to get two RFAs. Dylan Holloway, who scored 63 points last year, only cost a third-round pick with a $2,290,457 cap hit through 2026. Defenceman Philip Broberg, their other capture, cost a second-round pick. If the Senators want to replicate this, they must look at competitive teams that won't have much room to maneuver despite the rising salary cap. The Dallas Stars are a prime example. They are projected to have under $6 million of cap space this summer, according to PuckPedia, with a handful of pending UFAs on their docket, including Jamie Benn, Mikael Granlund, Matt Duchene and, ironically, Dadonov. If I'm the Senators, I consider tendering an offer sheet to right-shot forward Mavrik Bourque, who's coming off an 11-goal, 25-point season. He plays with pace and can be a playmaker, and could benefit from increased responsibilities on a different team. Advertisement The Buffalo Sabres, on the other hand, will have over $21 million in cap space this summer to sign pending RFAs, including forwards J.J. Peterka, Ryan McLeod, and Jack Quinn, plus defencemen Bowen Byram and Jacob Bernard-Docker. My Buffalo colleague Matt Fairburn did an excellent job breaking down the Sabres' RFA situation earlier this month. Depending on how much the Sabres will dole out to their players (particularly Peterka and Byram), the Sens should monitor the situation. Quinn is due for a raise after a 15-goal, 39-point season, for example. The New York Rangers will have slightly over $8.4 million in cap space this summer and most of their attention will go towards defenceman K'Andre Miller. But what about forward Will Cuylle, a 23-year-old scoring winger who hit the 20-goal mark for the first time this season? He might be a bit out of Ottawa's price range, however. He's projected for a three-year, $3,438,000 AAV bridge deal according to AFP Analytics. If the Sens want to involve themselves in the projected offer-sheet rat race to come, the Blues' model is one to follow. But their options may be limited depending on how other teams handle their own free agents, and how other free-spending teams pounce on the available names out there. One more thing: the team offers the contract, but the player decides if he wants to sign or not. So, provided they're keeping their 21st overall this draft, who's their likely pick? Who might slide that far? What are the odds they trade down/out of the first round? Basically, your idea of their first round and possible candidates. — Andrey I. The Senators are currently going through their scouting meetings, so they're actively considering their possibilities as you read this. I'll work at getting a better sense of what the Senators might want soon. If I'm in the room, I'm pounding the table and consistently chanting, 'Best. Player. Available.' Advertisement The Senators' draft pipeline is still among the league's worst, according to colleague Scott Wheeler's annual rankings. Considering the Senators are still at risk of not having a first-round pick in 2026 — and have ambitions of that 2026 pick being lower than their 2025 first — this pick has to hit. I'm not particularly choosy about who the Sens should take at 21st overall as long as their talent is sufficient enough to vault them to the top of Ottawa's prospect pipeline. The Sens could use some more centres in their pipeline, but it's quite alright if their top two prospects end up being two right-shot defencemen (Carter Yakemchuk and someone else). Ottawa needs to accumulate good young players when they can get them, at a point where their contention window is forming and they don't aspire to be picking in the top half of the draft for the foreseeable future. If the best player available is the high-scoring, playmaking Ben Kindel out of the Calgary Hitmen, so be it. A two-way, right-shot centre who can generate points should be right up the Sens' alley. When Wheeler did his mock draft after the lottery, he projected the Senators would take the bigger Jack Nesbitt, who could also fit the bill, with Kindel going one spot later. Corey Pronman's mock draft has the Sens taking right-shot defenceman Blake Fiddler out of the WHL's Edmonton Oil Kings. Among other prospects who could be available at No. 21: forwards Malcolm Spence, Milton Gastrin, Lynden Lakovic and Justin Carbonneau and defencemen Henry Brzustewicz and Logan Hensler. If I'm the Senators, unless I'm getting a trade offer that nets me a quality player in return, I'm choosing a surefire first-round talent. How can we realistically afford adding a third star forward to Brady and Stu? — Matt R. If GM Steve Staios is serious about adding a star for the Senators, I think it would have to come via trade. The biggest star likely to test free agency this summer, Mitch Marner, might not want to join forces with his current team's rival. The Senators will have over $17 million in cap space this summer, but they need to tender contracts to restricted free agents Fabian Zetterlund and Tyler Kleven and handle the UFA dossiers of Claude Giroux, Adam Gaudette and others. Advertisement And even through trade, potential pieces are somewhat limited. The Sens have their 2025 first-round pick and Yakemchuk among their biggest pieces. In Monday's mailbag, I debated the merit of trading scoring winger Drake Batherson, who has a team-friendly deal. But unless the Sens get scoring or some other kind of star player in return, it doesn't make much sense — but it's not impossible. So, yeah, Staios would have to be