The Toronto Maple Leafs have had a strong start to their 2024-25 campaign, holding an impressive 13-6-2 record through their first 21 games and sitting atop the Atlantic Division. One team that is on the opposite end to start the season is the Ottawa Senators, who sit 7th in the Atlantic Division with a 9-11-1 record through their first 21 games.
While the expectations weren’t high for the Senators coming in, few fans expected them to be right back where they were last season, which is at the bottom fighting to climb their way up. While they made some changes last offseason including hiring Travis Green as their new head coach and trading for goaltender Linus Ullmark, they have failed to find success and may be forced into selling at the 2025 Trade Deadline. With a potential sale coming from Ottawa this season, here are two players the Maple Leafs could target.
Claude Giroux
The first player they could look at bringing in is veteran forward Claude Giroux. Giroux, who is 36 years old, is from Hearst, Ontario, and stands 5-foot-11, 187 pounds. He was drafted in the first round of the 2006 NHL Entry Draft at 22nd overall by the Philadelphia Flyers after a strong season in the Quebec Major (now Maritimes) Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) with the Gatineau Olympiques where he scored 39 goals and added 64 assists for 103 points through 69 games.
When he eventually joined the NHL, he quickly established himself as an elite two-way forward who could be trusted in almost any scenario. He was named captain of the Flyers in the shortened 2012-13 season, where he remained until midway through the 2021-22 season when he was traded to the Florida Panthers.
The following offseason, the Senators signed Giroux to a three-year contract, bringing him closer to where he was born. He has been a strong addition to their lineup and has continued to play an elite-level two-way game on a nightly basis. This season, he has scored six goals and added 10 assists for 16 points through 21 games. He is in the final season of his contract and holds a $6.5 million cap hit, making him a bit pricey for the Maple Leafs who are tight to the cap already. Luckily, the Senators may consider retaining some salary to maximize a return in a trade, in hopes he’d be open to returning to Ottawa in free agency.
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Giroux would help stabilize the Maple Leafs’ bottom-six forward depth, as he is someone who can play anywhere in their lineup if needed depending on injuries. His playoff experience would be helpful for them as well, and he should be someone they target at the 2025 Trade Deadline if the Senators continue to lose games.
Travis Hamonic
The second player the Maple Leafs could target is Travis Hamonic. Hamonic, who is 34 years old, is a right-shot defender from St. Malo, Manitoba who was drafted in the second round of the 2008 NHL Entry Draft at 53rd overall by the New York Islanders after a strong season in the Western Hockey League (WHL) with the Moose Jaw Warriors. In his draft year, he scored five goals and added 17 assists for 22 points through 61 games. Since making the jump to the NHL, he has established himself as a trustworthy shutdown defender, and the Maple Leafs could utilize him as a depth piece heading into the postseason.
Through 861 games in the NHL, Hamonic has scored 52 goals and added 184 assists for 236 points which comes out to a 0.27 points-per-game average. He has been able to keep his job in the NHL by remanining a physical shutdown defender, and his affordable contract makes him an attractive target. At the end of the day, the Senators have plenty of time to bounce back and try to fight their way into a playoff spot. However, if they’re on the outside looking in at the upcoming trade deadline, the Maple Leafs should be all over these two players.
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