Are The Senators About To Trade Stephen Halliday?

Senators tough guy Kurtis MacDermid hasn't played an NHL game yet in 2026.

So when he suddenly started taking Stephen Halliday's place in line rushes at a game-day practice that falls on the eve of the NHL Trade Deadline, that's a pretty good sign that something may be up.

As the Senators got ready for their road game against the Calgary Flames on Thursday night, Halliday was suddenly an extra at the game day skate, which usually means the player is tracking to be out of the lineup.

It's possible that Travis Green just wants to give MacDermid some game action, or that he wants the rookie to have a night off for whatever reason. But with the Senators' playoff chances hanging by a thread, they need all hands on deck right now.

So, the most likely reason for Halliday to be scratched in favour of MacDermid is roster management. Translation: GM Steve Staios may be discussing a trade right now that involves Halliday. And the acquiring team, if there is one, doesn't want him getting hurt playing for someone else.

From Green's perspective, when asked about potential lineup changes against the Flames, he wasn't tipping his hand about anything.

"We'll see," Green said.

Halliday is an intriguing buy-low candidate with some real potential. The 6-foot-4, 23-year-old centre has spent the bulk of his NHL time so far on the fourth line, but has still managed to chip in with 11 points in 28 games.

Halliday is an excellent shooter but prefers the role of setup man, and while he's not easy to knock off the puck, he doesn't use his size to his advantage much beyond that.

No one will really know what his ceiling is until he gains more experience and gets to play higher up in the lineup with premium ice time and better linemates. As long as the price is right, several retooling NHL teams would be interested to see what that experiment looks like, and it sounds like at least one of them may be spitballing with Staios as we speak.

Stay tuned.

Steve Warne
The Hockey News