Do The Ottawa Senators Need An Impact NHL Trade To Compete For A Top Atlantic Division Playoff Spot?

Do The Ottawa Senators Need An Impact NHL Trade To Compete For A Top Atlantic Division Playoff Spot?

On today’s show, how should the Senators approach their longest road trip of the season? And should the Ottawa Senators be in the trade market to acquire an impact player? This is Brad Kachchuck and you’re listening to the Locked On Senator podcast. You’re Locked On Senators, your daily podcast on the Ottawa Senators, part of the Locked On podcast network. Your team every day. Welcome. and you are locked on to the Ottawa Senators. I’m Ross Levitan alongside Brandon Pillar and today’s episode’s brought to you by FanDuel. Download the FanDuel app now by visiting fanuel.com and win $300 in bonus bets if your first $5 bet wins. That’s over at FanDuel. Today is Monday, November 17th, and Pillsey. That was a playoff style game on Saturday night. Sends lose one- nothing to the LA Kings. They had their chances, but just couldn’t beat their old friend, Anton Forsberg. Yeah. I mean, we called it Ross. We said either there’s two roads here, two paths. Anton Forsberg shuts the door completely or allows seven goals and probably one or two goals in the first couple of shots. Unfortunately, it was option A that he went with. But the more I think about this game and the more time I have to sit on it, Ross, I got no qualms with that game at all. Like you lose one nothing. It was a nice tip by Alex Lefarier in the first period, but when you start looking at the advanced analytics and how this game actually went, the Suns played a solid game. Like sure, you’d like to get a goal in a game. Uh despite what Buffalo Sabres fans think, getting one goal is a recipe for at least giving your team a chance to win. But overall, like that was not a vent cast between me and Marshian. It was a meh fine cast. Yeah. The only problem that I had was at the end of the game, you want Jake Sanderson to shoot that low, look for a tip, look for a rebound, but to miss high and wide, like I had to double check it wasn’t 23 on the back of the jersey from last year. hammer just ripping shots. But I was so confident, like unnecessarily confident that they were going to score because Ottawa had called a timeout and they panned over to the Senator’s bench and there’s Daniel Alfredson sitting there with the whiteboard drawing up the playr. Then they cut over and it’s DJ Smith with a whiteboard on the LA Kings bench. I said, “We got this. There’s no way that we’re not scoring.” And Jiru wins the faceoff clean. like the perfect clean win back to the point. Rip it on net. You can’t net there. At least low. Yeah. And even if you miss the net then low, you can get the carum active boards in Ottawa. Exactly. Yeah. And that can’t have been what Alfie drew up. All right. Clean win by Drew. High and wide miss shot by Sandy. Yeah. Because at least if it’s low Ross, you got tip, deflection, block, and then that puck is still in play in the center of the ice. High and wide, it’s it’s off the boards and it’s easy clear, which is what happened there. But I like that Travis Green used his timeouts. We talked about that on the postcast. Finally, he’s not walking home with them in his back pocket putting them in a savings account hoping they gain interest because you can’t use them if uh you you leave them. You don’t get to take them with you. So, it’s nice that he’s doing that. But yeah, not a big deal. It’s a Western Conference team, so the the points lost don’t hurt you. Now, obviously, getting shut out is not great, but I don’t know. No, no need to panic. And the Sens were due for a regulation loss, and if that’s how it’s going to come, not a big deal at all. And the Sens first time being shut out all season, plus the fact that the LA Kings have just been rolling on the road. They’re 91 and one on the road. They also have on this same trip that they’re still on, they’re in Washington tonight. They beat Pittsburgh, they beat Montreal, and they beat Toronto. Now, Toronto did get a loser point, but they were also up in the third period. So, no worse for wear after that loss. LA is a great team. It’s just unfortunate that they couldn’t take advantage with Drew Dowy being out for that third period. They were down to five defenseman and two of them were Brian Dumlan and Cody Cece. So, it felt like an opportunity there. And Ottawa did get their chances. you mentioned like their five on five expected goals were like 70% in favor of Ottawa and they just could not beat Forzy. I didn’t feel like Forzy had to be spectacular. He was good when needed but there it wasn’t like he was diving across making highlight reel saves. Also kind of funny that the sends go um Corposal one night then Forz the next. Kind of funny some old friends wonder if they’re going to see any others coming up soon. I saw Matt Murray’s having a sick start to the year. Uh, we’ll censor that word, but um with Seattle, I think he’s actually out, but Ottawa not in Seattle on this trip. They’ll do that later on when they go to Vancouver. This trip though is outrageous. A sevengame trip. It’s going to last 15 days with that stupid tack-on game at the end in Montreal. You get one day in between being at the end of a six-game trip in Dallas and then having to play at the Bell Center on a Tuesday night. But that’s neither here nor there. sends head out tomorrow to Anaheim. They’ll leave early in the morning, get there midafternoon, and then have a full day and a half to get on track before game day. Sends at the Ducks, the redhot Anaheim Ducks. They’re just a completely different team than we’ve seen before with Ottawa. That was one of the most fun games of the year last year in Ottawa where Bathson had a hat-tick and they just put up a beatdown on the Ducks. But they’re going to be a tough team, man. The Ducks actually aren’t redhot as of late, Ross. They are currently riding a three-game losing streak, but okay, they do have a couple games in between now and when they play the sends. The Anaheim Ducks play the Utah Mammoth tonight and then this is nice. They play the Boston Bruins on Wednesday. So, the game up against the sends will be second half of a backtoback there. likely I’d assume we’re going to see Peter Morazzic up against the Ottawa Senators and the Sens will have had lots of rest and like you mentioned they’re flying in excuse me tomorrow morning. So this is a big opportunity for the sends to get the jump on the Ducks. Yeah, the only problem and uh you’re right, they have lost three in a row all on the road though. The Ducks are 65 and one on the road but at home the pond they’re 51 and0. So, it’s The pond making a tough place to play once again after it was a complete library. Dressed like a seat night every night the last