Ottawa Senators may signup center Evan Rodrigues as final piece of the puzzle
Follow Us
Evan Rodrigues
Center Evan Rodrigues is one of the best UFAs (unrestricted free agents) who’s still on the market. Though many teams are eyeing him for signup, three among them have the strongest competitive resources.
Apart from his previous team, the Pittsburg Penguins, he has also played with the Buffalo Sabres. Last season he contributed greatly to the Penguins and kept them afloat throughout the game season. With the type of power-play he demonstrated in the 2021-22 season, he’s not signing till now is rather surprising.
Also Read| Storm brews between defencemen Roman Joshi and Cale Makar for 2022-23 Norris Trophy Award
Discussion on NHL teams that can sign up center Evan Rodrigues
With a total of 316 games played in his NHL career, he has recorded 53 goals, 76 assists, in 129 points. In the last season with the Pittsburg Penguins, he scored 43 points with 19 goals and 24 assists in 82 games, while posting 5 points with 3 goals and 2 assists in 7 playoff games.
Both Colorado Avalanche and the Ottawa Senators are strong competitors who can pen down the center, but another strong NHL team who put its name in the competition is the Seattle Kraken.
First of all, the Senators have a cap space of $7,940,119 million going into the 2022-23 season. Despite rebuilding their roster, the team is weak on the center spot behind Josh Norris. Rodrigues comes as a perfect fit, filling on the second line with versability as his sidekick.
They could easily pull the trigger and bring in the 29-year-old center, as they have already stepped into September with a cap space of $7 million approximately. On the other hand, after Nazem Kadri‘s sign up with the Calgary Flames, the Avalanche have a cap space of $3,910,000 million.
Rodrigues can easily act as a stop-gap and add volume to the Avs’ center depth. With all the superstars lining up their roster, he would fit in the puzzle perfectly. Though they have enough strong center players, it’s still lacking a bit considering the type of game Kadri brought.
They have the cap space to lock in the free agent with more or less $4 million in pockets. The call’s up to the team of course. Joe Sakic and co. may make an announcement soon.
They are in winning mode right now, so why not add a bit extra to the team? Though the high-end deal with Nathan MacKinnon is something to be concerned about. Other than these giant teams, there’s another NHL team that’s lurking – the Seattle Kraken.
Kraken has a cap space of $1,010,834 million as they look forward to the upcoming 2022-23 season. It’s a bit tight situation for the team if they want to bring in Rodrigues. They probably need to move some money to make the magic work. It’s just waiting season for now, until the ball rolls in the perfect course.
Also Read| “Another step forward” – Defenceman Erik Brannstrom signs $900K contract extension with Senators
Also Read| NHL legend Wayne Gretzky praises Connor McDavid for being “too good” in several interviews
Do follow us on: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter
Stay Updated!
Kaushani Chatterjee
(2140 Articles Published)