Senators-Sharks: One Year Later, The Fabian Zetterlund Trade Is Still Taking Shape

As the Ottawa Senators host the San Jose Sharks on Sunday afternoon, it’s as good an excuse as any to check in on the progress of the Fabian Zetterlund trade, now just over a year old.

At last year’s trade deadline, the Senators acquired Zetterlund, minor-league forward Tristen Robins, and a 2025 fourth-round pick from the Sharks in exchange for forwards Zack Ostapchuk and Noah Gregor, along with a 2025 second-round pick.

It will be years before anyone can definitively declare a winner in this deal, particularly with draft picks involved. But there's no denying that, more than a year later, the trade has been slow to show clear dividends for Ottawa.

The idea at the time was to upgrade the Senators’ forward group with a player who might be capable of playing regularly in their top six and help push them toward the playoffs. After all, Zetterlund had scored 24 goals the previous season in San Jose and had 17 at the time of the trade, putting him on a similar pace in 2024-25.

However, Zetterlund cooled off after arriving in Ottawa, finishing the regular season with just five points in 20 games and then going scoreless in six playoff games. In his first full season with the Senators, Zetterlund has had his moments, but with Ottawa boasting a fairly deep forward group, his production of 12 goals and 12 assists in 65 games hasn’t been enough to secure a consistent spot in the team’s top nine.

Ironically, in terms of his recent deployment, Zetterlund now finds himself in a role very similar to the one Ostapchuk holds in San Jose.

Ostapchuk is a very different player, of course. He's a 6-foot-4, 212-pound forward who skates well and brings a physical edge. And he can fight. Offence hasn't yet been his calling card, as evidenced by his five points in 41 games, so Zetterlund is much better in that area.

But despite their contrasting styles, both players are getting the same kind of ice time, roughly 9–11 minutes a night on the fourth line.

Fabian Zetterlund

Zack Ostapchuk

Their salaries are as different as they are as players. Zetterlund makes $4.275 million per season on a three-year contract, over five times Ostapchuk’s $825,000 cap hit.

Zetterlund still has two years remaining on his deal and remains a much more skilled player who can move up the lineup when needed, so the trade could still tilt more clearly in Ottawa’s favour. But so far, it's taking its time doing so.

No, this wasn't a one-for-one deal, but the other two live bodies in the deal both moved on last summer. Gregor and Robins both failed to get qualifying offers from their new teams. Gregor is now with the Florida Panthers, while Robins plays in Czechia.

So let's measure what's happened with the deal's draft picks in the past year.

The Senators surrendered a 2025 second-round pick that the Sharks used to select Cole McKinney, who recently represented the United States at the World Junior Hockey Championships (no points in three games). As an 18-year-old (turns 19 on Monday), he has 19 points in 36 games for the top-ranked University of Michigan.

But the 2025 fourth-round pick Ottawa received is equally intriguing, if not more.

It didn’t seem like much at the time, fourth-round picks rarely do, but the Senators used it to select goaltender Lucas Beckman, who is currently putting up some beautiful numbers with the Chicoutimi Saguenéens of the QMJHL.

Since being traded from Baie-Comeau earlier this season, Beckman has played 12 games for Chicoutimi, posting three shutouts along with a 1.53 goals-against average and a .942 save percentage. Still just 18, he'll likely be all over Team Canada's goaltending radar for this Christmas.

So maybe Beckman bends this deal in Ottawa's favour someday.

But this is just a check-in. With prospects developing, roles changing, and the popular Zetterlund still having so much time left on his contract, the book on this trade is nowhere near finished.

Steve Warne
The Hockey News