couple of years in Anaheim. So, that’ll be how they kick off the trip. Then they get the stupid and that’s common theme on this road trip where you go Anaheim to San Jose then back to LA. Anaheim and LA are driving distance from each other. Yeah. And then you just got to go all the way to San Jose and back. But anyways, I mean they’re short flights, but still. Yeah, let’s It’s every other day at least. There’s no backtobacks on this trip. So, at least there’s that. If I’m looking at a silver lining on it, it’s the fact that there’s no backtobacks and they have four days off between their last game at home and starting the trip. So, they better be coming out firing on Thursday night. So, it goes at Anaheim on Thursday, at San Jose Saturday, then at LA Monday, at Vegas on Wednesday, at St. Louis on Friday, at Dallas Sunday the 30th, and then at Montreal December 2nd to finish up the the trip from hell. At least you’re getting it out of the way early. It’s the longest road trip of the season. So, there’s that. I I’m happy with the timing of this road trip, Ross. First off, November, a month that the Suns have struggled in. although having a nice November so far. Um you got injuries to Brady Kachchuck Thomas Shabbat. So if you’re going to go west and play Western teams, do it now. Get it out of the way. Get those road games out of the way so you get more home games and more meaningful games up against Eastern teams later on in the season and get out of this crappy November weather. Get the boys some sunshine, good bonding experiences. Hopefully they really rally around this and the timing of all the games. Make sure you’re keeping your calendar in order because it is all over the place. You expect the 1000 p.m. Eastern starts when you’re out west, but they only have two of them on this road trip. And Anaheim is one of them in the first game, but the Saturday night game in San Jose, it’s a matinea out there. So, hockey night in Canada, it’ll be the early game, 700 p.m. Eastern. Then they play at nine in LA, then 10, then four o’clock on a Friday afternoon, it’s US Thanksgiving, Black Friday, so games are scattered throughout the day. Then they have a 5:00 p. p.m. local time, 6:00 p. p.m. Eastern time against Dallas. And then obviously they finish up at a regular time, 700 p.m. So it’s a bit all over the place on this trip, but hopefully the Senators can find their game and continue to stack points because everyone else is finding them each and every night. The sends did practice today. Lots of players missing including Lars Eller and Ridley Greg. The others we all know are out with injuries. That’s Ole Lexel, Thomas Shabbat, and Brady Kachchuck. But all indications are that Brady Kachchuck will be joining the team on this road trip. Well, we just got an update, Ross. Brady Kachchuck confirmed will be. So, all indications we can bump that up to confirmed. Travis Green mentioned that. Shabbat skated today. Uh, Ollie Lexel, I didn’t know he was in concussion protocol. Uh, did they announce that earlier? I know obviously he’d been out and not skating with the team, but they really kind of kept that under wraps, but he’s skating again today, so that’s good to see. And then Eller and Greg just mainten maintenance days for them. Okay, great. Yeah, Lars Eller’s been a real nice story so far this season. Ridley Greg still on pace for a careerhigh, but I feel like a lot of Sans fans are looking at him as a guy that could be giving more. He had a prime opportunity, a breakaway, and then I don’t I really didn’t like seeing this. He pivots and then stops fully on his backhand. So clearly labeling that he’s going to do a backhand shot there and Forzy’s able to make the save. Now, if he was able to get that top shelf, I think he beats Forzy, but I don’t know on a breakaway, you can’t be labeling your move and what your outcome is going to be that obviously. And then moments later, Drake Bath missed uh the net with with a prime opportunity in the slot. So they had their chances there. Do you think that’s a move that Ridley Greg had done in practice against Forzy and worked on because it felt like kind of a unique move? Like it almost felt like a practice move where you’re like, I’ll just have some fun. I’ll, you know, skate backwards in here. I think it was more to protect the puck. He had a guy pressuring him and I think that he thought that was his best way to protect the puck, but a little too obvious. Yeah. a little too obvious. Uh but hey, we’ll we’ll bounce back from this one. Not too worried about losing to a good defensive team. And and when you allow the first goal like that against them, it’s uh it’s tough because they clamped down defensively. Um now Ottawa did not score first for the first time in six games. They had five straight games where they did score first. Still that that first period and that first 10 minutes, there’s been a goal in the first 10 minutes in almost every Senator’s game so far this season. Only once in the last eight 10 games has there not been a goal in the first 10 minutes. And that’s been a good prop bet on FanDuel Ross. I’ve been hitting that uh pretty much every time. So, and that one was close. I think there was 41 seconds to spare. So, that was nice. Yeah, it was a little payback from how easy it had been the previous two games. Otto scored a minute and a half into the game against Boston and 49 seconds into the game against the Dallas Stars. But a lot of talk surrounding trades in the NHL so far this season. The Senators with locking down Shane Pinto now have cost certainty until 2030 for their center ice position and they know that their core is locked in for the next three years with Brady Kachchuck with Tim Stutz with Dylan Cousins Shane Pinto Ridley Greg signed for that extended period of time. And that’s just the forwards. Drake Bathson up in two years but you got to think that that’s still part of their core. However, is it time for the Senators to look at acquiring an impact piece? I was thinking about this before the weekend about Adrien Kempe was here with the LA Kings. Well, Kempe has signed a monster extension with the Kings. So, is it even necessary for Ottawa to be looking in that direction? And if they are, is it forward? Is it on the back end? Those conversations are next. You’re listening to Locked On Senators, your team every day. Today’s episode is brought to you by our friends over at Game Time. Hockey is here, folks, and nothing beats beating in the arena for those games. But let’s be real, getting tickets can be a total headache sometimes. Between waiting in cues, surprise fees, and prices that jump right before checkout, it’s easy to get frustrated when all you want to do is cheer on your favorite team, the Ottawa Senators. That’s where Game Time comes in. the app that gives the