Will the Ottawa Senators take any action? It’s going to be a strange year when it comes to transactions
The Chris Johnston Show: Chris Johnston, when asked about the Ottawa Senators and whether they will make any moves.
** NHLRumors.com transcription
Julian McKenzie: “I’ve had a few people ask, ‘Hey, are the Ottawa Senators going to do something?’ Of course, because I ask that question. Things will be said, so.”
Johnston: “Why don’t you answer? What do you think?”
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McKenzie: “Are they, I mean, I think they’ll do something before the deadline. But you know, they obviously want to hear from you, CJ.”
Johnston: “Well, I mean, it’s no secret that they would like that. It’s just, you know, I think that’s where we want to go, and I understand the impatience. Like, if you’re a fan and maybe you’re focused on one part of the lineup, you think, ‘Oh, that’s a gap. We need to do something about that.’
But I would at least say this to you: If you’re a Senators fan specifically, in this case, every other team isn’t trading for the players you’d like to add to your management group. It is difficult to make transactions.
It’s going to be a strange year. They’ve made some changes to the CBA, with things like, you know, even having a salary cap in the playoffs could impact the kind of moves that teams make because they’re concerned about what that might look like. You know, not having double retention on salaries, which isn’t necessarily something that would affect the Senators as much as, you know, 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, transactions will still take place. There will be an incentive to do it. Take a look at some of the teams currently having success. How do they do it? They’ve collected draft picks and made a lot of picks and acquired prospects and taken the time necessary to shift things around. I mean, there’s the obvious teams like Utah, which we mentioned in the pod, or, you know, even the teams from California. Obviously, San Jose has been in that mode for a few years and they’re looking to rack up more wins. Chicago, even the Columbus Blue Jackets, who had a really fun year last season, reached the final weekend of the season with a chance to make the playoffs, and they banked a number of wins so far this year. Although they suffered an embarrassing defeat on Long Island on Sunday, conceding two late goals. But you know, they generally did it by trading away players and stockpiling picks.
So that’s always going to be tempting for teams, especially in a world where the free agent market doesn’t seem to be bearing much fruit. But there are also many teams in it. You know, look at the standings. How many teams are we sure are no longer involved at all? There is a very small list. So I think all those things balance out at once.
You know, in Ottawa, they’re motivated to grow on what that team was last season. And you know, I think they’re looking at a bigger type of business. I mean, you look at the guys they brought in last year, right? I think of the (Fabian) Zetterland deal. Of course Dylan Cozens.
You know, those trades are being made, they were intended to help the Senators from last season, but those are longer, longer term moves. You bring in younger players. You know, they traded, you know, Josh Norris. Like her, that was a big decision for an organization. You’ve developed a player and you have to give up something to get something.
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So I think they’re still in the market for these types of transactions, and they can be exciting, but they’re also difficult transactions to put together, and you need a lot of things to make it happen.
McKenzie: “I still think Steve Staois has shown he’ll make some depth moves if he needs to. I still think they need something on that left side. They don’t have any NHL defensemen other than (Thomas) Chabot, (Jake) Sanderson and Tyler Kleven on that left side. I would expect them to make some kind of depth move because they had Donovan Sabrango as an extra playing. Goes off waivers, the Florida Panthers get him. Something’s missing there a hole. They hardly have guys with professional experience in the minors who can fill that, so I think they will make a move before the deadline.
Johnston: “Makes sense. It makes sense. And you know, sometimes every team you have to remember is like a work in progress. You know, even the Jays made a lot of deals at the deadline last year. That’s just kind of a sport. You have to, there’s kind of phases of the season. This is the first part. There’s no team lineup that they’re rolling out right now that will make the playoffs have the same lineup, you know, that comes whenever is April 15th, or whenever we start.
So you know, there’s a process going on there. And I think the Senators at least, look, they’re in the right position. Remember where you were a year ago or two years ago, they were always trying to make the move. They have taken the step. I think they want to get even better now. So the motivation is high.”
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