We're now halfway through the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs and half a dozen former Ottawa Senators are still in the mix with a chance to hoist hockey's holy grail.
Mika Zibanejad, New York Rangers, 14 points
With a 72-point regular season, Zibanejad is the best of the former Senators still alive in the postseason. He leads all Eastern Conference scorers with 14 points in 11 games and averages 20:38 of ice time per night. The 31-year-old Swede has been gone from Ottawa for eight years now, and while his story remains a tale of regret for Senators' fans, his Ottawa trade tree still includes Jacob Bernard-Docker. Zibanejad was drafted sixth overall by the Senators, who thought in 2011 he'd eventually become a star. They were right, of course. It just took a lot longer than anyone thought.
Vladimir Tarasenko, Florida Panthers, 5 points
After a 55-point regular season, Tarasenko has a chance to hold the rare distinction of being a Stanley Cup winner in the same season he played for the Ottawa Senators. He's been slightly below average in these playoffs, standing ninth in Panthers' playoff scoring (five points in 11 games), with an average ice time of 14:13 per game.
After signing a one-year deal in Ottawa last summer with a full no-trade clause, Tarasenko was only willing to agree to a trade with Florida to be close to family. The Senators only got a third-round pick and a fourth, but under those circumstances, they're lucky they got anything.
Matt Duchene, Dallas Stars, 6 points
Duchene had 65 points in the regular season and scored one of the biggest goals in Dallas Stars' history last week, eliminating the Colorado Avalanche with his goal in double overtime. With Duchene logging 16:47 of ice time, mostly playing between Jason Robertson and Joe Pavelski, he has six points in 13 games.
When Ottawa traded Duchene at the 2019 deadline, the deal was supposed to yield some key pieces for the Senators' rebuild. After Lassi Thomson left to sign in Sweden last week, there's nothing left. The Senators traded Duchene for three non-NHL players (Jonathan Davidsson and Vitaly Abramov).
Evgenii Dadonov, Dallas Stars, 6 points
Dadonov is sixth in Dallas scoring with 6 points in 13 games, and playing 12:56 per game. Unlike the first three men on this list, there's no regret in Ottawa for trading Dadonov, but there's plenty for how they did it.
He'll forever be known to Senator fans for his connection to GM Pierre Dorion getting fired in Ottawa. When the Sens traded Dadonov to Vegas, they didn't accurately report the details of his limited no-trade clause, which messed up the Knights' trade with the Ducks when they tried to flip Dadonov. The league punished the Sens by taking away their first-round draft pick next year or the year after.
Cody Ceci, Edmonton Oilers, 3 points
Ceci is the only Ottawa native on this list and was a member of the last Senators team to make the playoffs in 2017. Since leaving Ottawa in 2019, he's played in the NHL playoffs every year – first with Toronto, then Pittsburgh, and the last three with Edmonton. He has three points in 12 games and gets top-four ice time at 19:36 per game. Ceci was dealt by Ottawa in the 2019 trade that brought Connor Brown to town. And speak of the devil...
Connor Brown, Edmonton Oilers, 1 point
The Oilers thought maybe the Connors could rekindle their Erie Otter magic of a decade ago when Brown had 128 points in a season, and McDavid had 99. Instead, Brown gave them a 55-game goalless drought to start the season. It was Brown's first goal since leaving Ottawa almost two years earlier. Brown has one assist in six playoff games.
No matter what happens now, it's guaranteed that at least one former Senator will drink from the Cup this year.