fans the advantage. It’s your ultimate life hack for scoring amazing NHL tickets fast, easy, and stress-free. And hey, we talked about this being a great road trip for the sends. Get out of that crappy November Ontario weather and go to Cali. Why not join the team? Check out tickets on Game Time and you can enjoy some sunshine as well. I love that what you see is what you pay. No hidden fees at checkout and you can see what your view looks like before you buy the ticket. So, if you’re at a road barn that you’ve never been before and you’re like, I don’t want to get stuck behind a post or bad sightelines. Don’t worry about that with Game Time. They got zone deals. You pick the section. Game time picks your seats and you save big. So, take the guesswork out of buying NHL tickets with Game Time. Download the Game Time app, create an account, and use code locked on NHL for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. Again, guys, that’s code locked on NHL for $20 off. Swipe, tap, ticket, go. Today’s episode’s also brought to you by the Gleeb Central Pub. Our pub in the heart of the Gleeb. If you’re looking for a spot that lives and breathes hockey, the Gleeb Central Pub is for you. It’s at 779 Bank Street. That’s just steps from Landown, and it’s the perfect place to catch every game every night with great food and drink and even better company. But the GCP, it’s about more than just catching the big game. They’ve got different events every night of the week that will get you fired up. Whether it’s open mic night on Wednesdays or how about cheap tacos on Thursdays, Saturday nights, it’s all about live music with no cover ever. They’ve also got the send shuttle obviously road trip right now, but come December, the send shuttle will get you boots on the ground. So keep an eye out for those tickets. glee centralpub.com that will be coming out soon. It’s the Glee Central Pub. Make it your home base because the vibes are free at the GCP. [Music] All right, PZY. So, the Ottawa Senators are off, but there are a number of games in the National Hockey League and some in the Atlantic Division that we’ll be keeping a close eye on. Like the Carolina Hurricanes visiting the Boston Bruins. Easy rooting guide there, looking for the Hurricanes to get two points in regulation. Same for the Edmonton Oilers over the Buffalo Sabres. Now, you might be asking, “Man, you guys are really kicking a Saber while they’re down.” Well, yeah. Ottawa’s got their second round pick, and they need that to be as high as possible. We also need the Canucks to do Ottawa another favor. The Senators got one yesterday from them as the Canucks beat the Tampa Bay Lightning. And now they’ll continue their trip through Florida taking on the Panthers. All those games start at 7:00. Then at 7:30, we’re looking for the LA Kings to beat the Washington Capitals. And the Columbus Blue Jackets on the prime Monday night hockey game of the week will be hosting the Montreal Canadians. Those are the Eastern Conference implicated games tonight in the National Hockey League. Yeah. Uh hopefully the please help the sends parlay can uh can hit and uh we get some help because these standings are so tight. I know it’s early, but you need all the help you can get when there’s opportunities for other teams in the East and especially in the Atlantic Division to lose points. Do the Senators need to add to push themselves ahead of this tight pack in the Eastern Conference? Uh I’d like to reframe frame the question. How big of a piece do the Senators need to add to help themselves in this tight conference? Because I’m standing on this, Ross, 10 toes down in the sand. I’m not budging. I don’t care about peer pressure. I don’t care if people think I’m being lame or patient or too responsible and that we have to go all in to be a contender. This is just not the time to be paying the prices that are necessary to acquire an impact player. Now, I’d like to make things clear. Would I love to add a top six player or a top four defenseman? Sure, why not? That’d be great. But I think people overlook what the cost is to bring in guys like that. And I don’t know, I’ve got a little PTSD twitch when you think about pushing all in. Uh, Duchain trade didn’t go so well. De Brinka trade didn’t go so well. Chicken trade didn’t go so well. So, I just think the people that are gung-ho for acquiring an impact player are overlooking the cost of it and are too excited about the idea of it without looking how that’s gone for the Senators in the past. Okay, I hear you. But I also look at this Senator’s team now with the cost certainty that they have. They know exactly what they can fit in, whether it’s a one-year rental or a guy who can come in and give you two or three seasons. And that’s where I think Steve Stoss might get a little trigger happy. The only problem for me is what bullets, what ammo? That’s the piece that Michaelio. Well, no, no, no. Amio ain’t going anywhere. Come on. I’m just saying that’s his nickname, ammo. Yeah. Yeah, of course. Yeah. That’s a like as soon as people start getting excited. Oh, this guy’s on expiring deal. He would fit so good here. Cool. Tell me what the Ottawa Senators could trade. And I’ve seen people talk about, “Oh, throw a package of Greg Zettherland and a pick. That’ll get it done.” That’s not getting hardly anything done. Like Zetterland’s trade value right now is negative. Like you you probably have to add on a sweetener to get someone to take him. You got to just hope that he figures it out and produces for the sends. I’m sorry to say that. Ridley Greg’s trade value is decent, I guess. And then what are we doing talking about trading a firstround pick when this team has no draft capital? Oh, man. Like, it it makes me I I don’t I don’t like that idea whatsoever. But would you be down for a little depth edition then? Is that what you’re going to? We’ll get to the results of the poll. And speaking of the bullets, the prospect roundup coming up a little later on in the show as well. Yes. And some prospects have looked nice lately. I’m not trying to get too down on our prospects, but I don’t know what the trade value is amongst the league for them, and we’ll touch on that later. But I think, and I said it last episode, so I’ll just reiterate, I’ll stick on my stance. I’m not budging. I think the only thing you need to look at is acquiring a depth left defenseman. Someone that’s played in the NHL, but also is not on a long deal. is not expensive to acquire or pay salary-wise. And it’s got to be someone that when everyone’s healthy, you would slot below Tyler Cleven. I think that’s also important because we don’t want to have a situation where it’s like, oh man, now is Cleven going to be pushed out of the lineup because I don’t want that at all. I love him as a third pair