Report: Senators, Methot 'at a stalemate' in contract negotiations

Ottawa Senators defenseman Marc Methot is set to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the 2014-15 season, and the two sides appeared well on their way to working through the terms of a multi-year contract extension earlier this summer.

However, according to Ken Warren of the Ottawa Citizen, "negotiations between the Senators and Methot’s agent, Larry Kelly, are at a stalemate."

This is likely due to the fact that Methot and his agent are looking at the likes of Brooks Orpik of the Washington Capitals and Matt Carle of the Tampa Bay Lightning as comparables. 

Orpik signed a five-year, $27.5-million contract with the Washington Capitals back in July, and Carle is heading into the second year of a six-year, $33-million deal with Tampa Bay Lightning.

The Orpik deal in particular, with an average annual valuation of $5.5 million, would serve as quite an upgrade over Methot's current cap hit of $3 million. The comparisons, however, aren't off base, as evidenced by the following chart outlining the players production in 2013-14:

Nevertheless, the Senators may not be willing to pay that much for Methot, even if he has become a solid mainstay on the blue line alongside Erik Karlsson. 

The team is also engaged in contract talks with forwards Bobby Ryan and Clarke MacArthur and goaltender Craig Anderson.