The Ottawa Senators made two surprising moves this past week, trading away top prospect Roby Jarventie to the Edmonton Oilers along with a fourth-round pick for Xavier Bourgault and Jake Chiasson, and trading goalie Kevin Mandolese and a seventh-round pick to the Colorado Avalanche for a sixth-round pick. Both prospects were well-liked in the organization and, on the surface, it doesn’t make sense as to why they would be moved now, especially for pieces that won’t help the team this season.
However, neither prospect had secured a roster spot during their four-plus years with the franchise, and rather than continue to wait for them to reach their potential, general manager Steve Staios has shown little attachment to players who haven’t developed enough. It was the same case with another well-liked prospect, Egor Sokolov, who was dealt to the Utah Hockey Club earlier in July for Jan Jenik. Rather than follow in the footsteps of the previous regime, Staios won’t play favourites if there aren’t results.
But the moves are more than just refreshing the farm system with new blood. Staios has been strategic in every move he’s made, bringing in players who are fast, tenacious, and difficult to play against. That’s what the Senators were supposed to be under Pierre Dorion, but they never quite got there. That won’t be the case anymore, and that extends throughout the organization, not just to the NHL roster.
Senators Don’t Have Room for One-Dimensional Prospects
Looking at Jarventie’s stats in the American Hockey League (AHL), it’s hard not to see how he couldn’t have made an impact at the NHL level. In his first four games in the AHL, the 2020 second-round pick scored twice, and his rookie season saw him finish top-five in scoring with 16 goals and 30 points in 70 games, leading to the expectation that he was going to take a major step forward in 2022-23. Unfortunately, a knee injury limited him to just 40 games that season and just 22 in 2023-24 before he finally was forced to undergo a season-ending surgery in February 2024.
Before ending his season prematurely, Jarventie earned a seven-game call-up to the Senators in November 2023, where he recorded his first NHL assist. But he also showed some significant gaps in his all-around ability. At even strength, he had the worst goals-against average per 60 minutes (GA/60) on the team with a 6.8, which topped Tim Stutzle, who played in nearly every situation, by nearly three goals per game. He also had the worst Relative Corsi For Percentage (CF% Rel) with a minus-18.8. To compare, fellow rookie Zach Ostapchuk also played seven games and averaged similar ice time last season, yet posted a more manageable minus-10.3 CF% Rel and just 1.6 GA/60.
Sokolov, like Jarventie, was a 2020 second-round pick who thrived on offence. He led the Belleville Senators as a rookie with 15 goals and 25 points in 35 games in the pandemic-shortened 2020-21 season and continued to thrive in 2021-22, scoring 19 goals and 50 points in 64 games to finish second in team scoring, then took over the lead again the following season with 59 points in 70 games. By 2023-24, Sokolov looked primed to fight for a depth role on the Senators. His offensive abilities were excellent, and he used his size well to create opportunities, but his weaker skating was starting to hold him back. That was evident this past season, where he took a step backward in the AHL, dipping to 46 points in 71 games, raising concerns about whether he could be an NHL player.
Senators Depth Is Getting More Balanced
As a goalie, Mandolese didn’t have the same concerns as the previous two prospects, but he had taken a step back after his incredible 46-save overtime victory in his debut with the Senators on Feb. 14, 2023. He allowed eight goals over his next two other starts in the NHL, both of which were losses, and in the AHL, his career .896 save percentage wasn’t enough to take over from Mads Sogaard or Leevi Merilainen, forcing him to play third-string. Now, with AHL signee Michael Simpson set to play backup in Belleville, he was out of a starting job, so he was flipped for a pick that gave the Senators more flexibility.
That’s what these moves came down to – flexibility and balance. Jarventie didn’t have the defensive presence to play in the bottom six, and Sokolov wasn’t fast enough to keep up with his teammates. That’s not the case with the players acquired to fill their place. Bourgault, a former first-round pick in 2021, isn’t as good of a skater as Jarventie but has a higher upside thanks to his more well-rounded style, which gives the Senators another top prospect who could eventually support Ottawa’s top six. Jenik, a 2018 third-rounder, is a much better skater than Sokolov while also bringing decent offence; last season, he finished third on the Tuscon Roadrunners with 16 goals and 36 points.
Related: Roby Jarventie: Everything to Know About the Oilers’ New Acquisition
Staios isn’t going scorched earth, here, though. Already, several prospects who have demonstrated tenacity and well-rounded skills were re-signed to extensions, such as Angus Crookshank, an incredibly quick and tenacious forward who took over as Belleville’s top scorer last season with 24 goals. Maxence Guenette, who made the Senators’ opening night roster last season but was unable to dress because of cap issues, was also re-signed, as were newcomers Jamieson Rees and Wyatt Bongiovanni, who clicked well in Belleville after coming in last season.
Staios Focused on Creating a Strong Identity
Under Dorion, the Senators didn’t have an identity. The team chased big-name free agents to prove that Ottawa was a destination worth coming to, spent too much money on tough guys and role players, and then drafted low-risk prospects with high picks, leaving the Senators without any backups once the tough guys and role players inevitably burned out. Although not all of Dorion’s moves were bad, the bad ones were catastrophic, setting the franchise back years in their rebuild.
Dorion was also fiercely loyal to his players, often to a fault. It’s the reason Erik Brannstrom stuck around so long despite struggling to reach his potential and was overpaid to play bottom-pairing minutes. It’s also why Colin White was given a big contract after one strong season and Josh Norris got one of the biggest contracts on the roster. Those were his success stories, and they needed to stay in Ottawa, no matter what.
Staios doesn’t have the same attachments to Dorion’s players, allowing him to take a fresh look at the roster, and he found several issues throughout the franchise. These minor moves aren’t likely the end, either, as the team has several more prospects they’ve been holding onto despite limited growth, such as Tyler Boucher and Philippe Daoust. There may be other, more difficult moves, but it will all be done to give the Senators a much-needed identity, something they haven’t had in a long time.