defenseman and I think it’s important for him to play and to continue to develop. So, that’s the only thing I’m looking at here. And if you can acquire that with someone that’s already in the organization, ideally a m a max skinnette and maybe a late pick gets it done or you help a team out that’s like, “Look, we got to shed some salary will give you a player like that plus a late round pick just to take them.” Those are the kinds of things you may need to do. And I know, I’m sorry it’s boring. I’m sorry it’s lame. I’m sorry. I’m not allin. Uh but what I would flip on that is I believe in this group, Ross. I believe there isn’t a lot you need to get done here because why are we talking about acquiring a top six forward when we have Brady Kachchuck out of our lineup, our captain, one of our best goal scorers. And sure, I think some Sense fans will point like Py. We just got shut out last game. That was the first time we got shut out all season. The Ottawa Centers are seventh in goals for in the entire National Hockey League and they’re 10th in goals four per game with 3.26 26 in the entire National Hockey League without one of their best goal scorers. So, mortgaging the future and getting rid of depth players to acquire a top six guy that you don’t need just doesn’t make sense to me at all. I see that argument, but I also see other teams trying to get better around the Senators as well. And I I’m okay with to do it though. Ah, do they like Tampa’s just been giving up assets for years and they gave up a ton to get the retention on Yanni Gourd and they get Oliver Bjorkstrand in there as well. Like good teams are getting better. So why wouldn’t Ottawa try to keep up with the Joneses so to speak and say, “Hey, if everyone else is loading up, so do we.” And that’s where I think the conversations internally are going to have to be really tough in terms of which one of these prospects do you think can make an impact in the next year, two or three because there’s a ticking clock right now. We should almost have a timer in the background of how long Brady’s contract is because they have to go on a run in the next three years. They have to to entice this core to want to stay together beyond that. I’m not saying this is the year that they have to win the Stanley Cup, but there’s a sales aspect of every move the Senators are making that will affect the trickle down for lesser extent Bath after two two years from now and then Brady three years from now. Like th this is the wi the window now that Pinto has signed is officially open for the next three years with this core group. So how can you supplement it? And I’m seeing, look, David P’s been great defensively this year, but between him and Nick Cousins who got an opportunity in the top six and Ridley Greg, I think there’s an upgrade available on those guys. I guess your argument really centers around believing in Fabian Zetterland who has four points in 19 games. Sort of. it more. The point I’m making, Ross, is having him as a trade piece will get you nowhere. Correct. No team is like, “Oh, I have an opportunity to acquire someone with four points that’s signed for over $4 million who has a history of not producing after mid-season trades.” Yeah. And he that’s a long contract. Got to get him on my lineup. And it’s no offense to Zetto. You said it over again. The effort’s there. He plays good uh off the puck. He’s getting opportunities, just not producing, blah blah blah. You got to hope that he does that. Ross, I would say your rant where you’re like, “This is our window. You got to acquire guys to get better. You have to make those pushes.” I would argue Steve Stos has done that. Acquiring Lena Salmark, massive push to get a Vzna goalie. Doing the Cousins for Norris trade, massive move to save a little bit of money and get someone with a better health record uh than Norris, no offense, and that can still produce. Dylan Cousins is doing well. Getting Fabian Zetterland with seconds left in the deadline to try to add some depth scoring. Sure, it hasn’t worked out, but he made that move. Bringing in guys like David Praw, Michael Amadio, uh to try to get some more veteran cup experience on this team. Like I know it’s a what have you done for me lately type thing, Ross, but I would argue Steve Stos looked at all this and has said yes, I’m going to try to acquire guys to push this team up and get them where I believe they can go. And now extending Pinto Bath’s going to need a big extension. You got to save money for that. So, I don’t know. I just don’t understand where people are coming from with this desperate need to acquire someone because they’re going to get Brady back. They’re doing fine without him. You’re going to see guys like Mark Zetterland. They have to get better. The penalty kill has to get better. So, there’s a real opportunity for this team to improve internally. And you just don’t have the assets to go out and acquire someone that a lot of people are talking about. Yeah. I I can see that argument. So, let’s shelf this conversation for now. But if this where’s the poll at? Can you can we bring where the poll is at? I’d like to see. Definitely. And what I would say is if this team is still like in the mix but not ahead of the group at the Olympics, like when you break for the Olympics, that’s when there’s going to have to be a real conversation about what’s what’s the next step. But let’s see. because this road trip, if if you find a way to go to above 500 on this road trip through the seven games, I think that you’re going to to be in a lot better of a spot. But if you go, let’s say, three, three and one on this trip, then you’re still just kind of in the mix. But I feel like Ottawa really needs to find a way to be in the top three in the Atlantic with how Florida started, with how Tampa started, with how Toronto started. Those are the top three teams in the Atlantic and they’re all out of the the top of it right now. So that’s why I’m looking at it. Boston’s played a couple extra games. I I almost feel like that strengthens my argument more. Like if those teams were standing strong at the top and the sends were near the bottom of the Atlantic and not surviving, sure, we got to find how do we bolster our team to get ahead of those teams, but we’re doing it without it. So I think that No, I think it’s you smell blood in the water that the the rain for Tampa, Toronto, Florida is is not looking as hot as it has the last number of years and this is the opportunity for those new teams. So out of Boston, Detroit, Montreal, Ottawa, who’s going to be the one to sack up and get this team across that that line? The top three in the Atlantic is where you want to be this season. Don’t get in the mix with all those metro teams who are all mid, all fighting for wildcard spot. I shouldn’t say all. I mean, Pittsburgh’s having a great start. Carolina and New Jersey obviously studs. The Rangers are red-hot right now, too. Especially on the road. They just have trouble winning at home. They’re 91 and one on the road and they’re 17 and one at home. Ridiculous. But I don’t want to worry about the Metro teams. Just go out there and get a top three spot in the Atlantic and away you go. So, look, fans are always wanting more. They’re wanting that big push. And so far, through 500 votes, still plenty of time to vote here on Twitter at Sen Central. 