The Ottawa Senators remain so cap-strapped that it’s preventing them to sign young, promising player Shane Pinto, the only free agent left unsigned in the NHL. According to Cap Friendly, the Senators have just $62,620 of cap space after bringing in players like goaltender Joonas Korpisalo and Vladimir Tarasenko in free agency, with only 20 players rostered and forward Josh Norris still on the injured list.
The team refuses to call the situation a contract stalemate as they say the Senators and Pinto want to reach an agreement. Back in September, reports however emerged that Pinto was upset with a low one-year offer and is allegedly seeking around $2.5 million.
Now the Franklin Square, NY native might be losing his patience as Bruce Garrioch reports on Friday that he’s returned home for the time being. He is believed to be struggling with the media attention around his contract situation and would prefer to focus on training during negotiations.
Teams around the league have made offers and suggestions to the Senators in order to provide them with some cap room. There were recent reports that trade options had been explored for forward Mathieu Joseph and TSN’s Darren Dreger reported just last night how the Senators have held talks involving defenseman Erik Brannstrom.
Brannstrom carries a $2 million cap hit. If the option circles back to Joseph, who could be placed on waivers, it would give the Senators $1.7512 million in cap space, which wouldn’t be enough to sign Pinto.
I’m not saying the solution is easy, but how badly do the Senators want to create cap space in order to keep Pinto?
Who has now gone home to step away from the drama…