creative this summer if that's what he wants, but it's not like he is averse to making trades. He landed Zetterlund and Dylan Cozens at the deadline this season and acquired Linus Ullmark last summer. Julian, anything unique about covering the Sens as a reporter? What's it like in the room at these press conferences? Where do you get to watch the home games from? What is the quickest and slowest you've ever left the parking lot after the game? Or are you taking the 404? — James S. Ottawa is the third NHL team I've been around since I started writing about the Canadiens back in 2018 for a ton of places before joining The Athletic in 2021. Every media corps is unique, but Ottawa has tons of great quirks. It features voices I've grown up watching or listening to, whether it be Brent Wallace or Dean Brown (oh, and that Mendes guy). The francophone media contingent isn't as large as Montreal's, but they're well represented. And because I can speak English and French, I can hang around in their scrums and ask questions as well. I learned French in school growing up, but I only felt comfortable speaking the language when I hung around francophone colleagues in Montreal and Ottawa. And the friends I've made are plenty, including familiar names to The Athletic subscribers in Chris Stevenson and Graeme Nichols. (Small story on Nichols: In 2017, I was a play-by-play guy for McGill University's baseball team that won a championship in New Brunswick. McGill beat Carleton in the final that year, the latter of which featured Nichols as a bench coach.) Anyway, everybody's been pretty friendly and professional across the Sens' mediaverse, whether they be writers, TV people, radio people, podcasters, former players, current players, the coach, PR people or even Bruce Garrioch! This entire experience has been great. At games, I'm seated right below the visiting team's play-by-play booth, so I get commentary right above me as I watch. My favourite seat in the house. I usually leave games pretty late. I love writing off games and media availabilities at the arena, so I rarely get traffic on my way home. Advertisement So yes, Ottawa's been pretty great! But for those rushing to the comment section: No, I won't rank Ottawa, Montreal and Calgary. All three of these cities mean a lot to me for very different reasons and have helped me become the person I am today. (Top photo of Mavrik Bourque: Michael Reaves / Getty Images)
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Summer Breakups: Senators GM Steve Staios Prepares For Another Rebalancing Act
The Ottawa Senators held their seasonal exit meetings last Saturday, the final assignment for a fine young NHL club that took a huge step forward this season, forcing their way into the playoffs for the first time in eight years. After seven months of battling, they said their goodbyes, not knowing for sure if they'll ever play together again. Most of them will. Some will not. It's always the way. For GM State Staios, some major choices lie ahead, and for every roster addition he considers, there's at least one other move required to accommodate it. So let's begin with the Senators taking care of their own to see how much money they have to go shopping with. Staios has several NHL players on expiring contracts. They include unrestricted free agents Claude Giroux, Nick Cousins, Adam Gaudette, Matthew Highmore, Travis Hamonic, Dennis Gilbert, and Anton Forsberg. With Nik Matinpalo now taken care of, the list of NHL-calibre restricted free agents includes defenceman Tyler Kleven, winger Fabian Zetterlund, and goalie Leevi Merilainen. At the moment, according to Puckpedia, the Senators have $17.57 million in cap space to work with for next season. Conservatively, it's fair to expect the three RFAs to absorb around $5 million of that, bringing their spending room down to $12.5 million. In all likelihood, the Senators won't re-sign Hamonic, Gilbert, or Forsberg. With the emergence of Kleven and Matinpalo, Hamonic and Gilbert watched from the press box in the playoffs. Acquired in the Josh Norris trade from the Buffalo Sabres, Gilbert played just four regular-season games with the Senators. Forsberg is a solid backup and a great teammate, but with a younger and less expensive option in Leevi Merilainen ready and waiting in the wings, the Sens will likely welcome the cap savings. Mads Sogaard is also in play, armed with a one-way deal for this fall. But we're banking on Merilainen, so our summer spending money is still at roughly $12.5 million, which brings us to Giroux, Cousins, Gaudette, and Highmore. The Giroux of ten years ago might have take all that remaining cap space. But you don't have to dig deeply into Giroux's stats to see that his decline has begun. Age eventually gets everyone. He missed only one game total in his last three seasons in Ottawa, and his point totals have declined every year: 2022–23: 79 2023–24: 64 2024–25: 50 It should be noted that Giroux got 48 fewer power-play minutes this season than he did the previous one. But he remains a valuable asset, loaded with intangibles and leadership. Giroux said on Saturday that he hasn't spoken with the team about a contract yet, but it's clear to everyone that he wants to stay. The Sens want him to stay. The fans want him to stay. It's impossible to believe the two sides won't work something out on a one- or two-year deal. Expect Giroux to pull roughly another $3.5 million out, leaving the Sens with $9 million in their