NHL Rumors: Will the Ottawa Senators take any action? It’s been a weird year for trading

Will the Ottawa Senators take any action? It’s going to be a strange year in terms of trading

chris johnston show: Chris Johnston, when asked about the situation with the Ottawa Senators and whether they plan to make any moves.

** Transcribed by NHLRumors.com

Julian McKenzie: “I’ve had a few people ask me, ‘Hey, are the Ottawa Senators going to take any action?’ Of course, because I raised the issue. There’s going to be something said, so.”

Johnston: “Why don’t you answer? What do you think?”

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McKenzie: “I mean, I think they’re going to take action before the deadline. But you know, they certainly want to hear from you, CJ.”

Johnston: “Well, I mean, it’s no secret that they want to do this. It’s just, you know, I think that’s where we’re going to get to it, and I understand the impatience. Like, if you’re a fan and maybe you focus on one part of the lineup, you’re like, ‘Oh, this is a hole. We’ve got to fix this.’

But at least I will say to you, if you’re a Senators fan, not every other team in this situation is trading players that you want to see your front office trade, you know, added. Doing business is hard.

This is going to be a strange year. They made some changes to the CBA, like, you know, even having a playoff salary cap that might affect what teams do because they’re worried about what that’s going to look like. You know, without double retention of salary, that won’t necessarily have the same impact on the Senators as it will on some other teams. But, you know, I think it’s going to be a tough year for any team to make trades.

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Now, there will still be deals. There will be motivation to do it. You know, look at some of the teams that are having success right now. How are they doing? They stocked up on draft picks, made a lot of picks and acquired prospects, and took their time to change things. I mean, there are some obvious teams like Utah, which we mentioned on the podcast, or, you know, even Cal. Clearly, San Jose has been in this pattern for a few years, and they’re picking up more wins. Chicago, and even the Columbus Blue Jackets (right), were so good last season that they had a chance to make the playoffs by the final weekend of the season, and they’ve had some wins so far this year. Although they suffered a tough loss at Long Island on Sunday, conceding two late goals. But you know, they basically did it by trading players and stockpiling draft picks.

So that’s always attractive to teams, especially in a world where free agency doesn’t look like it’s going to bear much fruit. And, there are a lot of teams still in it. Just look at the standings. How many teams are we confident are completely out? There is a very small list. So I guess all those things are balanced at the same time.

You know, in Ottawa, they’re motivated to build on last season’s team. And, you know, I think they’re looking at bigger trade types. I mean, look at the players they brought in last year, right? I thought about the (Fabian) Zetterland deal. Apparently Dylan Cozens.

You know, these trades were made to help the Senators last season, but these are longer-term moves. The young players you brought in. You know, they traded away, you know, Josh Norris. Like them, this is a big decision for an organization. You’ve developed a player and you have to give something up to get something back.

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So I think they still exist in the market for these types of deals, which can be exciting, but they’re also very difficult to put together and you need a lot of things to make that happen. “

McKenzie: “I still think, more than anything, I think Steve Staice has shown that he’s going to make some depth moves if needed. I still think they need something on the left side. They don’t have any other NHL defensemen on the left side other than (Thomas) Chabert, (Jack) Sanderson and Tyler Craven guys. I expect them to make some kind of depth move now that they have Donovan Sablango on waivers and they have a hole that they have in the minors that can fill it, so I think they will definitely make a move at the deadline.”

Johnston: “It makes sense. It makes sense. And, you know, sometimes, you have to remember that every team is like a work in progress. You know, even the Jays made a bunch of trades at last year’s deadline. That’s the way sports are. You have to, there are different phases of the season. That’s the early part. The roster that they put out now that goes into the playoffs isn’t going to be the same roster, you know, whenever April comes around the 15th, or wherever we go.”

So, you know, there’s a process at work. I think the senators, they’re at least, look, they’re, they’re in office. Remember where you were a year ago or two years ago, they always try to take that step. They took this step. I think now they want even better. So the motivation is high. “

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