Silver Nuggets: Woo! Positive news!

I could technically go through and create a pros and cons list for Clarke MacArthur's recent five-year contract extension, but at $4.65M per, I think that the Senators got a fantastic deal for a player that has been underrated his entire career. Together with Kyle Turris ($3.5M), the duo will be part of a very inexpensive, and productive possession-driving first line. I personally think that chemistry is easy to create if you have two linemates that are strong positionally and are smart with the puck, and am very confident that MacArthur and Turris will produce no matter who they're lined up with.

Here's a fantastic table from @ToddCordell that illustrates just how good MacArthur and Turris were last season.

A look at some of the best duos (min 800 minutes) in the NHL last year http://t.co/bB0mH3K8Cq pic.twitter.com/q46uuIzfw4

— Todd Cordell (@ToddCordell) August 19, 2014

This deal means that three of the Senators "top-six" forwards are locked up for the immediate future: Turris, MacArthur, and Michalek. With the Senators hoping to get something done with Bobby Ryan, it'll be up to Mika Zibanejad and Mark Stone, who are both RFAs after this year, to step up. Potential top-six forwards in the system include Mike Hoffman, Curtis Lazar, Shane Prince, and Matt Puempel, but with the exception of Hoffman, they are still a couple years away.

Sens Links

• Click the text for the official Senators press release, Clarke MacArthur's thoughts on the extension, Bryan Murray's thoughts on the extension, and then our Silver Seven discussion thread.
• We also learned this morning that MacArthur has a limited NTC and can submit a list of ten teams that he doesn't want to be traded to. This kicks in next year, but MacArthur has a full NMC this year. [Ken Warren]
• The Senators also had a press conference to announce that they've passed the $100M mark in terms of donations to the community. Although I've only contributed a small bit to that amount, I'm extremely happy with this news as the Ottawa Senators Foundation does fantastic work. [Ottawa Senators]
• Nichols transcribed the Melnyk interview where he announced the MacArthur signing, and touched on the Bobby Ryan negotiations. [6th Sens]
• Yost analyzed the MacArthur extension. Take a look at the table in the post because wow is that good company for Clarke to be in. [HockeyBuzz]
• Varada also offers his take on the MacArthur extension - an interesting note: 95% of S7ers liked this deal! [WTYKY]
• ESPN and Hockey Prospectus writer Corey Pronman revealed his Top 10 Senators prospects this week. [6th Sens]
• We've also been talking about prospects this month. Mrs. O looked at two that were big risers this season. [Claesson, Puempel]
• Also of note, prospect Nick Paul attended the BioSteel sports camp, which also featured Tyler Seguin, PK Subban, and Michael Del Zotto. Check out the video for a sweet shootout goal. [BioSteel]
• NKB also had a great article on how the Sens have been running into penalty trouble consistently over the past couple of years. [Silver Seven]
• The good folks over at Sens Callups recorded the media panel at the Sens Summer Fan Fest that our very own Amelia was a part of. Go give it a listen, as these are questions asked by fans straight to the media. [Sens Callups]
• SensChirp looks past the MacArthur extension to try and understand what it means for Bobby Ryan and Marc Methot. [SensChirp]
• Erik Karlsson had a lengthy interview with Ottawa media following his return to Canada. He sounds very mature, and mentally ready for this upcoming year. He also noted that he feels great health-wise. [Ottawa Senators]
• Pierre Dorion is the #best. [ALS Ice Bucket Challenge]
• Eugene Melnyk and Erik Karlsson's contribution isn't that bad either. Love that Lehner was the one to dump the ice ahaha. [Ottawa Senators] /

NHL Links

• One of my favourite follows is Jen (@RegressedPDO), who posted a fantastic article on Hockey Twitter and Social Change that I highly recommend. [JenLC]
• The NHL announced changes to the draft lottery process to be phased in over the next two years. Finishing with the worst record only leads to a 20% shot at the first overall pick, and that team can also drop as low as fourth overall. [NHL]
• Justin Bourne is at it again, this time with some important reminders on what we can really infer from fitness test results from training camp. [The Score]
• A really cool initiative by the Vancouver Canucks, who sponsored two hockey schools in China. [Vancouver Canucks]
• Similarly, former NHLer Jim Paek is trying to get South Korea's Mens program up to speed to compete in the 2018 Winter Olympics. [NYT]
• Charles Wang has finally sold the New York Islanders. [SBNation]
• After their first round exit to the LA Kings, the San Jose Sharks have gone a bit crazy this summer.. [SBNation]
• Lastly, a heartbreaking story about a 20-year-old Swedish defenseman who had to give up on hockey because of concussions. A really simple breakdown of concussions in hockey is found here. The second link is the retirement letter by Albin Blomqvist. [The Hockey News, Letter] /

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Sorry for the lengthy Nuggets, but I tried to be as comprehensive as possible in recapping all of the news that broke this week. As always, thanks for reading.