The clock is now ticking on Steve Staios and the Ottawa Senators.
The National Hockey League’s trade deadline is set for Friday, March 6 at 3 p.m. ET, which means the club’s president of hockey operations and general manager has big decisions on what route he’ll take.
The Senators are seven points out of the final wild-card spot in the East heading into Saturday’s game against the Toronto Maple Leafs at Scotiabank Arena and, though the club believes it can make the playoffs, the reality is the chances are getting slim.
After dropping a 2-1 overtime decision to the Detroit Red Wings on Thursday at home, the Senators begin a five-game trip against the Leafs and the club essentially has to run the table to have any hope.
Staios would like to be a buyer, but if the Senators don’t close the gap between now and the deadline, then it makes sense to sell off some assets to get something in return.
What is at the top of Staios’ priority list?
Staios would like to make a deal similar to the one last year by acquiring centre Dylan Cozens, Dennis Gilbert and a second-round pick in 2026 from the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for Josh Norris and Jacob Bernard-Docker.
The best way to put it: A hockey deal.
The Senators’ top priority is a right-shot defenceman. Veteran Nick Jensen is in the final year of his contract and has struggled to find consistency after having major hip surgery in the off-season.
Jordan Spence is a good fit in the third pairing with Tyler Kleven, which means the Senators need to find a strong partner for Thomas Chabot.
The Ottawa Citizen has reported that the Senators have made a hard push for veteran defenceman MacKenzie Weegar of the Calgary Flames. They aren’t alone, with the Red Wings also in the mix.
He would stabilize the right side with a cap hit of $6.25 million US through the 2030-31 campaign and likely would waive his full no-move clause to play in his hometown, but we’re told the Senators have yet to make an offer that the Flames can’t refuse.
The Wings, Boston Bruins, Buffalo Sabres, San Jose Sharks, Dallas Stars and Utah Mammoth all are in the market for a right-shot blueliner.
The Senators are among a group of teams that have kicked tires on Justin Faulk and Colton Parayko of the St. Louis Blues.
Staios has also been looking for a top-six forward since last season, but that could be an area he addresses in the summer.
Neither of these priorities is readily available and Staios could use the deadline to do groundwork for the off-season. That’s how the Senators landed Linus Ullmark from the Boston Bruins — the discussions started at the deadline and continued into June.
What is the asking price?
The Senators don’t have a lot in the way of assets, especially since the organization has to forfeit its first-round pick in the NHL draft.
We’re told teams asking for rugged forward Ridly Greig are being told that’s not something that the Senators want to do. The club doesn’t want to move him because he’s not afraid to pay the price to get to the net, which has been an issue for this club all season.
We also believe that Belleville defenceman Carter Yakemchuk will be called up from the club’s American Hockey League affiliate after the deadline if the Senators fall out of the race.
Teams asking about Yakemchuk are being told the Senators won’t go there because he could help fill the void on the right side as early as next season. Scouts tell us his skating has to improve to play in the NHL.
The Senators aren’t actively trying to trade the likes of Stephen Halliday, Fabian Zetterlund, Artem Zub or Spence, but they’d be options to move if the club were trying to get another asset.
Of that group, Zub is the least likely to move.
The future of unrestricted free agents
League sources say the Senators have had calls on most of their pending unrestricted free agents, including Nick Cousins, Claude Giroux, David Perron, Lars Eller and Jensen.
We could see a scenario where one or two of those players are on the move, but the belief is that Staios would work with any of those veterans if they wanted a change of scenery to push for a playoff spot.
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Perron likely won’t move because he’s recovering from hip surgery and may not play until after the deadline. Giroux has a full no-move clause and wants to stay with the Senators, but a contender might call.
Cousins would like to sign here, but told the Citizen that he’s leaving that in the hands of his Toronto-based agent Craig Oster of Newport Sports. Cousins won a Stanley Cup two years ago.
We could see a scenario where Eller is moved. The club has Halliday ready to move into a fourth-line role and Eller could help a team down the stretch that’s headed for the post-season. He has been a good addition here.