Friday evening, Ottawa Senators general manager Steve Staios traded back two spots in the opening round of the Draft, receiving the 23rd and 67th picks from the Nashville Predators in exchange. The Senators used their No. 1 pick to select right-shot University of Wisconsin defenseman Logan Hensler.

But it didn’t take long for Staios to get down to business Saturday. As Day 2 of the Draft got underway, the Senators GM swapped their day-old 67th pick and a 2026 sixth-round pick (via Colorado) to the Los Angeles Kings, acquiring defenseman Jordan Spence.

Nice piece of work for Staios if Nick Jensen isn’t ready for camp, plus Spence more than capable of complementing Thomas Chabot -at worst, steps into the third pair. @FullPressNHL https://t.co/6hH85IeZRu

— Murray Pam (@Pammerhockey) June 28, 2025

A four-year pro, Spence spent the past two seasons as a full-time fixture on a solid Kings blue line. Averaging 16:47 of ice time as mainly a second-third pair, the Kings 2019 95th overall selection registered 28 points (four goals, 24 assists) in 79 regular season games and tallied one goal in six playoffs during the 2024-25 campaign.

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More importantly, if Nick Jensen isn’t available to open next season, the Senators receive a ready-made right-shot blueliner as insurance. The 2019 Quebec Junior League’s top rookie with the Moncton Wildcats is easily a capable replacement and can slide down to a bottom-six role, pairing with Tyler Kleven if and when necessary.

“We’re excited about the player. You know, 24 years old, mobile, smart, competitive, we’re excited about the player. And anytime you get a chance to acquire a player like that, you start to look at it a little bit harder,” Staios said Saturday post-Draft.

“As far as Nick, it doesn’t change. I think that he continues to progress at a faster rate than most that have gone through this procedure, really. I mean depth on defense is important to teams. And you know, especially on the right side, it’s always harder to find right shot defenseman, seems like. So this was something where we can continue to add to the depth throughout the organization.”

Trading back and acquiring the 67th selection was a key contributor to completing the deal, “Just so happened that with the depth that LA had grown in that area that he became available, and we were very interested in that. And so, you know, I think timing is everything in light of the Draft and the acquisition cost and us being able to trade back kind of all fell into line,” explained the Senators GM.

Spence was in his Toronto apartment when Kings GM Ken Holland notifiecd him of the trade.

“I’ve nothing but the best for them. And, LA, that’s where I got drafted and everything. So, you know, it’s sad leaving, but at the same time, I’m really excited to go to Ottawa and have a start a new chapter,” Spence told local media upon being dealt.

While he didn’t outright state he requested a trade, Spence voiced he wanted to play a larger role in Los Angeles.

“I think, obviously, when you’re playing at a high level, you want to be relied and trusted on in any situation. And for me, I just think I I’m ready to take a big step. I’m ready to take a bigger role. And, you know, it was unfortunate that maybe LA couldn’t give me that opportunity, but maybe I could have a better opportunity in Ottawa and to have a bigger role. So, obviously, it all depends on my performance and everything. But, I’m going to have a big summer, and I’m excited to go to Ottawa this year and to have a good season.”

A hockey officianado, Spence is already familiar with how Senators head coach Travis Green likes to deploy his defenseman.

“I think with Travis, and what the system that they play is, they want the D to jump up and to make plays in the offensive zone. They’re very aggressive and I think I fit right in well with that, being aggressive as a player. I love to jump up. I love to try and make plays. And even in the defensive zone, breaking out, I think, he doesn’t really have any structure, it’s more of decision making. So for me personally, I really like hearing that. And the offensive zone, he likes when the D is engaged in all areas of the ice, and I really like doing that in the offensive zone. So, obviously there’s going to be a big adjustment with the system that I played in, LA, but at the end of the day, I think I’m going to be really comfortable and really excited to play the new system.”

Born in Australia, Spence spent his childhood in Osaka, Japan, before his Canadian-born father and Japanese mother relocated their family to Prince Edward Island. Spence told Full Press Hockey, his dad, Adam taught him how to skate at age 5 in Japan. Coincidentally, his favourite team growing up was the Kings and Drew Doughty being his favourite player, but Spence was also a fan of former Senator Erik Karlsson and Penguins Kris Letang.

Spence has one year remaining on his contract, which carries an average annual value of $1.5 million. At 24 years old, the 2021 Canadian World Junior silver medallist teammate of Senators Dylan Cozens will be a restricted free agent at next season’s end.

Cozens is not the only current Ottawa Senator of whom he’s familiar with, Spence is part of the Halifax summer group skate which includes Drake Batherson, Sidney Crosby, Nathan Mackinnon and Brad Marchand.

Spence’s acquisition leaves the Senators with $9.25M in cap space to re-sign pending UFA Claude Giroux, RFA goalie Leevi Merilainen and add fourth-line depth.

Staios noted there’s no update on the Giroux front and that he was awaiting a return call from his agent, Pat Brisson.

As for adding to his roster via free agency July 1, all options are on the table, but depth players are mainly the Senators targets.

“We’ll look at opportunities. Honestly I don’t think I could have said to you a week ago that we’ve had an opportunity to acquire Jordan Spence at the draft, and these things sort of, you know, once they come up, you’ve got to be prepared, and again, have the flexibility to be able to take advantage of a situation where you can add, add something to the group. So there’s a lot of factors to it. Everybody wants depth. We added some depth to our defense score. We’ll look at depth and any other opportunites,” added Staios

“A possible trade isn’t completely out of the question, “I’m not perfect. I’m not saying that this is what I’m looking to do. But depending on how things unfold and the conversations that we have, any opportunity we have to improve our team, it’s my job to seek those out and make sure that I have all the information.”

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