Five Thoughts for Friday: PTO Signings, Ullmark's Willingness to Stay, LeBreton Update, and more

The first Five Thoughts of September: just one month until the season begins!

Intriguing PTO Signings

Yesterday it was announced that the Ottawa Senators signed LW Nikolay Kulemin and RHD Calen Addison to Professional Tryouts (PTOs) for training camp. It was uh...pretty surprising news for Kulemin considering he's 38 years old and hasn't played in the NHL since 2018 with the New York Islanders. He spent the past six seasons in the KHL between Metallurg Magnitogorsk and Ufa Salavat Yulaev, and last season he had 25 points in 46 games. Even at his best, he was a middle-6 forward, so I'd be shocked if he actually made the team. He was working out in Matt Nichol's gym this summer, so that might have been where some initial conversations were had.

Addison is a more realistic player to make the roster, as he's a right-handed defensemen and the Senators depth there is quite poor. Three years ago, adding Addison would've been phenomenal as he was a top prospect in Pittsburgh and then Minnesota. He was fantastic in the AHL with 58 points in 78 games across three seasons, and even had great NHL numbers in a small sample of 15 games in 2021-22. The season after saw him get 29 points in 62 games with less than stellar possession numbers, then while mostly playing with San Jose last year, his numbers went in the tank:

There's a reason players sign PTOs: because they have huge warts in their game. But with the defense market being quite lean, I don't mind taking a shot on Addison in preseason. If he's better than Travis Hamonic (a low bar), you should sign him for the minimum. I'm not confident he'll provide much, but I'll take him over Hamonic and some of their potential AHL callups.

Ullmark Can Easily be Re-Signed

Linus Ullmark was a headliner at Wednesday's season kickoff press conference, and he already seems to be a fan favourite. Ullmark is a free agent next summer, which has some people worried about his willingness to stay in Ottawa. However, Steve Staios is being patient:

“My whole goal was to introduce him and his whole family to our wonderful community,” Staios said. “I want him to feel comfortable before we even talk about anything else. We talked about that in our initial conversation, we want to develop a relationship.

“We want him to come here, be an Ottawa Senator and feel what it’s like. I feel confident in our community, our organization and we’re thrilled to have them with us.”

It makes sense to go that route, because people take time to adjust, especially considering he has a wife and two children. He seems like a very laid-back family man who wants to win but also wants to be comfortable:

“When it comes to me and my family, I play for what’s best for my family. That’s the same for a lot of people who have kids,” he said. “If things aren’t taking care of themselves off the ice, then it’s hard to focus, especially what’s important on the ice.

“If you don’t have all these troubles or problems you have to deal with, it’s kind of like having all kinds of apps open on your phone. They just drain the energy of the battery all the time. You just want to shut them off, close them down, and then prioritize that way. That will help you manage your energy and your emotions.”

He even brought up how close the IKEA is to their new home and the fact that they'll be able to do many snow-related activities with their kids, which sold them on coming to Ottawa. Ullmark also loves the quietness that comes with living in Ottawa compared to Boston, so I really get the sense that contract negotiations with him are going to be centred around a fair deal that keeps his family happy. This isn't an Alex DeBrincat situation where he wants to go home or a case where he wants to rob the Senators blind, I truly believe he can be re-signed provided two things:

1. Ottawa is at least competitive and in the race
2. He plays decently well

The Senators cannot afford yet another slow start, and if they start off strong, it'll only convince Ullmark to stay even more. If they're in a playoff spot or close to one by the beginning of winter, I can definitely see a contract getting done in the 4-5 year range. If he isn't himself, then that obviously puts things on hold because Ottawa won't be as confident in him, but I like his chances of staying an elite goalie. I know we said this in the past with DeBrincat and Chychrun, but Ullmark feels different.

Connections with "Influencers"

That aforementioned season kickoff press conference was neat because it involved tons of online "influencers" that the Senators invited. Silver Seven's own Beata Elliott attended, as did many other bloggers, podcasters, and Twitter personalities. I've heard from others that the team plans to be much more involved with these "influencers" than they have in the past, which is no surprise given that Ian Mendes is now part of the communications department. The team has so many talented bloggers, journalists, podcasts, and online personalities and I love seeing those people get a chance to connect with the team like never before.

They have also updated their communications department and called it Sens 360, with an aim at bringing more content to fans. It'll be so refreshing to have a closer connection with the team than in previous years, and hopefully some of our best and brightest people online will get to have some amazing experiences.

LeBreton Update

Well, there still isn't any good news on LeBreton Flats, what else is new? Cyril Leeder said that September 20th is a hard deadline for the Senators and the NCC to come to an agreement. That deadline has shifted so many times over the years, but hopefully we will know by then if LeBreton is the choice going forward or if they will have to look elsewhere. According to Bruce Garrioch, some progress is being made towards getting a deal done, although as we know, we'll believe it when we see it.

Garrioch had this to say in his article:

“The NCC is willing to compromise on some of the issues that it once considered black and white going into this negotiation,” one well-placed source said Thursday. “I think there’s been more progress in the last couple of months than there was before that.”

There is more valuable information in that article regarding the specifics of the potential deal, but the gist of it is that even with a lease agreement, there are still more hurdles to overcome before shovels are in the ground and the arena gets completed. We've been talking about LeBreton Flats for at least a decade, and I'm hoping that we can get an answer one way or the other about whether they can build an arena there. To me, it still seems like the best spot in town so I hope they can get a deal done.

Most Hated Team Around

After the signing of Nick Cousins, the Senators are easily going to be one of the most hated teams around for opponents and their fanbases. Brady Tkachuk, Claude Giroux, Ridly Greig, Nick Cousins, David Perron, Zack MacEwen, and Travis Hamonic can all get under player's skin. Other teams hate Tim Stützle and Cousins because of their supposed "diving" (in Cousins' case, it's absolutely true, sorry...), and the team is going to be very hit-heavy, tough, and yappy. That doesn't mean they can't be good as well, but they will at least be annoying other teams night in and night out.

All good teams need an identity, and I say we embrace being a hated team, it can be fun going against everyone else. I just hope that some of that hatred is because the Senators are actually good for once.