GARRIOCH: Ottawa Senators Brady Tkachuk still trying to bridge the gap in contract negotiations

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Watching and waiting for a Brady tkachuk the signature continues.

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Training camp has moved to another phase after the Ottawa Senators opened the preseason with a 3-2 win over the Winnipeg Jets on Sunday night at the Canada Life Center and talks continue to try to land the 22-year-old restricted free agent. extreme signed a deal.

Ottawa General Manager Pierre Dorion contacted Toronto-based Tkachuk agents Craig oster and Don Meehan from Newport Sports every day since camp started. Both sides are trying to find a way to end the stalemate so that Tkachuk gets back on the ice as quickly as possible.

Senators are believed to have presented an eight-year, $ 64 million deal for Tkachuk’s side and remain focused on trying to get him to sign a long-term deal. That’s the same contract signed by the Ottawa defender. ThomasChabot that will pay him $ 8 million per season.

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The indications are that the senators and Tkachuk are not that far off in dollar terms.

TSN Insider Darren dreger told the network’s radio station in Toronto on Monday that he believes the two sides have been unable to reach an agreement on the structure of the deal. He wondered if at some point the talks could turn into a bridging agreement like the one Tkachuk’s brother Matthew signed with the Calgary Flames in 2019.

When Dreger talks about structure, he means that the Tkachuk camp is looking for extra money and the senators don’t want to go down that path.

“Maybe the middle ground is a shorter deal,” Dreger told TSN 1050.

Senators prefer to lock up Tkachuk for the long term because he is part of the core and that is why the club is trying to exhaust all options to achieve it.

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Senators owner Eugene Melnyk, Dorion, coach Dj smith, GM assistant Peter MacTavish, senior vice president PierreMcguire and all hockey operations personnel know that it is paramount to hire Tkachuk as soon as possible.

The fact that camp is missed is not good because Tkachuk is the type of player who can use this portion to prepare and will put him behind the 8 ball when he arrives.

But that doesn’t mean senators should just give Tkachuk whatever he wants to make a deal, and that’s where they’re trying to strike a balance. The club will also have to sign players like winger Tim Stuetzle and center Josh Norris, who have proven they could be high-level talents.

Sure, you’re sitting here saying that senators have a lot of room in the salary cap, but they don’t want to sink 60 percent of their salaries into four or five players, and then not be able to put talent around them because of the cap.

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The club also has Jake sanderson from the University of North Dakota and goalkeeper Mads sogaard has shown a lot of potential.

Tkachuk has been skating in Ann Arbor, Michigan with the RFA forwards Elias pettersson and Quinn Hughes of the Vancouver Canucks while he waits for a deal to be made.

The NHL released its key dates on Monday and Tkachuk, along with the rest of the RFAs, must sign by Dec. 1 if they want to be eligible to play this season. It’s doubtful that it will get to that point, but that’s the line in the sand.

PINTO IN POINT

Center Shane pinto he is pushing to be the No. 2 center to start the season and did nothing to hurt his chances with great effort Sunday.

He led all forwards on ice time with 20:18 against the Jets, scored the winning goal with just 25 seconds into overtime and, just in case, was 13 of 21 in the circle head-to-head. He played 12 games for the club after leaving the University of North Dakota in April.

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“Pinto was as good as anyone on the ice for us,” Smith said.

The key for Pinto, 20, is that he is a smart player with good poise. The games he played at the end of last season prepared him for camp and had him ready to fight for a spot at this camp.

“It was very important to know what to expect in each game,” he said. “I knew what I needed to work on this summer and I think I worked on those things. I got in a little better and I was confident going in, so I have to keep building on that. “

Weather Josh norris he is the top center of the club, behind him there is a battle for positioning. Veterans Chris Tierney and Colin White They are in the mix along with Pinto. By the time the season starts, management and coaching will have to figure out where everyone fits.

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Pinto said he is developing good chemistry with the veteran winger. Tyler ennis, which is here on a professional test.

“He’s a really good player,” Pinto said. “He is deceptive and makes very good plays. We read quite well. We played a good game and hopefully we can build on that. “

Kelly on the rise

Forward Parker Kelly, who made his NHL debut last season and scored a goal, played 16:42 and helped kill penalties.

I’m not sure if he’ll be part of the lineup on opening night, but he’s trying to push for a spot. There’s nothing fancy about Kelly, yet she plays confidently and does the little things right. If you can play in a fourth line role and make a contribution, they will keep you.

Smith is a fan of Kelly, who was not drafted and signed as a free agent.

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“Parker just gives you the same effort in every game,” Smith said. “In the NHL there is a lot of chip, chase and little space, and he is a guy who is willing to go to dirty areas. He finishes every hit, he has a good rhythm in his game, he is a very good penalty killer and he is a guy who is knocking on the door ”.

THE LAST WORDS

One boy you had to like on Sunday was D Lassi thomson. He spent last season with Belleville and has come a long way. Thomson has an NHL shot and does a good job moving the puck out of his own zone. Senators will tell you that you have stood firm for them throughout this camp. A No. 19 overall pick in 2019, he’ll need time at Belleville, but if he can keep it up, he’ll put himself in a position to be called up. He played 17:29 and did a good job helping kill the five-minute-plus rated at Ridly greig for cross checking. … Senators made a move on the list by sending G Leevi merilainen Back to OHL’s Kingston Frontenacs on Monday. He accompanied the Senators to Winnipeg to be the club’s third goalkeeper in the event of Anton Forsberg or Filip Gustavsson He had a problem. Merilainen has a good chance to be Finland’s number one goalkeeper at the World Youth Cup. … Extreme Zach Sanford, acquired from the St. Louis Blues in exchange for center Logan brown on Saturday, he should be on the ice with Ottawa today. It was expected to arrive over the weekend and it will take some time to adjust to being here. As indicated in this space, expect Sanford to skate with White and Nick paul once Tkachuk has agreed on a deal. … The senators have gone to two groups in the camp after dividing them into three to begin with.

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Twitter: @sungarrioch