NHL Free Agency: Senators sign Anthony Duclair to one-year extension

The Ottawa Senators pledged a short-term commitment to young left winger Anthony Duclair. Can he help speed up their rebuild?

Throughout his short NHL career, Anthony Duclair has had more than his fair share of changes of scenery. He’s played for five teams in seven seasons. Luckily for Duclair, he’s not on the move again, at least not for the time being. The Ottawa Senators announced Monday that they resigned Duclair to a one year deal, thus avoiding him hitting NHL free agency as a restricted free agent.

He was traded to Ottawa this year as part of the package that saw the Columbus Blue Jackets acquire center Matt Duchene. Before donning a Blue Jackets uniform, Duclair also had stops in Chicago, Arizona, and New York.

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Originally drafted by the New York Rangers in 2013, he made his NHL debut as one of their top prospects in 2014. Later that season, he was traded by the Rangers to Arizona for defenseman Keith Yandle. Thus began the nomad type nature of Duclair’s NHL career, with a two and a half stint with the Coyotes as his longest stop.

Duclair was touted as one of the Rangers best prospects, but his stay with the Arizona Coyotes seemed to stunt his growth. After scoring 44 points in 81 games in his first season in Arizona, he struggled the next two before being sent to the Blackhawks.

His tenure with the Coyotes included demotions to the AHL. During his time in the minors, Arizona’s GM and stat guru John Chayka used Duclair as an example of his stat tracking to develop player performance.

While Chayka proclaimed his methods a success, he never regained that same form he had his first season with Arizona, although he came close this past year split between Columbus and Ottawa.

Throughout 74 games this past year, Duclair had 19 goals and fourteen assists. Perhaps not having question marks surrounding where he ends up come October will lead the young winger to feel a sense of stability and continue with his player development.

Still, Duclair shouldn’t get too comfortable. Ottawa only signed him to a one year contract, which isn’t exactly a long-term commitment. Mix that with the constant changes happening in Ottawa and Duclair’s stay can be cut short as well.

Best case scenario for him is that he reads this one year contract as a “show me” deal. Even though Ottawa is fully committed to a rebuild with a point of no return, their prospect list isn’t exactly filled to the brim with NHL ready talent.

While he has struggled, Duclair has at least shown he can stay on NHL roster. The rebuilding Senators team might be the perfect place for Duclair to show his worth and give Ottawa a reason to keep him around long-term. If he does, Eugene Melnyk might open his checkbook for a raise once his one year deal runs out.

You have to feel a little bit for Duclair. His growth as a player has been stunted by always moving and never having an organization fully committed to him. Hopefully, he’s found his chance in Ottawa and can help the Senators with their long overdue rebuild.