52% want a need for an impact piece right now. 27% be patient for now and 21% are saying just get some insurance depth. So, when you said left shot defenseman Bills, I’m like, what? You just want to go get Dennis Gilbert back here or what? Sure. Honestly, sure. Uh I would like to ask every single person that said very desperate, need an impact piece. What are you using to acquire that? Because that’s what everyone overlooks it. They the Sens do not have a first round pick. Their best value pick is the Sabers second round pick. They have no other than Yakamchuk, but you’re not trading him. They don’t have really big brocc. Yeah, there’s just I I feel like people just want to be cool and be like, “Yeah, let’s add everybody. It’ll be sick. We’ll win the cup.” Cool. That’s fun. How are you going to do that? I’m down. Let’s win the cup. Let us know in the comments which side of this argument you’re on. And if so, who are some players that you’d hope Ottawa would be acquiring for? One that really piqued my attention. Pily, I know he’s happy out there. I’ll let you know who it is on the other side. and you’re listening to Locked On Senators, your team every day. Today’s episode is brought to you by our friends over at FanDuel. The NBA is back and there’s no better place to get in on the action than FanDuel, the official sports betting partner of the NBA. Even if you miss the start of the game or you want to ride that hot hand, FanDuel has live bets on everything from who’s going to score next to fourth quarter comebacks. Plus, try combining your live bets into a same game parlay for a shot at a bigger payout. It keeps every game more exciting, especially when your team’s making that late push. Or maybe your team’s not playing for a couple days like the Ottawa Senators, and you just want to be a hater and bet against every Eastern Conference and especially Atlantic Division team. You could do that as well on FanDuel. And if you’re a new customer, FanDuel is giving you $300 in bonus bets when your first $5 bet wins. So head to fanduel.com right now to sign up and play your game with FanDuel, official sports betting partner of the NBA. [Music] All right, Billy. So we’ll get to a Sens prospect update. An exciting weekend for the Senators prospect world in a couple of moments. But Billy, a name that I’m just going to throw out there and it’s not going to happen soon. Definitely not. But a guy who’s on an expiring deal. He is a left shot defenseman though. I really like Mario Ferraro out in San Jose. I think if you have him as a guy who can suppress goals against and a guy who’s physical and a guy who wouldn’t cost that high price that you’re looking at, that could be a guy that could be he’s going to be of interest to a lot of teams. But he’d be a guy I’d at least call and say, “Hey, Mike, I know we uh hooked up on that Zetterland deal. You want to go back to the well a little bit and just keep calling them, right? That’s how they did it last time. Just keep calling. Keep calling. See if you can wear them down. I like him as a player. I like the expiring deal. But you’re essentially booting Tyler Cleven out of the lineup with that move. Yeah, maybe. But you got to have depth, too. Like they have no depth at left. That’s why you acquire a depth guy, not pushed Cleven into a a depth position. So that’s I don’t know. I feel like all all the arguments I have easy ways to shut them down because I don’t think you want to be doing that uh to Tyler Cleven. This this is a team that believes in him. They signed him that extension. I think he’s the perfect guy for that. So for me, that’s not the the move I’m going for. But again, it’s nothing against the player. I I’m down for the player, but it’s just You’ll say the same on this one. But another guy expiring deal, left shot defenseman, Jamie Alexiak, just a mute and big body. And doesn’t he make like5 million? But oh, it’s an expiring deal. And Ottawa at the deadline is going to have 11.5 million dollar deadline cap space per uh Puck Pedia. So I I’m not too too worried about that, but I get that you like Cleven’s a perfect third pair defenseman, but you need to have some insurance back there. And I don’t know who the lesser names are. Like a Billy Hanela’s name’s been thrown out there. He’s been kind of stuck in purgatory, but he was just on waiverss. It’s like you could have just claimed him for nothing after uh camp and if you were the claim would be perfect like that. That is for me. I’m glad it wasn’t Troy Stcher though. He’s a right shot defenseman and not really the style that they needed. So thankfully Toronto claimed him. I don’t know if Ottawa put in a claim, but I was kind of hoping that they wouldn’t. And not nothing against the player, just don’t think that’s the prototype that Ottawa needs to be looking for right now. I think kind of a big stay-at-home left shot defenseman like maybe a two-way guy, but I would prefer a guy who leans defensive. And that’s if we’re not talking about an impact forward who can play in the top six and push that Pon, Greg, Zetterland, all those guys down the lineup a little bit, then that would be there’d be other names I would care about more to use the assets on, but those would be two defenseman that I think as left shots as guys who can like Shabbat, we love him and he was healthy last year, but there is that risk with him that he has missed a lot of time over his career with injury that you just you want to be in a better spot defensively with the depth. on the left side. Any final thoughts on that conversation and then we’ll shelf it for a little bit. Uh I mean I don’t want to open up a whole different can of worms, but for for you and the crowd of very desperate need to add impact player, what in your mind are valuable trade chips for the Ottawa Senators? Yes. Um valuable is the key word. And this doesn’t mean that I’m happy or wanting to move on from them, but I mean feels like Ridley Greg would probably be the start of any conversation. A young roster player, but a guy who I mean he’s he’s capped out as a third line guy in Ottawa. It feels like like the core is sad and especially if you’re acquiring a top six left wing, which feels like the need would be behind Brady who’s the next man up on that side. I