NEWARK, N.J. — Gone are the days of the healthy scratch or a player being pulled off the bench midgame when a deadline trade may be close. "Precautionary reasons" has become the fashionable term in the NHL.
Thursday night, the Senators held three of its top players out of the lineup for said precautionary reasons — otherwise known as, "We’re trying to trade them and we don't want them to get hurt and lose value, so they're not playing."
As previously speculated, center Matt Duchene was a spectator for Ottawa's matchup vs. the Devils, and so were forwards Ryan Dzingel and Mark Stone, who, like Duchene, can become unrestricted free agents after the season.
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Senators coach Guy Boucher was adamant Wednesday that his players were playing "until told otherwise." The next day, he was told otherwise by general manager Pierre Dorion.
"Pierre told me late afternoon just before we came here," Boucher told reporters after his team's 4-0 loss. "I advised the players of Pierre's decision. From then on I made a lineup and tried to figure (it) out."
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Without three of his top four scorers and a combined 164 points (77 goals, 87 assists), Boucher iced a lineup even more rife with young players than usual. He also had to juggle 11 forwards and seven defensemen. Ottawa started the game slowly and trailed 2-0 after one period. Players attributed that to the shock of not having the held-out players on the bench.
"A little bit [of a slow start] given the circumstances and the uncertainty going into it, but I think as a team and professionals you've got to find a way," said veteran winger Bobby Ryan, who normally plays on a line with Dzingel and Duchene. "I think the room going into the game was a little somber and, I guess, rightfully so. At the same time, you've got to try and channel it in another way and go out to work and put your best effort out.”
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"It's something that, for the most part, guys are going through for the first time, so it is what it is," said second-year defenseman Thomas Chabot. "It's part of the game, it's part of the business, it's the sport that we're playing in, obviously.
"The only thing we control is what we do out there on the ice and that's what we've got to focus on"
Ottawa must regroup quickly. It will complete a back-to-back Friday at home vs. Columbus. Duchene, Stone and Dzingel are expected to be out for that game, too. The Senators will host the Flames on Sunday prior to Monday's trade deadline.
"It's that time of the year," Chabot noted. "I think we've just got to focus on our group, the group of guys that we have in here right now, and that's the guys that we're going to play with 'til the end of the year, so we're going to have to focus on us."
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Focusing is easier said than done, especially when a team has to play without two of its leaders (Duchene and Stone are assistant captains). The expectation of losing veterans who contribute to a team mired at the bottom of the standings is not only affecting the young players but veterans as well.
"You look at Mark Stone; I have been here his whole career," said center Zack Smith, who has been with the organization since he was drafted in 2008. "I remember the first day he came in and the same with Dzingel. Duchene has been a good friend since the day he came in.
"It's tough for everyone. Everyone likes them. All three fit in very well in the room. It's unfortunate."
The clock is ticking on when, or if, the three players will be shipped out. Goodbyes are on the back burner for now.
"Not yet, no, nothing like that," Ryan said. "I don't talk to the guys about it. I've been through it but not to this degree, but that's their business.
"Selfishly, you want them all here and you want them in the lineup and playing for you, but they've got to do what's right for them and the team's got to protect themselves as well, so it's all understandable on the business side of things. You just wish from the hockey side it was different."