Steve Staios is open for business.
The Ottawa Senators are armed with No. 25 and No. 32 overall picks heading into the first-round of Friday night’s National Hockey League draft in Buffalo, but the club’s president of hockey operations and general manager will be trying to wheel and deal right down to the wire.
While the Senators can’t move the No. 32 selection they were awarded by NHL commissioner Gary Bettman because of a botched deal with the Vegas Golden Knights in 2021, the No. 25 selection is up for grabs, and Staios would like to use it as an asset to get somebody who can help his roster now in return.
That pick was acquired from the Florida Panthers on Sunday, along with the No. 9 selection that Ottawa dealt to the San Jose Sharks on Tuesday for winger William Eklund. Ottawa also has Florida’s second-round pick in 2027 and the Panthers’ first-rounder in 2029.
Though the Senators may be thin on prospects in the organization, Staios has zero desire to use any or all of those picks. Instead, since he wasn’t able to coax Florida GM Bill Zito to give up a player off his own roster, the Senators need to find immediate help.
Ottawa also has three picks in the third round that they’d be willing to use to get depth, along with picks in each of the fourth, fifth, and sixth rounds, which will be held on Saturday.
Target off the board?
The Senators would like to use No. 25 as part of a package for either a forward who can play in the top six or a top-four right-shot defenceman. The feeling among some NHL executives is that a pick in that range of the first round would also require Ottawa to attach another prospect or player.
The Senators still have a strong core with centre Tim Stutzle, Jake Sanderson, Dylan Cozens, Thomas Chabot, Shane Pinto, Ridly Greig and Drake Batherson, but they want to win now. That was why it was paramount to acquire Eklund on Tuesday.
The Ottawa Citizen reported in May that the Senators had interest in forward Mason McTavish of the Anaheim Ducks. Sportsnet insider Elliotte Friedman told viewers on Tuesday that the Senators were “trying hard” to get McTavish, but the talk Thursday night is that he won’t be coming to Ottawa.
A report by league insider Frank Seravalli indicated the New York Rangers had emerged as one of the frontrunners for McTavish. The indications are that there was another team pushing to get to the finish line, but we don’t believe it’s the Senators.
A January 2026 file photo of Mason McTavish of the Anaheim Ducks during a game against the Flyers in Philadelphia.
McTavish has five years left on a deal paying him $7 million U.S. per season. His father, Dale, was one of the first hires Staios made when he took over in Ottawa in 2023 in a pro scouting role.
McTavish has 77 goals and 181 assists in 304 games in his NHL career. He isn’t Anaheim coach Joel Quenneville’s cup of tea, though, and that’s why both sides feel it might be time for a fresh start. McTavish grew up in Ottawa and still makes his off-season home here.
He would have been a nice fit in Ottawa and can play the wing.
A league executive said he believed the Senators had kicked the tires on forward Alexis Lafrenière of the Rangers. He was taken No. 1 overall in 2020, which was the same year the Senators selected Stutzle at No. 3, Sanderson at No. 5 and Greig at No. 28.
The top-four defenceman acquisition would also be tricky because there are a lot of teams looking for that kind of help.
The Senators have been chasing Rasmus Ristolainen of the Philadelphia Flyers since last spring’s trade deadline, but haven’t been able to offer up the necessary assets to get a deal done. They are one of several teams in that bidding, also including the Edmonton Oilers.
Ottawa has also been linked to Zach Whitecloud of the Calgary Flames, but the Senators could also re-sign Spence to play in the top four.
The virtual draft
This will be the second straight year the NHL will host a virtual draft with the top prospects in Buffalo and the teams headquartered in their respective home cities.
The Senators will be set up in their dressing room at the Canadian Tire Centre. The scouting staff, led by Don Boyd, has been huddling all week with Staios and senior vice-president Dave Poulin to prepare for the annual crapshoot.
Last year, the Senators took defenceman Logan Hensler at No. 23 overall, and it will be interesting to see what they do at No. 32.
A March 2026 photo shows Maddox Dagenais (26) of the Quebec Remparts in action against the Charlottetown Islanders in a QMJHL regular-season game.
In Craig Button’s annual mock draft on Monday on TSN, the network’s well-respected director of scouting had the Senators selecting centre Maddox Dagenais of the Quebec Remparts of the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League.
Dagenais finished the past season with 30 goals and 32 assists for 62 points in 62 games.
bgarrioch@postmedia.com
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