One of the prevailing themes of the Steve Staios era in Ottawa is that the general manager and his staff have done an excellent job of targeting and acquiring players who represented good fits.
With the exception of last summer’s Linus Ullmark trade, this front office has historically avoided making splashy moves of the previous regime by avoiding players who carry a lot of name value but fail to move the needle because they are a poor fit.
Working the margins and making incremental gains to support the organization’s young core has been the principal focus for the hockey operations department. Adding players like Nick Jensen, Jordan Spence, and Adam Gaudette will never generate big headlines, but they all were or continue to be better fits than the players they replaced.
In the case of Gaudette, last year’s free agent signing was coming off a strong 44-goal season with the AHL’s Springfield Thunderbirds. Thanks to his familiarity playing for head coach Travis Green during their time together in Vancouver, Gaudette turned a productive preseason (four goals, one assist in five games) into an extended audition with the club that culminated in his best season as a pro. The 28-year-old recorded 19 goals and 26 points for the Senators while predominantly playing on the fourth line and second power play unit.
He parlayed those efforts into a two-year, $4.0 million contract ($2.0 million AAV) with San Jose.
Steve Warne did an excellent job drawing parallels between the Gaudette and Kaliyev situations earlier this offseason, so I will not discuss in detail here, but Gaudette’s absence created an opportunity. With it, the Senators targeted another player the hockey ops department is familiar with – signing unrestricted free agent winger, Arthur Kaliyev, to a one-year, two-way deal.
Could Arthur Kaliyev Be The Senators’ Next Adam Gaudette Story?
One of the feel-good stories of training camp last season was Ottawa Senators centre Adam Gaudette. Gaudette came to Ottawa last summer on a one-year, two-way contract, to battle for one of the final forward positions on the NHL roster. No one ruled him out, but he certainly wasn’t a shoo-in either.
The winger spent three years playing for Michael Andlauer and Steve Staios’ OHL Hamilton Bulldogs and won an OHL championship in 2018. Although Kaliyev was just a developing teenage prospect at the time, these years will inevitably provide familiarity and intimate knowledge of his strengths and weaknesses.
Kaliyev has been linked to the Senators since his 2019 draft year when the organization selected Shane Pinto with the 32nd overall selection. Several prognosticators believed it was a missed opportunity to draft Kaliyev, who was taken just one pick later by the Los Angeles Kings. In the Central Scouting Bureau’s final rankings, Pinto was the 28th-ranked North American skater, while Kaliyev ranked seventh.
Kaliyev’s offensive production in Hamilton drove his draft value. Widely praised and renowned for his NHL-ready shot, he tallied 51 goals and 102 points in 67 games during his draft-eligible 2018-19 season.
In the years that followed, Kaliyev’s stock has dropped, but I spoke with the winger Thursday morning about his opportunity in Ottawa.
“It was really good,” the Uzbekistani winger said with a smile as he described his summer. “I trained hard. I had two tough injuries last year, and it was the hardest-working summer that I’ve had in a while. I’m trying to get back to the top of my game.”
Kaliyev sustained a fractured clavicle while battling with defenceman Kyle Burroughs on the second day of training camp last season. When he was cleared to return for play with the Kings in early January, the organization put him on waivers, where the New York Rangers claimed him.
The winger would play 14 games with the Rangers (three goals, one assist) before breaking his surgically-repaired clavicle again, ending his season.
The experience of a lost season ate at Kaliyev.
“Yeah, it was really, really frustrating,” he admitted. “I felt I was just starting to get better (in New York). I had a couple of good moments, and then I got hurt again.
“It was really, really sad at first when that happened. So, (when I recovered) I went back to work as soon as I could.”
That his career was reaching a pivotal moment was not lost on Kaliyev. The Rangers ultimately decided it was not worth tendering him a qualifying offer, making him an unrestricted free agent.
Once Kaliyev recovered, he began his offseason workouts at the end of May, acknowledging that he had taken his training to a higher level.
“Everything needed to be at a top level with a lot of extra work, after missing so much time last year with injuries and recovering and not playing,” Kaliyev described. “I took it up a notch in the summer to get on top of my game and get my weight and body right.”
His NHL career began modestly enough. In his first full season as a 20-year-old in 2021-22, he tallied 14 goals and 27 points in 80 games. He followed that up by recording 13 goals and 28 points 56 games, improving his five-on-five points rate while leading the team in his individual expected goals rate (1.07 ixG/60) per NaturalStatTrick.
It is these levels that Kaliyev wants to get back to and surpass.
“In my second year, I was close to breaking out,” he confidently stated. “Then injuries started piling on for three years in a row. (My frustrations and struggles) don’t mean I can quit now.
“I’m trying to get back (to those levels), but I can’t (dwell on) the past. I want to try to get back to my top level and be even better than I was. I just have to keep working hard. Don’t quit on ice mentally and keep going every day. Keep working on being better in practices and games every day.”
Lip service and optimism are never in short supply during training camps around the NHL, but during my conversation with Kaliyev, it is evident that he understands how important this season will be for his career.
Given those stakes, it made sense for him to sign with the Senators where there is some familiarity.
“(Management) knows me well, and I don’t know how other teams would think of me after coming back from two surgeries,” said Kaliyev. “I’m not sure if I would get as good of a chance (to play and develop) if I went to another team.
“Ottawa knows me the best as a player and as a person. It will help me the most to become a top player again.”
The opportunity to reunite with Staios was a drawing factor.
“He knows how I can play,” Kaliyev stated. “He knows I try to play and work hard in every single game. (Staios) is going to help me to get back to the top of my game.
“I know they have a great staff here, too. I think they are one of the best, so they know what they are doing. To come here, this was my best option.”
Kaliyev was not discouraged by the fact that the Senators have quality depth at the wing position.
“I definitely compete in everything and will do everything I can (to win a roster spot),” he stated. “This is part of the business, and I’ll do my best to compete with anyone.”
Given his age, his underlying metrics and the organization’s familiarity with the player, it is easy to understand why the Senators would afford Kaliyev a chance to see if he can recapture some of the lustre.
As one of the lowest-scoring five-on-five teams in the league last season, the coaching staff will be looking for improvements. If Kaliyev can stay healthy and if his usage mirrors how the organization handled Gaudette, he could be an inexpensive secondary scorer for the club.
He represents a low-risk move with upside, but some of that enthusiasm dampened earlier this week after his ex-girlfriend made allegations on TikTok about verbal abuse and financial manipulation.
Steve Staios touched upon those allegations during his availability on the first day of training camp.
“We’re aware of (the allegations),” the general manager acknowledged. “It’s being monitored, but there’s nothing to it, is what we’ve been told. I don’t really have more to say on it.”
When I addressed the allegations with Kaliyev, I did not invite the player to comment on their specifics. I simply asked whether they were a distraction or had negatively impacted him as he began training camp with a new organization.
Kaliyev refused to comment.
By Graeme Nichols
The Hockey News Ottawa
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