Sens Backcheck: Some of the Best Ottawa Senator Trades That Almost Happened

Steve Yzerman, Darcy Tucker and Taylor Hall were very close to becoming Ottawa Senators.

Erik Karlsson to San Jose for Josh Norris and Tim Stutzle; Marian Hossa to Atlanta for Dany Heatley; or Alexei Yashin to Long Island for Zdeno Chara and Jason Spezza. 

When you think about some of the big trades the Ottawa Senators have pulled off in their 31-year history, those are the kind of deals that spring to mind. But not every big trade concept finds its way to completion. Like any NHL franchise, the Senators' history is filled with amazing deals that were, oh, so close to going down... 

Steve Yzerman to Ottawa for Alexei Yashin

Alexei Yashin remains the only Ottawa Senator to finish as a Hart Trophy finalist. He was that good, the club's first superstar. But in 1995, the Senators felt like they needed a bigger name to help them fill their new arena, which was nearing completion at the time. Who better than Nepean native Steve Yzerman?

Sens GM Randy Sexton made the pitch to the Wings and reportedly offered up Yashin, who was still in fairly good standing with the Senators at the time.

The Wings, meanwhile, had begun to wonder if the 30-year-old Yzerman, despite his gaudy offensive numbers, would be able to lead them to the promised land. GM Scotty Bowman entertained the idea for a while, letting it known Yzerman was indeed available, much to Yzerman's chagrin.

So both sides were interested, but it's believed things eventually fell apart at the ownership levels. The late Mike Illitch loved Yzerman and Sens ownership was having money issues.

It may have lit a fire under Yzerman, who played 11 more years in the NHL, becoming a more balanced player, a truly great leader, and a winner of three Stanley Cups. 

Yashin had a few more good seasons as well, but that memory is sullied by the constant grumbling about contracts, the holdouts and the accusations of broken promises. The Sens definitely made the best of it, though, moving Yashin to Long Island for Zdeno Chara and the pick that would be used to select Jason Spezza. 

While acquiring Yzerman would have been one of the best deals in team history, so was the actual Yashin deal they ultimately made.

Darcy Tucker to Ottawa for GM Rick Dudley

In the late 90s, the Senators had this odd habit of allowing general managers to walk, despite still being under contract. In 1998, they allowed Pierre Gauthier to leave, amidst reports he wanted to go back to Anaheim, where he had been an assistant GM 

At his farewell news conference, Gauthier announced, "I'm not going to Anaheim, not to join the Mighty Ducks." Then he went to Anaheim to join the Mighty Ducks.

One year later, Gauthier's replacement, Rick Dudley, wanted to go to Tampa Bay to become the GM there. This time, the Senators got something for their departing employee. They actually traded him for defensive forward Rob Zamuner. 

However, a high-ranking Senator executive told me, straight up, that Tampa's actual preference was to send shift disturber Darcy Tucker to Ottawa. The Senators gave it some thought but opted to push instead for Zamuner, who had recently been an Olympian with Team Canada – somehow beating out Mark Messier for a job on that team. 

A few months later, just in time for the first Battle of Ontario, Tucker was traded instead to Toronto and would be a thorn in Ottawa's side for the next eight years, including four playoff battles in the next five years.

Taylor Hall to Ottawa for Cody Ceci

Cody Ceci is about as local as it gets. He was born in Ottawa, played for the 67s and then drafted by the Senators in the first round. But in 2016, after his third season with the club, Edmonton made a hard pitch for him, offering future MVP Taylor Hall, one for one. The Oilers were in the market to beef up their defence and change the culture a little.

The deal was very close to happening but had to be cleared through owner Eugene Melnyk. And with Hall due $30 million over the next five years, there were things to think about. 

While the famously frugal Sens were pondering, the Oilers reportedly pivoted and found a new buyer, trading Hall to New Jersey for Adam Larsson. Hall was an excellent scorer in Jersey, winning the 2018 Hart Trophy two years later. But in a parallel universe, his offence probably gave the Sens a big push in the 2017 playoffs where, in our universe, they fell just one goal short of the Cup final.

Five years later, after bouncing from Ottawa to Toronto to Pittsburgh, Ceci ended up in Edmonton anyway, signing a four-year, $13 million contract as a free agent.

Oh, what might have been...