allowance. If Giroux's ask is much more than that, and we doubt it will be, then that conversation might change. Gaudette, Cousins, and Highmore were useful players who saw plenty of action this season. None of them cost more than a million dollars, so it wouldn't take much to lure them away. By the same token, the Sens aren't so smitten with them that they'd overpay to keep them. In glass-half-full scenarios, since Gaudette and Highmore have finally found their way back to regular and semi-regular NHL status, they may not want to mess with a good thing. Cousins, who's on his sixth team in as many years, may be hoping to put some roots down—with a two-year-old in tow and a baby boy on the way this month. As long as they're not asking for meaningful raises, it's easy to see at least a couple of those guys coming back. But even if they all leave, their replacements will probably come in, also hovering near the NHL's version of minimum wage, or roughly $2.5 million total. Thanks to the league's $7.5 million hike in the cap, the Sens still have money to play with at $6.5 million. While it's easy for us to say, we'll assume that Michael Andlauer is willing to continue spending to the max, now $95.5 million in 2025–26. Right now, if it goes as outlined above, the roster looks like this: Tkachuk-Stutzle-Giroux*Perron-Cozens-BathersonGreig-Pinto-AmadioCousins*-Gaudette*-Highmore* Sanderson-ZubChabot-JensenKleven-Matinpalo UllmarkMerilainen* * No contract yet for 2025-26 That's not a great deal of change from this year's entry. Granted, the team should be naturally better through playoff experience and being another year older, although the theory that getting older is good doesn't apply to the five veterans who are well north of 30. But the Senators can't just rely on internal maturing because it probably won't be enough. There also isn't a single prospect in the system that's a slam dunk to make the team this fall, let alone be an impactful NHL player. To be considered a Cup contender, they'll probably need two more top-nine forwards and another defenceman who can play with a hard edge at playoff time. It will be hard to find even one of those assets with $6.5 million in cap space, so someone has to go. Fans should expect a body or two (and their contracts) to head out the door, and that's beyond the obvious UFAs who won't be retained. It's not dramatically different than last year when, for various reasons, Sens fans bid farewell to useful players like Jakob Chychrun, Mathieu Joseph, and Mark Kastelic. But there's really no other option. Whether you look at things financially or athletically, 'Steady Steve' still has some rebalancing to do this summer, and to make it happen, we're betting that his list of untouchables isn't very long. Steve WarneThe Hockey News
The Citizen
06-05-2025
- Business
- The Citizen
Here's why chicken prices might increase soon
If the chicken producer's predictions come true, consumers might be subjected to higher chicken prices to recoup losses. South Africa's largest chicken producer, Astral, says it will likely report poor results for the six months ending 31 March 2025, due to lower chicken prices and higher costs hurting its business and profits. Astral's troubles started in 2023, when the country was faced with load shedding and the bird flu outbreak. However, this changed in 2024, as the company recovered and recorded significant profit. If the chicken producer's predictions come true, consumers might be subjected to higher chicken prices to recoup the loss. ALSO READ: Here is why egg prices are high and could increase in future Astral first warning Astral issued its first warning early this year, citing price deflation in chicken sales has placed severe pressure on its net margins. This was attributed to constrained consumer environment and extensive retail promotional activity on frozen chicken, that placed pressure on selling prices. 'Together with an increase in poultry feed input costs following the drought of 2024 and higher local maize prices, earnings for the first half of 2025 will be lower than a strong set of results for the period ended 31 March 2024,' read the chicken producer's voluntarily trading update released on 24 March 2025. Astral faces challenging times In its Sens announcement released on Monday, Astral told shareholders that it predicts its earnings per share ('EPS') is to decrease between 55% and 45% compared to the six months ended 31 March 2024. EPS is a simple way to measure how much money a company makes for each share of its stock. Its headline earnings per share ('HEPS') are expected to decrease between 60% and 50% compared to the prior comparable period. HEPS removes unusual or one-time items from the profit to show the company's core earnings. The chicken producer has done this in line with the terms of the Listings Requirements of the JSE Limited. 'Companies are required to publish a trading statement as soon as they become reasonably certain that the financial results for the period to be reported on will differ by at least 20% from those of the previous corresponding period.' ALSO READ: Egg prices increasing globally due to US shortage — Should SA take advantage and export? Results to be released Astral has attributed the above decrease in earnings to the factors they announced earlier in the year. 'The financial information contained in this announcement has not been reviewed and reported on by the Group's auditors.' The audited results are expected to be released on 19 May 2025. In their earlier voluntary trading update, the producer said they expect EPS and HEPS for the first half of 2025 to decrease by more than 55% and 60%, respectively. Cybersecurity breach The chicken producer lost R20 million in profits earlier this year due to a cybersecurity breach. The cybersecurity incident negatively impacted the poultry division by causing processing and customer delivery downtime. However, there was no confidential information or sensitive data of customers, suppliers or individual stakeholders that was compromised. NOW READ: Here are the economic and social impacts of bird flu
