Ottawa Senators trade defenseman Nikita Zaitsev to Chicago Blackhawks
According to Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli, the Ottawa Senators have traded defenseman Nikita Zaitsev, a 2023 second-round pick, and a 2026 fourth-round pick to the Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for future considerations.
Full trade, per sources:
To Chicago: Nikita Zaitsev, 2023 2nd Rd Pick, 2026 4th Rd Pick.
To Ottawa: Future considerations.
So the #Sens move nearly $6 million in real cash off the books on Zaitsev's deal and pay to do it. The question is … what's next for Ottawa? https://t.co/gEKdn4TSdI
The deal frees up extra cap space for Ottawa ahead of the NHL trade deadline. Zaitsev is signed until 2024 on a $4.5 million AAV deal.
Zaitsev, 31, was in his fourth season with the Ottawa Senators, recording five assists in 28 games. He has also spent time as a healthy scratch and even had a three-game run with the AHL’s Belleville Senators after clearing through waivers earlier this season.
Zaitsev has been in the rumor mill all season after struggling to find a regular spot in the lineup. He averaged 17:14 of ice time this season, the lowest of his career and four minutes below his career average. He spent the first three years of his NHL career with the Toronto Maple Leafs, with his best season being his 36-point rookie campaign in 2016-17.
The Russian blueliner signed a seven-year, $31.5 million deal with the Leafs back in 2017-18 after just one season in the NHL. The deal included a 10-team no-trade list that kicked in in 2019-20. He requested a trade in 2019 and was ultimately moved to the Senators in a deal that sent Cody Ceci the other way.
The Blackhawks are currently deep in the battle for the first overall pick in 2023 with a shot at landing Connor Bedard. Zaitsev is the second-highest-paid blueliner on the taem behind Seth Jones, who holds an AAV of $9.5 million. According to Capfriendly, the Hawks have $13.442 million in current cap space with Jonathan Toews ($10.5 million) leading the way on injured reserve.
It will be interesting to see what the Senators do with their extra space. They currently have $17.998 million in cap space to work with, while Josh Norris ($7.95 million) and Anton Forsberg ($2.75 million) sit on injured reserve. The team is currently missing Jake Sanderson, who is hoping to return to the lineup this week.