mean, you could argue a right wing actually too because beyond Berson like you just need a winger and that would make him not obsolete, but to pay a guy over $3 million for bottom six role. I think that they’ve already got some more expensive bottom six guys if you’re counting Zetterland in there. And of course, Amattio is making two six uh 100 grand for every point for this guy last three years. Uh but really Greg would be the number one. I don’t want to move him. I really like him. I do think there needs to be a little bit more discipline in his game. He’s taken a lot of penalties this year, but I like the speed. I like him. He would have value if you’re looking to move on from a player. Beyond that, like I feel like this kind of goes into our prospect um recap because I’m not even considering either of the right shot defenseman. I saw some people throwing out on social media, hey, is there room for both Carter Yakamchuk and Logan Hensler on this blue line over the next number of years and the short answer is maybe I don’t know. Probably I would say is the short answer. Yeah, pro probably. Like I love Jordan Spence as a player and who knows what the future holds for him RFA at the end of this season. So Nick Jensen would be the easy one. like if Yakamchuck has a consistent development path, he would just take that spot next year and then maybe the year after you’re looking at incorporating Logan Hensler in. But I’m not moving either of those guys. Those guys are both untouchable. And we’ll talk about Belleville a little bit later on, but I want to start with the Wisconsin ends. And on Wednesday, we’re going to have Todd Malooki, who’s the Brad Schlosman from North Dakota of Wisconsin. I hope I said that right. But Todd is going to join us to talk about the start to the season that the Wisconsin sends have had. It’s been an incredible stretch for Logan Hensler right now though on Saturday night. A goal and two assists in a 65 overtime win. Great to see Henny getting some points up. He’s steady defensively, but the offense like his goal was an endto-end rush. It was beautiful. Yeah, it was really nice. And that that’s the kind of dynamic offensive abilities I didn’t see when we scouted him for our prospect profile. And it’s great to see him be able to pull that out of his bag. And yeah, a goal, two assists, like you mentioned, he’s now sitting on three goals, four assists, seven points in 11 games is great. Keep in mind, he had 12 points total last year. So, he’s already climbing to to beat that. And then my guy Bruno gets his first NCAA goal. And it’s a nice one, too. The puck kind of just ends up uh rolling to him uh in the circle and he just winds up and rips that thing. And a great goal for Bruno. So, I’m fired off about that. Blake Montgomery, five goals, one assist so far this season in 12 games. So, Hensler is seventh in team scoring, second among defenseman, and Blake Montgomery is at eighth. Bruno’s just got a goal and an assist as he continues to move in the right direction. But Wisconsin, like that’s a huge weekend where they split against uh Ohio State. Like they are exceeding expectations as a team which is great to see. Meanwhile, in goal for Penn State, it’s Kevin Reedler. Tough tough game last weekend for Kevin Reedler. Well, Friday lost 7-1 to Michigan. and he was in goal for all seven goals against and that’s after like Michigan’s the second team in the country. First is Michigan State and his last game before that was a week earlier on the Friday where he lost 2-1 in overtime to the number one team in the country on 32 shots. So he’s still having a decent year. Just a tough performance, tough game for the whole team, losing 7-1. And uh a lot of talk about Gavin McKenna not having the strongest start to uh his collegiate career. I mean, he’s 17 years old and he’s still almost a point per game, but defensively there’s been some some miscues. That game, that 7-1 loss against Michigan, he was dash4 in that one. Um, so we’ll see how Penn State continues to shake it out, but I have high hopes for Kevin Reedler in goal, but it’s another goalie prospect, Pelysey, for Belleville that has been stealing headlines. Can we stick on college just for one second because this guy deserves some praise. Ross, seventh round pick in 2023. Owen Beckner is lighting it up with Colorado College. 12 games, six goals, eight assists. Um, he gets pretty much a point or multiple points in every single game that he’s played in this season. He has a four-point game, two-point game, two-point game, two-point game, and a two-point game. Like, this guy’s really turning out to have a nice season in Colorado. I just want to give our guy Owen Beckner a quick shout out there. Yeah, he’s got four multi-point games in his last seven overall and he just got named to the US Collegiate Selects that are going to play in the Spangler Cup this year. That’s a nice feather in his cap. We got to take away US collegiate selects. Like this is a Victoria BC boy up here, Owen Beckner playing for the team. So, it doesn’t matter your nationalities. It’s just collegiate players. Why don’t they go with team North America like they did uh what was that tournament called? uh the World Cup of Hockey 2016. Yes. Yeah. Yeah. They should go with team North America or Young Stars or whatever. Yeah. It’s interesting though because it’s not necessarily the best 23 players if you look at their full roster, but it is great to see and hopefully he gets a uh a good look there. So, getting to Belleville Bills, I know you want to talk about Jackson Parsons. Man, what a start for Jackson Parsons. I mean, two games in and he’s won both of them and he’s just been incredible. I I would have liked for him to get a little more ECHL time, but the way that this has shaken out with Mads being out and then Levy being up in the NHL, he’s been the backup there in Belleville and he’s done a great job. So, we are big fans of Jackson Parsons on this show. Go check out our interview in offseason if you haven’t. This kid’s an absolute beauty. Yeah. And uh I think he’s going to continue to have success here. Like I want to see him play a bigger role like not just playing back to backs uh helping out Hunter Shepard. I want to see him get some standalone starts cuz I I think he can hang here. Yeah, he can. And Hunter Shepard’s been good too, man. He’s got a nine 11 save percentage and eight starts so far this season. Obviously Parsons only has two. Like Marilin’s played more AHL games than Parsons this year. He’s got three, but um poor Mads. like he’s just seeing other goalies coming in and and taking advantage of the opportunity. We hope that he can get healthy soon and uh and hopefully get back in the crease. Played three games this year, 83 say percentage, but when you look at Belleville as a