Dorion confident on Ceci contract negotiations Despite the fact the Cody Ceci remains without a contract, Ian Mendes writes that Senators' general manager Pierre Diiron is confident the two sides will work something out.

The Ottawa Senators will play their regular season opener in exactly two months from today and general manager Pierre Dorion is confident that defenceman Cody Ceci will be in the lineup for that game.

The only question is whether Ceci will be armed with a short-term or a long-term contract by then.

Speaking to reporters in Ottawa on Friday, Dorion said the conversations with the restricted free agent defenceman and his agent JP Barry have been ongoing - although they have not progressed as quickly as the Senators’ general manager would have liked.

"I think JP's trying to test me as a first time GM, even though I've done quite bit of contracts before," Dorion said jokingly. "I think he'll be playing for us October 12th. I think within the next few weeks we'll get something done."

"I still have a lot of faith. It's taken a bit longer than I anticipated," added Dorion.

The two sides traded emails on Thursday and Dorion characterized it as a posiive exchange. The sticking point appears to be the term of the deal; as a myriad of options remain on the table. Ceci has previously stated that he would prefer to do a long-term deal with the Senators, but the club may want to take a more cautious approach and offer him a short-term bridge contract.

"We've talked multiple years and situations, whether it's one up to six (years)," Dorion said. "Those are all things we are still looking at. But we're keying on a certain number of years and we'll see what happens from there."

The 22-year old Ceci is coming off a season in which he scored 10 goals and 26 points in 75 games for the Senators. He was the club's first round pick in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft and has spent the past two-and-a-half seasons with Ottawa.

Ceci is expected to slot into the Senators second pairing on the back end, alongside veteran Dion Phaneuf. Regardless of how the Ceci situation plays itself out, Dorion confirmed he's still in the market to add another veteran defenseman to his roster to add some depth at the NHL level. He said he could accomplish that goal via the free agency market or by swinging a trade with another club.

"I've kept making calls to guys who are still on the market who would be very good and capable depth defensemen - guys who have played in this league," said Dorion. "I've talked to quite a few GMs over the past month if they are looking to move pieces on the back end and that's where we might look to add a piece."