Report: Senators unlikely to offer Wiercioch new contract

Patrick Wiercioch could soon be the odd-man out of a crowded Ottawa Senators blue line.

According to Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun, the Senators are unlikely to offer the pending unrestricted free agent a qualifying deal.

As they did at February's trade deadline, the Senators will try to trade Wiercioch to get something in return, Garrioch reports.

Defensemen Erik Karlsson, Dion Phaneuf, Marc Methot, Mark Borowiecki, and Chris Wideman are under contract in Ottawa, and a cap hit of $2.7 million (what Wiercioch would be owed in a qualifying offer) isn't in new general manager Pierre Dorion's plans.

Wiercioch, 25, was selected by the Senators 42nd overall in the 2008 draft. In 211 NHL games, he's recorded 12 goals and 50 assists.