New York Times
05-05-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
What will the Senators' offseason look like? Here is Steve Staios' to-do list
OTTAWA — It drew a laugh from Senators coach Travis Green, but it had to be asked. It was the last time Ottawa media would see him or general manager Steve Staios until the draft, possibly beyond. It was also the right time to ask questions about how the Senators would address their need for scoring this offseason, among others. It had been only days since the team was knocked out of the first round of the playoffs, so things were still fresh. Green, just like many of his players, was quite ticked that his team wasn't still playing. But there he was in the Sens' media room on the podium, flanked by Staios on Monday morning. Advertisement So, when Staios was asked a question about acquiring a scorer externally — a slightly reworded question from the one asked previously — that prompted the laugh. It was as if Green couldn't believe the media weren't getting the point. 'Someone else reword and ask the same thing here,' Green said. 'Make it a hat trick.' Staios and Green will likely spend the next few weeks recuperating and going off the grid before scouting and personnel meetings begin ahead of next month's draft. The Sens' to-do list for the offseason isn't a short one, thanks to more than $18 million in cap space and a handful of pending free agents to sign. But they will lean heavily on their players to take a step forward, as they did last summer and through most of this season, and hope their internal growth can help fill whatever holes need to be patched. 'I think it's important that we continue to improve,' Green said. 'It's not status quo. As coaches, as an organization, we push our players to have a mindset, a growth mindset of getting better. How you left today isn't going to be acceptable if you just come back the same. I think a lot of our players are in that age group where they still have room to grow as players, and that's going to be very important for us to be a better team next year.' And that includes a need for scoring up front, something Staios knows he'll have to address in some way. The Sens finished tied for the 19th-best offence leaguewide and 31st in scoring at five-on-five. Only the Nashville Predators scored fewer goals at five-on-five. 'With the group we have returning, there's some areas that I'm going to look at,' Staios said. 'But as we've talked about before, the market will sort of dictate on if you can add those types of players or improve in that area. And until you find that opportunity, it has to come from within.' #Sens fans are the best fans!#GoSensGo — Ottawa Senators (@Senators) May 5, 2025 While it's a consistent, unsurprising message from the Sens' front office, there will be pressure find a scoring winger come July 1 — even if they address Claude Giroux and Fabian Zetterlund, which we'll get to further down. If the Toronto Maple Leafs don't re-sign Mitch Marner, he will enter July as the league's top available free agent after a 100-point season. But that's likely not in the cards for the Sens, considering his high price tag. Advertisement A realistic target could include Winnipeg Jets winger Nikolaj Ehlers, who has been the subject of trade rumours for some time. While it didn't appear the Sens had interest in Brock Boeser ahead of the trade deadline, the Sens will be linked to the American-born winger who may have played his final game in Canucks colours. Mikael Granlund and Ryan Donato are versatile forwards who could also be free agents in July. That storyline could dominate most of the summer for the Sens via offseason stories, but it doesn't stop there. The Sens' need for another defenceman appeared evident during their first-round series against Toronto. Their depth held up better than expected, but Ottawa could've still benefited from another defenceman who could help clog up the middle of the ice and kill penalties. Considering Nick Jensen's injury fogginess, it's something the Senators might have to consider anyway. Staios declined to disclose more on Jensen's injury situation — or any from the playoffs — and couldn't confirm if Jensen would need surgery for his nagging lower-body injury. But he called Jensen an 'absolute warrior' for being able to play through an injury that affected much of the second half of his season. 'I don't believe in doing that, I think it's personal,' Staios said of revealing injury statuses. 