The Ottawa Senators and pending UFAs in Claude Giroux and Anton Forsberg
TSN: Ottawa Senators GM Steve Staios when asked about pending UFA Claude Giroux and they remaining free agents, including goaltender Anton Forsberg and the backup position.
** NHLRumors.com transcription
Reporter: “How much of a priority is it for you to re-sign Claude Giroux?”
Staios: “Yeah, you know, I don’t like and I won’t talk about contract negotiations. But, I mean, we love G. Want to have him back. And we touched on it briefly at the exit meetings, and everything’s still fresh right now. You know, I think we’re be honest, like even talking to Travis, it still stings that we’re, we’re we’re here. And, you know, we had, we had belief in our group, and so everything’s really fresh right now. But I will get to speaking to all of our players that are up for contract.”
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Reporter: “Are there any players that you definitively know won’t be back for next season?”
Staois: “No, I mean, it’s, the process in which we’re going to do this is, Travis and I will take a little bit of time here, decompress, and then we’ll speak. We’ll speak more in depth on our team and on individuals, and look at areas where we can improve. And, but, you know, we’ve, we’ve we’ve had some good performances from, from a lot of those players.”
Reporter: “Anton Forsberg’s a free agent this summer. (Leevi) Merilainen was really good in Bellville and reached it with the Senators this year. How comfortable are you with Merilainen and potentially being the backup next season? And do you plan to add or re-sign Forsberg in the offseason?”
Staios: “Anton Forsberg, a great pro and a great teammate. And we’ll look at, we’ll look at our goaltending depth. You’re right. Leevi’s come up and played, played well, but certainly it’s, when you have a player like Anton, the commitment and in being in that role as the backup. And one of the hardest working guys on our team, and committed. So we’ll, we’ll take a long look at it and see what the possibilities are.”
Reporter: “How close do you feel Merilainen is to becoming, you know, a full-time NHLer?”
Staios: “I think he took a big step this year, really. I mean, I think he gave us some good games and and I think what impressed us most was the moment wasn’t too big for him. For a young goaltender, I think the his calm demeanor, I think helped our group, you know, and it’s impressive for a young, young player to be able to do that.”
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