There’s a chance the Ottawa Senators miss the playoffs this season. And with the majority of the core players in the prime of their careers, fans tend to look at missing the playoffs as a “lost season”. Looking at the bigger picture, however, we see tons of contenders miss out on the Stanley Cup every year after trading top prospects and first-round picks for players that wind up signing elsewhere a few months later – i.e. rentals.

In the case of Sens General Manager Steve Staios, his efforts to improve the club aren’t limited to a single season, rather, many of his biggest trade acquisitions, while not always long-term, tend to have some form of team control beyond a single season. This way, he’s not chucking assets for the sake of a single season, but for the sake of the team’s short-term future.

Nick Jensen

Linus Ullmark may have extended in Ottawa before playing a game with the club, but Jensen was the true beginning of Staios’ history of acquiring players with term.

Trading this guy along with a 3rd-round pick for Jakob Chychrun was an incredible move for the Washington Capitals, but for the Senators, this wasn’t so much shooting yourself in the foot, and more like your insurance company refusing to reimburse your physiotherapy after said gunshot wound. It was necessary to get a more suitable partner for Thomas Chabot. As we all know, Jensen did very well in 2024-25, and injuries contributed to some serious struggles this season. Although he picked up his play following the Olympic break, it was halted by yet another injury. I would’ve liked to see less of him this season in favor of Nikolas Matinpalo, or perhaps Lassi Thomson, who was incredible against Buffalo yesterday, but it would take some serious recency bias to say Jensen did more harm than good in a Senators jersey.

Dylan Cozens

When you acquire a player making $7.1M for the next five seasons, in the midst of a down year (31 points in 61 games), you’re betting on an improvement. Had Cozens continued to struggle after leaving Buffalo, the term on that contract would’ve only magnified its negative value. However, as a result of Cozens returning to form very quickly, the Senators were able to bring a viable second-line center into their lineup, with security at that position for several years. He’s been a dual-threat both at even strength and on the power-play, with 26 goals and 27 assists in 75 games, and we could see an increase next season as the club will have enough cap space to improve their top-six.

Fabian Zetterlund

You could see the vision here – a pending restricted free agent that had produced 36 points in 64 games with a bad team, acquired by a better team. Lock him up for three more years to shore up Ottawa’s biggest positional weakness. Things haven’t worked out that way, unfortunately. Zetterlund has been a useful player this season, but it’s mostly been in bottom-six roles. He’s done alright on Tim Stützle’s left wing, but they’ve been let down in the 320 minutes they’ve played together with an .867 save percentage at 5v5. At $4.275M for two more seasons, the Senators might not be able to afford Zetterlund on the fourth line next year. This deal by Staios hasn’t been a slam dunk by any means – and shows that much like the Senators’ play during parts of the year, process doesn’t always lead to results.

Jordan Spence

This might be Staios’ best trade, and depending on how many years Spence will wind up playing for the Senators, one of the best deals in franchise history. The sheer number of assets teams are willing to give up for quality right-shot defensemen is insane – look at Detroit ponying up the 14th overall pick and other assets for Justin Faulk at the recent deadline. With the lack of assets and cap space, Staios opted to go after a more underrated target that could flourish in a larger role – and Spence definitely has. 26 points in 66 games, leading the blueline in both expected and actual goal differential, deployed in ways with which he was never trusted in Los Angeles. All for the bank-breaking price of…3rd and 6th round picks? And he’s still a restricted free agent at the end of the season.

Warren Foegele

Coming off a 41-point season with Edmonton in 2023-24, I was surprised at how the Kings were able to sign Foegele to a three-year deal worth just $3.5M annually. Initially, the deal paid dividends for the Kings in the form of career highs in both goals and assists in 2024-25, but this season, he regressed to just 9 points in 47 games. So, with the lack of quality picks, Staios once again decided to bank on a player returning to form after a poor stretch. Foegele scored the game-winning goal in his Sens debut against the Kraken, and has 7 points in 14 games with Ottawa, more than worth the $3.5M price tag. And once again, Foegele will stick around for at least another year, as he doesn’t reach unrestricted free agency until July 2027. Every player that’s brought in, has a chance to flourish and find chemistry with more established players. Foegele has mostly been used on the fourth line with Lars Eller and Zetterlund, but there’s always a chance he can contribute somewhere on the top three lines.