Sens aren't messing around with asking price for Stone and Duchene!

It seems like we are set to know more about what will happen to pending free agents Mark Stone and Matt Duchene shortly, as Bob McKenzie revealed on Thursday that the Ottawa Senators should have clarity on their futures in the coming days.

One thing is clear however: if Stone and Duchene hit the trade market, rival teams will need to be ready to offer quite a bit to pry them out of Ottawa. 

As the price tag has been revealed on Columbus Blue Jackets star forward Artemi Panarin, it seems like the Senators don't want anything less for Stone or Duchene. According to The Fourth Period's David Pagnotta, the Senators are seeking a first-round pick, a top prospect/young NHLer and another top-tier asset for Stone, and the same for Duchene. 

McKenzie said on the TSN Hockey Bobcast Thursday that he believes both players will hit the trade market ahead of the deadline, which would push Ottawa in a complete rebuild in the coming years. 

“My needle on Stone and Duchene is that they’re not going to sign in Ottawa and they’re going to be traded,” McKenzie said. “Now, I guess they could. And I’m sure Ottawa will continue here in the next number of days to try and take a run at that, but I don’t know."  

There haven't been a lot of updates of contract negotiations when it comes to Stone and Duchene. 

Senators owner Eugene Melnyk did admit on Tuesday that the team’s rebuild will take a couple of years, but added that it will lead to a five-year run of unprecedented success.

"Was it a bold declaration of a new mission statement where the Senators will go in a completely different direction of running their team, going from a budget team to a cap team? Or was it really just a public sales pitch to Matt Duchene and Mark Stone to have them stay?" asked McKenzie during Insider Trading on TSN. 

It remains to be seen if the speech did in fact persuade the two forwards to stay or if Melnyk was simply warning fans that a major overhaul will take longer in Ottawa following two major trades in the coming weeks...