Bryan Murray Must Retain His Experienced Blueline
After missing the playoffs in 2008-09, the Ottawa Senators have surged back into the post-season picture, and are battling it out with the Buffalo Sabres for the Northeast Division lead.
Bryan Murray has done an excellent job over the last year, and built a contender out of a particularly difficult Dany Heatley trade demand situation. Murray dealt a top-tier goal scorer but has managed to ice a more complete and balanced roster.
Come summertime, GM Bryan Murray will be starting to sweat over his biggest off-season question – whether or not to re-sign gritty defenceman Anton Volchenkov. The Senators’ hard-hitting Russian blueliner is slated to become a UFA on July 1st and despite Murray’s best efforts to re-sign him, he has been unsuccessful.
Rumour has it that Volchenkov is asking for $5 million per season, a hefty number for a player with only 12 points this season. To further frustrate Murray, the KHL is knocking at the door, with a reported offer of $6 million per season.
Volchenkov possesses the grit and poise to lead this team into the playoffs, and that is exactly what he’ll do. A valuable member of the Ottawa team that reached the Cup Final in 2007, Anton has played with lifetime Senator Chris Phillips since that time. Volchenkov is currently third on the Sens with 132 hits, and 1st on the team and fifth in the NHL in blocked shots with 147.
At the very least, Volchenkov will be around for one more playoff run in Ottawa.
It is in Bryan Murray’s best interest to prevent Volchenkov from walking out the door. In recent years, Murray has been unable to re-sign the likes of Zdeno Chara, Andrej Meszaros and Martin Havlat. Should he let Volchenkov walk, he will lose a significant piece of his top-two D pairing, and create a hole on the blueline that won’t be filled until young prospects Erik Karlsson, Jared Cowan or Brian Lee are fully developed.
Ottawa’s trio of top defensive prospects are likely to be future staples of the Ottawa blueline, but to capitalize on their current window for success, Bryan Murray mustn’t allow his veterans to slip away. By the time the baton has been handed to the youthful trio of defensemen, Daniel Alfredsson and Alexei Kovalev may be obsolete as NHL talents. Considering the effective mix on the current Sens roster, Bryan Murray must find a way to keep Volchenkov, or find a suitable replacement through free agency.
