The Ottawa Senators could trade one of their two first-round picks to improve this summer
It’s now been seven years since the Ottawa Senators last qualified for the Stanley Cup Playoffs, and despite high expectations, they didn’t come all that close to ending that drought in the 2023-24 season.
The Sens have a solid young core that includes Tim Stützle, Jake Sanderson, Drake Batherson, Brady Tkachuk, Shane Pinto, and Thomas Chabot, but their two recent big swings for Alex DeBrincat and Jakob Chychrun didn’t exactly work out as planned. They haven’t made a first-round pick since 2021, when they took Tyler Boucher at No. 10 overall.
After finishing seventh in the Atlantic Division in 2023-24, the Senators possess picks No. 7 and 25 in the first round of the 2024 NHL Draft. They could certainly stand to add a couple of top-tier young players to their prospect pool. But, as Tyler Yaremchuk and Frank Seravalli discussed on Monday’s edition of Daily Faceoff Live, new Sens GM Steve Staios could also look to dangle one of those selections for some immediate help.
Tyler Yaremchuk: Let’s do our ‘Summer Ahead’ segment for today. We’re gonna zero in on the Ottawa Senators. Last week, we did talk a decent amount of Sens, Frank, but it was more focused on, ‘Okay, are they gonna move out Jakob Chychrun, are they going to find a way to move out or buy out Joonas Korpisalo,’ and we didn’t talk a whole lot about what they could potentially add. It’s obviously a team that wants to improve and get into the playoff picture next year, and maybe I’ll start this with a ‘Smoke or Fire’ for you. The Senators have two first-round picks in this upcoming draft. What are the chances they move one of those two picks for some immediate help? Is that smoke, fire, or a false alarm?
Frank Seravalli: Oh, that’s fire, I would say. Look, this is a team that needs to get moving in the right direction. They’ve been really patient to this point. I think their No. 7 overall pick is certainly in play, but it needs to be for the right fit, and they could trade the No. 7 and even get another first-round pick if they decide to move Jakob Chychrun. So, there’s lots of different dominoes that you could move around the board, or chess pieces, if you want to say it that way. But the biggest thing for me when watching the Ottawa Senators is, they’ve got to find a way to cut down on their goals against. They were, when you look at the regular season, they really struggled this year in terms of that — 28th in the league in goals against. Part of that’s goaltending, but only part of it. When you hear Steve Staios talk about finding more complete 200-foot players, you’ve just found your offseason blueprint right there. Go look at some of the best, most complete players in terms of their compete level, and those are going to be, if those guys are available, that’s what the Senators are going to try to seize on.
Watch the full episode here: