Shane Pinto extension not expected before start of season

Despite expressing a desire to sign a long-term extension with the Ottawa Senators when he became eligible on July 1, there’s currently no such agreement in place for Shane Pinto. In a recent interview with Steve Warne of The Hockey News, general manager Steve Staios doesn’t expect this to change anytime soon. In the interview, when directly pressed on extension negotiations between the team and Pinto, Staios said, “I think what we’ve decided on is we’re gonna let the season start and not have Shane distracted with (contract talks). But I guess the best way to put it is (we’ve had) preliminary conversations — positive ones — that lead me to believe that there will be a deal done at the right time. And that’s really all I can report on that.” The news of positive preliminary talks is a good sign that Pinto will ultimately sign an extension with Ottawa; the phrase ’distraction’ has different implications altogether. It doesn’t necessarily mean that Pinto won’t re-up with the Senators, but the use of that wordRead More