Senators avoid arbitration, sign Daugavins to one-year, one-way deal

As was first reported by TSN's Darren Dreger, the Ottawa Senators have re-signed forward Kaspars Daugavins to a one-year deal, avoiding arbitration with the loveable Latvian sparkplug.

Shortly after the initial announcement, Bruce Garrioch tweeted the contract's specifics: A one-way deal worth $635k, which was slightly less than Daugavins' qualifying offer, but the one-way aspect of it more than made up for the pay cut.

When Daugavins elected for arbitration, reports were that the biggest sticking point was between a one- and two-way deal; Daugavins wanted the certainty of a one-way deal, while the Sens wanted the flexibility of a two-way contract. The two sides ended up settling for lower salary on a one-way deal, which sets Ottawa up with a lot of guys vying for roster spots up front, even if Daniel Alfredsson isn't coming back next season (but he is, right? RIGHT?!?!).

By my count, there are 12 forwards on one-way deals (Jason Spezza, Milan Michalek, Guillaume Latendresse, Chris Neil, Kyle Turris, Bobby Butler, Colin Greening, Peter Regin, Zack Smith, Jim O'Brien, Daugavins, and Erik Condra), plus Alfredsson, plus prospects Mika Zibanejad, Jakob Silfverberg, Mark Stone, and Stefan Noesen each with a decent to pretty good opportunity at cracking the Ottawa roster in training camp. Competition will be tight, prospects will be disappointed, and trades or waivers seem almost inevitable.

How does your forward depth chart shake out?