Will The Ottawa Senators Shake Things Up?
Josh Norris
David Kirouac-Imagn Images
The Ottawa Senators entered this season hoping to end their seven-year playoff drought after several difficult seasons. However, they're approaching the end of November three points out of a wild-card berth and two points out of last place in the Eastern Conference.
Reports from Ottawa earlier this week indicated Senators GM Steve Staios was attempting to find upgrades for his struggling roster. He has no intention of peddling core players, such as captain Brady Tkachuk or defenseman Thomas Chabot, especially the latter since the Senators would have to retain part of his $8-million annual salary cap hit.
The Hockey News' Graeme Nichols cited Daily Faceoff's Frank Seravalli, claiming Senators management discussed the possibility of breaking up their young core. Nichols also noted a Postmedia report claiming Staios was shopping for a defenseman after Artem Zub was sidelined with a broken foot.
Nichols also doesn't see Tkachuk or Chabot going anywhere, nor does he believe Tim Stutzle, Drake Batherson or Jake Sanderson will hit the trade block.
Seravalli said Josh Norris had surfaced in trade rumors. The 25-year-old center is in the third season of an eight-year contract with an average annual value of $7.95 million. A skillful scoring forward who can also play left wing, Norris was frequently sidelined by shoulder injuries during the last three seasons. He's healthy thus far this season with 15 points in 22 games.
An attempt at a core shakeup could be on hold with Zub sidelined for at least two months. Postmedia speculated Staios could be shopping for a top-four defenseman but considered the market for such players thin at the moment, listing Cam Fowler of the Anaheim Ducks, Seth Jones of the Chicago Blackhawks and Marcus Pettersson of the Pittsburgh Penguins as trade possibilities.
Fowler's nursing an upper-body injury and carries a four-team trade list, though he's reportedly willing to widen it. However, he could be reluctant to move from one rebuilding club to another.
Jones' $9.5-million cap hit is too rich for the Senators unless the Blackhawks retain half. He has a full no-movement clause and might not waive it to go to Ottawa.
Pettersson is the more likely trade candidate. The 28-year-old Penguins rearguard is UFA eligible next summer and has an affordable $4.025-million cap hit. He also has an eight-team no-trade list, and the Senators could be on it.
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