Ottawa Senators Trade Deadline History: Key Deals of the Last Decade

The 2026 NHL trade deadline is set for March 6, which is still over a month away. But because of the Olympic break, the Ottawa Senators have just five games remaining before they have to show their hand. So it remains to be seen whether GM Steve Staios fancies himself as a buyer, a seller, or a team best served by standing pat.

As the deadline approaches, it’s a perfect time to look back at some of the most memorable Senators' deadline deals from the past ten years, trades that fueled playoff runs, accelerated or hindered rebuilds, and helped shape the current roster.

On February 9, 2016, Ottawa acquired Dion Phaneuf, Matt Frattin, Casey Bailey, Ryan Rupert, and Cody Donaghey from the Toronto Maple Leafs. In return, the Senators sent Jared Cowen, Colin Greening, Milan Michalek, Tobias Lindberg, and a 2017 second-round pick to Toronto.

The trade was almost three weeks before the actual deadline, and it was notable not only for its size, but for the rarity of a big deal between provincial rivals. Phaneuf played 154 games with the Senators, and while he had lost a step, he was still a key part of the Sens' amazing run to the 2017 Eastern Conference Final.

On February 27, 2017, the Senators acquired Alex Burrows from the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for prospect Jonathan Dahlen. GM Pierre Dorion said that one Senator player was so excited about the deal, he came up and hugged him. Burrows played 91 career games for the Sens, then retired.

A few days later, the Sens parted ways with Curtis Lazar, their former highly-touted first-round draft pick. He was sent to Calgary in a package deal that brought back a second-round pick that would become Alex Formenton.

Ottawa traded Phaneuf and Nate Thompson to the Los Angeles Kings in exchange for Marian Gaborik and Nick Shore. Both teams got a big-name, big-money player in the exchange, but both were at the end of their careers, especially Gaborik, who played all of 16 games for the Senators then retired because of injuries. 

Closer to the deadline, Ottawa traded Derick Brassard to the Pittsburgh Penguins as part of a three-team trade involving Vegas. The Senators received a 2018 first-round pick, goaltender Filip Gustavsson, defenseman Ian Cole, and a 2019 third-round pick, while Pittsburgh received Brassard and a 2018 third-round pick. Vegas retained 40 percent of Brassard’s salary.

Five months after trading Erik Karlsson, the 2019 trade deadline really began to reshape the franchise in dramatic fashion, which is a nice way of describing a fire sale.

On February 22, Ottawa traded Matt Duchene and Julius Bergman to the Columbus Blue Jackets in exchange for Vitaly Abramov, Jonathan Davidsson, a 2019 first-round pick, and a 2020 conditional first-round pick. The Sens would only get that second first-rounder if Duchene re-signed with Columbus. He left and signed with Nashville.

One day later, on February 23, the Senators sent Ryan Dzingel to Columbus, receiving Anthony Duclair along with 2020 and 2021 second-round picks.

On February 25, Ottawa traded Mark Stone to the Vegas Golden Knights for Erik Brännström, Oscar Lindberg, and a 2020 second-round pick. Losing Stone was painful for the fan base, and any talk that this was all Stone’s idea was put to rest when Eugene Melnyk told a CBC reporter downtown that day that Stone’s trade was "part of our rebuild, we've been planning this for some time."

On February 24, 2020, the Senators traded Jean-Gabriel Pageau to the New York Islanders. In return, Ottawa received a 2020 conditional first-round pick (Ridly Greig), a 2020 second-round pick, and a 2022 conditional third-round pick.

Pageau, a popular Ottawa native, was enjoying an excellent season at the time, but in the midst of their fire sale, the Senators did maximize his value at the deadline.

On March 20, 2022, Ottawa traded Nick Paul to the Tampa Bay Lightning. The Senators received Mathieu Joseph and a 2024 fourth-round pick in return.

Paul immediately helped the Lightning make the Cup final that year. Joseph played two and a half seasons in Ottawa’s bottom six before being dealt to St. Louis with the Blues receiving a third round pick as a sweetener.

In a rare deadline move aimed at improving the present rather than selling for future assets, Dorion acquired Jakob Chychrun from the Arizona Coyotes on March 1, 2023. The Senators sent a 2023 conditional first-round pick, a 2024 conditional second-round pick, and a 2026 second-round pick to Arizona.

The deal signaled that Ottawa believed it was ready to take a step forward. Even with Cychrun, the Sens missed the next two playoffs. After that, rather than extend a third highly-paid, puck-moving, left-shot defenseman, new GM Steve Staios shipped him out in July of 2024 for right-shot, stay-at-home defenseman Nick Jensen.

In his second deadline as GM, on March 7, 2025, Staios completed two major trades.

Ottawa acquired Dylan Cozens and Dennis Gilbert, along with a 2026 second-round pick, from the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for Josh Norris and Jacob Bernard-Docker. Norris was probably the best player in the deal, but staying healthy has famously proven to be elusive.

Later that day, the Senators also acquired Fabian Zetterlund, Tristen Robins, and a 2025 fourth-round pick from the San Jose Sharks, sending Noah Gregor, Zack Ostapchuk, and a 2025 second-round pick the other way.

Staios has two deadlines under his belt now. The first one in 2024 was uneventful, shipping Vladimir Tarasenko to Florida for a mid-round pick. The second one last year was fireworks.

This one is tricky, because whether Staios buys, sells or stands pat, one can make a pretty solid argument for each of his possible decisions.

Steve Warne
The Hockey News 

This story is from The Hockey News Ottawa. You can visit the site here or click on one of their latest articles below:

Linus Ullmark Makes 26 Saves In Senators Return
Two-Time Super Bowl MVP Eli Manning Attends Senators-Devils Game In Ottawa
Why The Ottawa Senators Should Call Up Top Prospect Carter Yakemchuk
Senators' Difficult Path To The Playoffs: What's It Going To Take?