'Our players, if they want to speak to it, they can. Kind of feel like it might be justification on why we didn't get through the series. We don't live in that world. But I can tell you that just about every one of our players was dealing with something.' The free-agent market could have names such as Aaron Ekblad, Ryan Lindgren and Vladislav Gavrikov. But here's another name worth considering: Calgary Flames defenceman Rasmus Andersson. He has one more year left on a six-year, $27.3 million deal that carries a $4.55 million cap hit. While the Flames have said in the past that Andersson will be in Calgary to stay, his exit interview seemed to suggest his future was up in the air. Advertisement If the Flames wanted to move on from the Swede, it might be worth it for the Sens to take a flier on an all-situations right-shot defenceman who looks to enter his prime at age 28 despite his point totals decreasing since the 2021-22 season. For those wondering how that affects youngster Carter Yakemchuk and his place in the organization: Patience will be key here. Since he'll be 20 by year's end, the Sens' 2024 first-round pick will be eligible to play in the AHL with the Belleville Senators next season. It's the likely route for Yakemchuk unless he turns heads again and pushes for NHL minutes as he did last training camp. The Senators needn't be forced to play Yakemchuk in their lineup. But that doesn't mean they won't challenge him to make their upcoming roster decisions tough on them. 'He knows how important this summer is for him,' Staios said. 'You get an opportunity with the Ottawa Senators on merit, and if he's ready to play and pushes us, we'll be open to that.' If the Sens want to chase any big fish via trade or use offer sheets to sign restricted free agents, they must be mindful of their draft-pick pool. The first-round-pick issue remains a hurdle. But the Sens also don't have a second-round pick this year (though they do have three in 2026). It appears the Sens will keep their 2025 first-round pick, according to Staios. That's one item checked off his to-do list. Sens owner Michael Andlauer said it would likely be the case when he spoke last month. It would mean forfeiting their 2026 first-round pick if their punishment for l'affaire Evgenii Dadonov holds up. The 37-year-old Giroux is the biggest name in the Sens' pending free-agent class and its most fascinating case. Sens players expressed how much the veteran meant to them Saturday, and Staios affirmed that. Though he declined, as he normally does, to discuss negotiations. 'We love (Giroux and we) want to have him back,' Staios said. 'We touched on it briefly at the exit meetings, and everything's still fresh right now.' Advertisement When we did a contract comparable for Giroux in a recent mailbag, thanks to our friends at PuckPedia, we used teammate David Perron's two-year, $8 million ($4 million AAV) contract as a comparison. PuckPedia estimated that a new deal for Giroux could carry a cap hit between $4.85 million and $5 million. It has been quiet on the Giroux contract front for much of the year. But if you're Giroux and his agent, Pat Brisson, Perron's contract is an easy jump-off point, and Giroux's statistics (15 goals, 50 points) suggest he could still be some kind of factor at 37. Giroux told the media he still thinks he could be an impact player. But is it a risk worth taking for Staios? We touched on a few other pending UFAs in our Saturday player postmortem piece, but one player we didn't spend much time on was backup goalie Anton Forsberg. Netminder and fellow Swede Linus Ullmark commended Forsberg for being a big help to him in his first season with the Senators, helping him get acclimated to a new city. 'Whenever there were any sort of questions from me or my wife or whatever it may be,' Ullmark said, 'if it was a play date here or there (with our kids), they were in the same shoes as us. Being a goaltending family, it's a little bit different. So, I have a lot of gratitude towards them, lots of love, as well. They really helped us to thrive in Ottawa quicker than I ever could have imagined.' But Leevi Merilainen's emergence could spell the end for Forsberg. You may remember the rookie saving the Sens' season when Ullmark was injured — speaking of young players taking a step. 'Anton Forsberg is a great pro and a great teammate,' Staios said. 'We'll look at our goaltending depth. Leevi's come up and played well. But when you have a player like Anton, (he has) the commitment in being in that role as the backup and one of the hardest-working guys on our team. … So we'll take a long look at it and we'll see what the possibilities are.' The Sens have two restricted free agents in Zetterlund and Tyler Kleven. Zetterlund is arbitration-eligible, according to PuckPedia. Advertisement The Sens signed Nikolas Matinpalo to a two-year contract extension Monday, which takes one restricted free agent off Staios' plate. Most eyes will fall on Zetterlund, who joined the Sens via trade from San Jose after contract talks broke down between him and the Sharks. Nothing is imminent on a deal just yet, but he's due for some kind of raise. But the backdrop of contract discussions with his previous employer makes his case the most intriguing. Despite only two regular-season goals with 5 points in 20 games with Ottawa, he finished his regular season with 19 goals and 41 points with two teams. Staios sees him as part of their future. Zetterlund is open to remaining in Ottawa beyond this season. 'We think he's a good fit for our group,' Staios said. 'And like many of our players, we feel like there's room for improvement.' We'll know in time how much money, and term, the Sens will be willing to commit to the 25-year-old winger. (Top photo of the Ottawa Senators: André Ringuette / NHLI via Getty Images)