whole, obviously all eyes look at Carter Yakamchuk. He’s up to nine points in 15 games. Hasn’t always been pretty. He’s sitting at a dash 10 right now and a couple of those have been just like in certain performances. Like I would almost say that’s better cuz the grind of the AHL schedule like he’s got one, two, three-3 games this season. So in three games he’s minus nine, right? Like he’s had some good games as well in there and the offense is starting to be a little bit more consistent. He has an assist in three of his last four games. And it’s great for the confidence and morale of the group that Belleville’s found a way to win three straight games. That’s probably the biggest story of all. Yeah, I would agree. Especially some big division games. Uh beating the Udica Comets is great. The Syracuse Crunchy Rod. All three were were in the division. Yeah, you want to be doing that. Our guy, the disher, Steven Halliday. So funny. Still doing it. One goal, 15 assists. He’s actually in the top 10 in uh AHL scoring. And then Phipe Doo, three goals, 12 assists. But hey, this is sends prospect update. Yeah. Yeah. not not signed by the team right now, but obviously was drafted by Ottawa and is on a one-way AHL deal, but what a revelation he’s been. Point per game in 15 games. Everyone knew that Calv was going to score in the AHL. He’s got equals leads the team right now. He’s got 12 points, but like Carter Yakamchuck’s fifth on this team in scoring, tied with Jorian Donovan. Like, I’m I’m content. You obviously want to see the uh defensive side of his game continue to develop. He’s definitely not ready for a callup, so don’t get ahead of yourself. But this is a very positive development for Carter Yakimchuk. And I’m excited to see what he’s got in his in his bag of tricks this week because they got a school day game on Wednesday that’s going to be a 9 10:30 start and then they’re going to Laval next weekend. So they got their games in Laval Pelsey and then they’re going to fly right from Laval to Manitoba and I will be calling those two games against the Moose next Tuesday and Wednesday or not not tomorrow but the week after. Um so I’ll have some boots on the ground reports of uh how the boys in Belleville are looking and I’m selfishly hoping for a Jackson Parson start and I think I might get one because they’re not going to move Levy down for a game while they’re on a road trip. Like it’s just not going to happen. They’ve used that. They’ve used that chip. I think Levy’s found his game here. Like there’s no need. I think it’s about him playing more at the NHL level now and giving some breaks. So yeah, I’m I’m excited to see what the boys have uh in store and to see this team come together. I want them to win for Belly. Like Bell’s been such a trooper for this organization. Was an assistant coach in Belleville from the first year. Like as long as the Belleville sons have existed, Dave Bell’s been a part of the staff. So, I want to see good things for them, for the development of the young kids, as well as for Dave Bell to continue uh moving up and sticking around here and continuing to grow the Sense prospects uh in the organization. So, that’s that’s about all I had for for updates. If there was anyone else that caught your attention, go right ahead. No, that’s it. I’ll just add you can’t spell Belleville without Bell. So, you need you need Coach Bell there. Otherwise, it’s just Evil and the Evil Senators not getting it done. No. Not at all. Uh, last prospect update. Uh, the mythical creature, Demetrius, 12 points in nine games against his own age group. Six goals, six, excuse me, six assists. Um, he has played a well played a couple games. Uh, he got the old zero minutes, zero sec, excuse me, seconds of ice time in his last KHL game. Um, that’s crazy to me. Why dress a guy if you’re not going to play him? We’ll never understand. Yeah. No, we won’t. It’s just different cultures, different times, different places. But Demetrius, I have continuing to light it up as a what is he? 5 foot2. I think for like 56, 145 or something like that. Five 5’9. Oh, okay. 148 pounds. Yeah. My left hand is 148 pounds sometimes. I need to I need to When you’re holding a 144B weight. No, I can’t. See, that’s the problem. I can’t hold it. I I need to get back on the old Pelaton diet because I’ve been eaten so many Halloween chocolates. How do you still have Halloween candy, dude? Ask my wife. Man, it’s so ridiculous how many she got. And she’s like, “You can’t eat them. We need to save them for Halloween.” And then Halloween comes and goes. And I got 12 packets of these things. And when you eat the little Halloween candies, you feel like such a loser. At least I do because wreckage. There is rappers everywhere. I could probably fill an entire floor of my home with empty rappers right now. It is so so sad. I feel like I would eat less if it was a monsterized bar because you eat one, you’re like, “Whoa, that was a lot.” But when you rip it and grip it the way I do for these little ones, it is it is too easy to go through 40 of them. Rip it and grip it. Halloween candy edition. The Ross Levitan story. Ross, the perfect analogy is go to a Mexican restaurant. Would you like five plain tortillas? Uh, no. That’s kind of crazy. I don’t want to eat five plain tortillas. Oh, how about five plain tortillas cut up into little pieces with salsa. Oh, yeah. Of course. Yeah. Just make sure you deep fry them. Yeah, true. Even better. All right. Tomorrow we have Andrew Lad, former captain of the Winnipeg Jets. And I cannot believe that the educational for youth hockey system that he’s created is free. So you’ll learn more about that, what it’s like being a captain in the NHL in a Canadian market and a whole lot more. Really fun conversation with Andrew Lad. Then we’ll have Todd Malooki for the Wiscon sends check-in on Wednesday. Plenty of Sens content sprinkled in. Uh has been confirmed the Senators will practice tomorrow afternoon when they get to Anaheim. the old shake out the cobwebs after a long flight. So, we’ll get some updates on that at Sen Central on Twitter. But Andrew Lad on the show tomorrow and then Thursday, of course, a game day preview. Thanks so much for liking, watching, listening, and engaging with the show. If you liked it, go check out some old episodes, lots of great interviews like our one with Jackson Parsons, like our one with Logan Hensler, and all the other prospects that we spoke about during our prospect update. And of course, our guy sends prospects on Twitter is the man getting clips and content for you of all senators prospects. For Brandon Pillar, I’m Ross Levitan. We appreciate each and every one of you for being everyday here on the Locked On Network. Well, this has been another edition of the Locked On Senators Podcast, your team every day.

