Plenty of Ottawa Senators news has been coming out over the past few days, including the sale of the team, and now it has been confirmed to Bruce Garrioch and Postmedia that Alex DeBrincat does not want to sign an extension in Ottawa. (from “GARRIOCH: Ottawa Senators elect to take Alex DeBrincat to arbitration”, Ottawa Sun, June 15, 2023). There have been a lot of conflicting reports over the past few weeks about DeBrincat, and it was getting hard to follow.
To summarize the chaotic news cycle for the star winger, the first set of reports came out from a combination of Garrioch, Pierre LeBrun and Frank Seravalli saying that he is submitted a list of 10 teams that he would prefer to go to and is willing to sign a long-term deal with and that he did not want to sign an eight-year extension in Canada. Following this report came Steve Warne, who had a source close to the DeBrincat family and had been told that DeBrincat would like to stay and he liked [DJ Smith] a lot and loved the team.
After all of the reports, Garrioch has now squashed all of the speculation in his latest piece. As I mentioned, Garrioch says “Postmedia has confirmed that DeBrincat doesn’t want to sign an extension here,” and the Senators are set to take DeBrincat to arbitration in hopes of a 15 percent discount on his $9 million qualifying offer.
Ottawa’s general manager Pierre Dorion has been working the phones in hopes of getting a deal done by the first day of the draft (June 28), and given his list of preferred teams, that will be where Ottawa can maximize their value. It is believed that some of the teams on that list include the Florida Panthers, Vegas Golden Knights, Dallas Stars, Detroit Red Wings and Nashville Predators, and the Carolina Hurricanes could make sense too. Now that is only six, but we can also cross off the other six Canadian markets from the list. So looking at that list, as well as some other teams that could make sense, who are some targets the Senators can look at?
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Though these are some big, valuable names mentioned, the Senators will need to do a lot of work to get the deal done, however, these are some names to keep an eye on. Winning this trade is not going to be an easy feat.
Facing the Needs; Goaltending
Now, not all of these needs will be met with one trade. That is about the only guarantee I am willing to make right now. The biggest need on the roster right now is goaltending. While Anton Forsberg and Mads Sogaard show promise, as it stands today, Forsberg has two blown knees, and Sogaard is still too inexperienced to take the reigns for a team looking to make the playoffs. On the good side of things, there are several goaltenders available that should be attracting the Senators. Of the teams reported to be on the list, Vegas and Dallas do not have a goalie that could be traded, and Ottawa would be interested in. As for the other teams?
Juuse Saros
The Los Angeles Kings were close to acquiring the Nashville Predators’ superstar goalie Juuse Saros last season, and now that he is known to be available, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Ottawa’s name attached. He is elite by all definitions, and with Yaroslav Askarov creeping up the depth chart, they won’t be without a goalie for long. Barry Trotz is willing to make moves, and Ottawa should be all over this.
Ville Husso
Ville Husso could be a risky bet when dealing with a player like DeBrincat. He wouldn’t be the only asset coming back in a deal, but there is certainly some promise with this netminder. Husso struggled in Detroit in his first year of a three-year deal making $4.75 million in each year. After a fantastic season in St. Louis, recording a .919 save percentage (SV%) in 40 games, he only managed to have a .896 SV% this year. I think he can balance out in the middle and be a ~.910 SV% goalie, but at 28, with just two full seasons under his belt, he could be too far off of what Ottawa is looking for in their crease.
Spencer Knight
The Florida Panthers just finished a magical run to the Stanley Cup Final and rode Sergei Bobrovsky’s back on their way there. While his name hasn’t been out there, has Spencer Knight become available?
The Panthers are not shy of making a blockbuster deal, and while they have some salary cap problems to deal with this summer, there could be quite a deal to work out between the two teams. Knight makes $4.5 million for two more seasons, and if the Senators are willing to throw in high picks or valuable prospects, they could Sam Reinhart into the deal as well. Ottawa and Florida could make for a fantastic trading duo.
Potential Forwards to Target
All season the fanbase was arguing whether trading DeBrincat or paying him north of $8 million was the best idea. The one thing everybody could agree on was that trading him would be leaving a sizable hole on the left wing. Sure, the Senators have some rookies like Ridly Greig, Roby Jarventie and Angus Crookshank looking to make an impact, but none of them can play a role to that level quite yet. So if the Senators were to trade him, they would likely be looking at a hockey trade involving current impact players.
Some potential targets the Senators could look at for an immediate replacement in a DeBrincat trade are hard to find. Most teams looking to acquire the two-time 40-goal scorer are not in a position to be trading off a top-six winger that could help Ottawa. Just because it is hard to find, doesn’t mean that it is impossible. Starting with some of the teams reported being preferred.
Sam Reinhart
Already mentioned with a Knight trade, Reinhart could be a great Senator. At $6.5 million for two more years, he has been a fantastic player for Florida. He would slide in well on the Senators as he can play a bit of a gritty game at times but also brings a lot of skill.
His play has made it clear that he benefits from playing with skilled players, and his point production has jumped by playing with some great players on the Panthers. In saying that, he is not a passenger on his line. He is just as valuable to a line’s success and could fit well with Ottawa’s top six.
Martin Necas
Fans of the Hurricanes have grown in frustration with Martin Necas. He is coming off of a fantastic breakout year, but for the third year in a row, has struggled in the playoffs. Now, that may be a turn-off to the Senators and their fans, but he is a great talent, and once he gets steady in his position and becomes more consistent, he will be a great player who can be a huge impact en route to a Stanley Cup. His $3 million cap hit makes him even more valuable, and at just 24 years old, there is still room to grow.
Any trade for any player or goalie mentioned will require a lot of groundwork to be laid out before completion. None of these trades would be one-for-one swaps, but these are some names to keep an eye on as DeBrincat is set to leave Ottawa. As I mentioned, winning a trade when shipping away DeBrincat will be near impossible as he is coming off a down year, is without a contract and will only extend with a handful of teams.
