Report: Senators Searching the Trade Market for Offence
Prior to puck drop in last night’s tilt between the Sharks and Senators, former Sportsnet personality turned Bell Media guru Chris Johnston took part in the TSN ‘Insiders’ segment and dropped an intriguing nugget of information.
“(The Senators) would like help down the middle. I think they would even take some help on the wing if that’s what it takes to get this done because they’re looking to add a player to their top-nine that can produce a little bit offensively and help out in that regard. And that’s in addition, of course, to Brady Tkachuk joining their lineup. They’re looking to add two more players, if you count Tkachuk into that list. And as for what they might give up, they have 11 draft picks in the upcoming draft plus some prospects. So, I think Pierre Dorion is open and shopping trying to add to his team.”
Interestingly, Johnston made these comments before Shane Pinto suffered an upper-body injury that forced him to leave the game.
Pinto would eventually come back to the Senators’ bench to start the second period, but he returned to the dressing room after just one shift. He finished the night with just 1:20 of ice-time.
The hope is that because Pinto tried to return and play, he will not be on the shelf for an extended period of time. If the Senators were aggressively looking to the trade market for help before the injury, however, last night’s events could spur the two Pierres to action.
Even before the injury, making a deal four games into the regular season was never going to be easy. With Colin White slated to miss the next four to six months following shoulder surgery and Pinto potentially being sidelined for an extended period of time, the Senators will not be dealing from a position of leverage.
Quality of depth was an issue for the Senators before they were beset by injuries. If the team was serious about adding a quality forward, the opportune time to add one would have been the offseason before the rosters were set and teams ran into troubles of their own.
Fortunately, as Johnston outlined, the Senators have a lot of trade currency to work with. The team has 11 selections in the upcoming 2022 NHL Draft (note: or 12 if Logan Brown plays in more than 30 games this season) and the farm system’s depth has been lauded by prospect analysts.
The Senators have the ability to make a deal, but the organization really has to weigh whether it is in its best interests to move desirable assets for solutions to what may ultimately be a short-term problem in a season in which the team was never expected to vie for a playoff spot.
With that said, opportunities may exist.
The Chicago Blackhawks have made Dylan Strome a healthy scratch in four of their five games. Strome’s name surfaced in the rumour mill this past summer and for a team that is 0-4-1 to start their season, they may be willing to pull the trigger on a deal.
Whether the Senators target Strome or not remains to be seen, but it would not be surprising at all to see Pierre Dorion dangle Erik Brannstrom as a post-hype player to make a deal work.
After Elliotte Friedman wrote in his most recent ‘31 Thoughts’ article it became clear that Brannstrom may not be long for the organization.
“You can read the tea leaves, it will be tough for him to find a consistent spot,” Friedman explained. “But the Senators do recognize his talent, and they will ask real value from teams calling about him.
Despite the team’s success down the stretch last season that coincided with giving regular minutes to Brannstrom and Victor Mete, it is obvious that D.J. Smith is reluctant to use both players in the same lineup.
Having held onto Logan Brown past the point where he had no underlying trade value left, it would make sense for the Senators to move on from Brannstrom while he still has some value of his own.
Alfie In the House
With all the focus and attention being given to Brady Tkachuk’s debut and when the Senators are going to name his as the eighth captain in franchise history, Daniel Alfredsson was caught on TSN cameras during last night’s game.
Since leaving his senior advisor role in management, Alfie’s visits to the Canadian Tire Centre have been few and far between. Thanks to Erik Karlsson’s return to Ottawa last night, it was a pleasant surprise to see Alfie back at the rink and hopefully it becomes a recurring thing moving forward.