Ross Levitan and Brandon Pillar break down the Senators upcoming seven-game road trip, discuss trade possibilities for an impact player, recap weekend action, and provide updates on Ottawa’s prospects and injured players.

0:00 – Senators’ Road Trip & Kings Game Recap
7:51 – Road Trip Preview & Scheduling Insights
17:03 – Trade Market: Should the Senators Add an Impact Player?
30:40 – Prospect & Belleville Update

Join LOSP on YouTube LIVE after every Ottawa Senators game for the POSTCAST, Presented By The Glebe Central Pub: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLc7EATKp-J1Yeif8fbgaiduLTMZBM8Ecg&si=r2tgOlmV-CeqN1dG

Check Out All Of Our Interviews: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLc7EATKp-J1ai4Yzw79OqfYOjvstsf-pb

Follow & Subscribe on all Podcast platforms…
🎧 https://link.chtbl.com/LOSenators?sid=YouTube

Locked On NHL League-Wide: Every Team, Fantasy, Prospects & More
🎧 https://linktr.ee/LockedOnNHL

Check out the SensCentral Merch Store: https://senscentralpodcast.secure-decoration.com/

Follow the show…
TWITTER: https://twitter.com/SensCentral
INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/lockedon.senators
ALL LINKS: https://linktr.ee/LockedOnSenators

Follow us on Twitter…
Ross Levitan: https://twitter.com/RossLevitan
Brandon Piller: https://twitter.com/brandonpiller1

Support us by supporting our sponsors!

Farm2Fork: Visit Farm2ForkDelivery.ca today to taste the Farm2Fork difference. You’ll never go back to grocery store meats! USE PROMO CODE ‘LOCKEDON40’ FOR $40 OFF YOUR FIRST ORDER

GLEBE CENTRAL PUB: Your neighbourhood pub in the heart of the Glebe. Great people, great food and tasty drinks. Come by 779 Bank Street and check out our Sens Game Shuttle!

Gametime
Download the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONNHL for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. Download Gametime today. What time is it? Gametime.

Indeed
Still searching for a great candidate for your company? Don’t search, just match–with Indeed. Claim your SEVENTY-FIVE DOLLAR CREDIT now at Indeed.com/LOCKEDON. Terms and conditions apply. Need to hire? You need Indeed.

FanDuel
Place your first FIVE DOLLAR bet and you’ll get started with TWO HUNDRED DOLLARS in BONUS BETS – guaranteed ! Visit FANDUEL.COM to get started.

FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN) 

#OttawaSenators #Sens #NHLHockey