Mark Stone may have seen enough in Ottawa

Given the circumstances surrounding his contract negotiations and the path the Ottawa Senators have chosen, this shouldn’t be much of a surprise — but Mark Stone may want out.

TVA’s Louis Jean floated out the notion Tuesday night, reporting that his sources have indicated that Stone is frustrated with the direction of the rebuilding Senators and would welcome a move elsewhere.

Speaking on live television Jean did include a caveat, suggesting that if things did improve in Ottawa that Stone could very well be convinced to play ball and potentially even be the team’s next captain.

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That’s all well and good, and the safe play when not hearing it from the horse’s mouth, but how exactly are things to improve in Ottawa? Sure the Senators could perform well beyond expectation, but that leaves them where, exactly?

Along with Matt Duchene, Stone is one of the few proven building blocks on the Senators roster following the trade of superstar defender Erik Karlsson. There are a lot of futures to be excited about on the roster, yes, but the team is several years away from truly aiming to contend — and Stone knows it.

Forgoing the opportunity to cash in on his most productive season of a rock-solid four-year introduction to the NHL, Stone prioritized control of his NHL career over guaranteed dollars from the Senators by taking his negotiations with the franchise nearly all the way through the arbitration process.

Eventually he agreed to a one-year deal worth $7.35 million, and the right to explore unrestricted free agency next summer. It’s hard to imagine a scenario where he’ll devote his future to the Sens before testing the open market.

Instead the more likely scenario is that the Senators read the tea leaves correctly this time and try to use Stone to replace the lost selection in the misguided Duchene deal. Trading back into the first round of this summer’s draft has to be a priority for general manager Pierre Dorion, and Stone presents the means to achieve it.

So is there destination that makes sense?

Not to get too carried away with an idea that was qualified almost immediately, but what about the Oilers, here?

Peter Chiarelli has a first-round draft pick and has done just about nothing this offseason to help right the ship in Edmonton. Ottawa is in a position to take on an unwanted contract (perhaps not on the level of Milan Lucic, but I hear ya) to secure the first-round pick that could potentially wind up as a lottery selection.

Money is tight in Edmonton, but Andrej Sekera’s shift to long-term injury reserve will offer some flexibility soon enough.

I know Leon Draisaitl would endorse the move.

Anywho. However barren it leaves things in Ottawa, it makes all the sense in the world for the Senators to move on from Stone if it fetches the return they need as they jump right into a full-blown retooling.

And if he pushes for the exit, it honestly makes the decision a little easier on everyone.

But for what it’s worth:

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