When outlining the prospective right defencemen the Ottawa Senators could potentially target in a trade this summer, one of the names that I've mentioned offhand is Jordan Spence of the Los Angeles Kings.

As it turns out, the Kings may be looking to move the blueliner, according to Sportsnet's Elliott Friedman. The NHL insider touched upon Spence's availability during yesterday's 32 Thoughts Podcast.

"That's a name to keep an eye on, (Jordan) Spence," Friedman acknowledged. "Ken Holland, you know how he feels about his blue line. He likes a big, mobile blue line.

"I just don't think that the Kings feel that Spence and Brandt Clarke on the right side together works, and they're both right-hand shots. They both need to play, and I just don't think they feel there's room for two of them. And Clarke, I don't believe is available. Spence, I think, is. So that's a name to keep an eye out for."

In 79 games for the Kings this season, Spence recorded four goals and 28 points while averaging 16:47 of ice time per game. His underlying metrics were excellent. Granted, he played sheltered minutes on one of the better defensive teams in the league, so that is an obvious consideration to factor in.

When Spence was on the ice at five-on-five per NaturalStatTrick, the Kings generated 56.80 percent of the shots (CF%), 56.98 percent of the shots on goal (SF%), 65.43 percent of the total goals (GF%), and 56.88 percent of the expected goals (xGF%).

The problem with Spence is that he is listed at 5'11" and 180 lbs.

He defends almost exclusively through his skating, gap control and stick placement, but his strong underlying possession metrics are driven principally by his excellent puck-moving ability. According to the NHL.com's Zach Dooley, "no Kings blueliner had a higher success rate of exiting the defensive zone this season via a carry-out or a pass than Spence did, at just shy of 90 percent."

Highly efficient exits mean fewer minutes spent defending within the defensive zone. In essence, Spence's success is not that dissimilar from what makes Nick Jensen so effective.

Like Ken Holland, however, it certainly feels like the Senators have emphasized adding a measure of size and physicality to their lineup. It may also be a coincidence, but it was also an observation of their selections at the 2024 NHL Draft.

With puck-movers like Thomas Chabot and Jake Sanderson already in the lineup on Spence's opposite side, the need for an undersized puck-mover just is not there. Circumstances may change if Jensen's recovery from offseason hip surgery goes well and he is ready for training camp. The organization could decide that a puck-mover to partner with Tyler Kleven as an alternative to Nik Matinpalo is ideal.

But that's not their real need.

If this organization is going to take another step forward, it has to increase its true talent. Working the margins of the roster assuredly can help, but adding a legitimate top-four defenceman that would slide Jensen into a bottom-pairing role would markedly improve their group while affording Carter Yakemchuk patience and a year of development time in Belleville is a difference-making kind of transaction.

Graeme Nichols
The Hockey News Ottawa

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