Will the trade talk turn to action?
One way or another, Steve Staios — the Ottawa Senators president of hockey operations and general manager — will answer that question this week with the NHL trade deadline set for Friday at 3 p.m. ET.
Sitting five points out of the final wild-card spot as they prepare to face the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday, the Senators want to add rather than subtract — but the next 72 hours could play a role in the route the club takes.
Internally, the Senators have a strong belief that, with solid goaltending, they can close the gap in the standings and get back into the race because they’re playing well defensively.
They aren’t alone in that thinking.
“If there is any team that is out of the playoffs right now in the Eastern Conference that can make the playoffs, I think it’s the Senators,” said Craig Button, TSN’s director of scouting and a former NHL general manager, in an interview on Monday.
“I look at other parts of their game and I see a lot of strengths. Could they use a little more scoring? Everybody could use a little more. With Linus Ullmark playing well, they have a really good chance. It’s not like they have to find a game.”
Button said visits to Edmonton and Calgary on Thursday will have a bearing on what route Staios takes at the deadline.
What would the Senators want to add?
“Somebody asked me: Should they be sellers or buyers? The Senators are in hold and hope mode,” Button said. “The hold is trying to improve at the edges and around the margins, but the hope is that Linus Ullmark can get that guy that everybody knows he can be.
“I really believe they’re the team that can (make it).”
The Ottawa Citizen has reported that the Senators are looking for a right-shot defenceman who can play in the top four, and if they could find a top-six winger to help with scoring, that would help as well.
We’ve also reported that Staios would like to make a deal similar to the one that allowed the club to acquire centre Dylan Cozens from the Buffalo Sabres at last year’s deadline in a deal that sent centre Josh Norris the other way.
The Senators have shown interest in most of the right-shot defencemen available on the market. Getting a rental player doesn’t make sense for the Senators with Nick Jensen set to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1 and there is a chance he gets moved by Friday.
We’re told they’ve had serious talks with the Calgary Flames about veteran blueliner MacKenzie Weegar, but the Citizen was told on the weekend that several teams have inquired with GM Craig Conroy on that front.
Weegar, 32, has three goals and 21 points in 59 games this season, but has had a tough year defensively with a minus-33 rating. A lot of that has to do with being on a team that just isn’t very good.
“Players have seasons that are a little bit off and MacKenzie has a bit of an off year,” Button said. “He’s a really good, solid player. He can play the right side, but he’s got versatility because he’s a right-shot that can play the left side.
“So, depending on what happens in the course of a game or a stretch, then he’s got that ability. He can play on the power play, the penalty kill and he can play those big minutes.”
Who is available?
Teams are also circling Justin Faulk and Colton Parayko of the St. Louis Blues because GM Doug Armstrong has told teams he’s “open for business.”
“That’s a bigger deal,” Button said of a trade for Parayko. “That’s a hockey deal.”
Button also noted that the Flames will want a strong return for Weegar because he’s a veteran presence on a blueline that has lots of potential, but needs time to grow.
Related
The other right-shot defencemen available include Brandon Carlo of the Toronto Maple Leafs, Doug Hamilton of the New Jersey Devils, Connor Murphy of the Chicago Blackhawks, Tyler Myers of the Vancouver Canucks, and Rasmus Ristolainen of the Philadelphia Flyers.
“I believe the Flyers would trade Ristolainen for the right price,” a league executive said on the weekend.
Up front, there are forwards available, but this is an area that Staios has been trying to address since last May. Those answers may have to come from within because the asking price in most cases is winger Ridly Greig, which is a player the Senators aren’t prepared to move.
Assets are a huge issue for the Senators because they don’t have a first-round pick this spring and the club doesn’t have a lot of prospects.
Stay tuned.