ottawa senators are canada's top team as trade talks heat up at american thanksgiving
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the ottawa senators woke up on tuesday as canada’s flag bearer.
coming off a 2-1 loss to the los angeles kings on monday night to wrap up the california portion of a lengthy seven-game trip, the senators were the only canadian team sitting in a playoff position in the national hockey league on tuesday morning.
while the montreal canadiens, edmonton oilers and winnipeg jets are within striking distance, the toronto maple leafs, vancouver canucks and calgary flames have their work cut out for them if they want to be part of the nhl’s big dance in the spring.
thursday is american thanksgiving and, historically, this is a pivotal time of year because of an old saying: if you’re not in the nhl’s playoff picture at this point in the season, the odds of securing a spot are stacked against you.
the contenders are starting to separate themselves from the pack, which means the list of sellers is growing. league executives told postmedia on the weekend that the st. louis blues and nashville predators are willing to move assets for the right price.
apparently, they no are longer alone.
sellers list growing
the vancouver canucks have joined the list of sellers.
the indications are that the canucks are willing to sell off veterans and sent an email to the nhl’s other 31 general managers saying the club is open for business on its unrestricted free agents.
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league executives say that steve staios, the senators president of hockey operations and general manager, has been searching around the nhl for an impact forward and defenceman since last may.
when the senators weren’t able to make anything happen in free agency in july, the club opted to see if the answers could come from within and, 22 games into the year, this group has found ways to win.
this might be a chance to strike while the iron is hot.
it’s expected that several teams will reach out regarding forward kiefer sherwood. he’s making $1.5 million us in the final year of his deal and is off to a sizzling start with 12 goals and 16 points in 23 games.
would they be willing to expand those discussions to other players on the roster?
an interesting name on the vancouver roster is winger jake debrusk. he’s signed through the 2030-31 campaign to a contract that carries an average annual value of $5.5 million per season.
in his second season with the canucks, the 29-year-old debrusk has posted eight goals and 12 points in 23 games. he has 174 goals, 152 assists for 326 points in 570 nhl games in his career, which started with boston.
debrusk has a 15-team no-trade clause in his deal, which could add another layer to all of this.
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the senators did show interest in canucks forward brock boeser in the summer, but he’s on a ticket that pays him $7.5 million through 2032 and has a full no-move clause for four years, so it’s doubtful he’ll be dealt.
the canucks don’t want to tear this down completely, but they do want young players in return.
the concern for the senators is if they have the assets to make a big trade. the club has to surrender its first-round pick next spring as punishment for the botched evgenii dadonov deal with the vegas golden knights and the top selection is usually sought after by the sellers.
as the senators prepare to face the knights on wednesday night to kick off the u.s. holiday weekend celebrations in sin city, ottawa only has four regulation losses in its past 18 games. the club has posted a 10-4-4 record in that stretch and has been impressive.
tkachuk closing in on return
the senators will be buoyed by the return of captain brady tkachuk from thumb surgery in the coming days.
coach travis green stated on monday that tkachuk will be back “sooner rather than later,” and the expectation is that he will face the st. louis blues on friday.
friday would be exactly six weeks since tkachuk underwent the procedure in new york city. the timeline the club announced after the procedure was six to seven weeks.
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the senators have gone 10-5-4 without tkachuk, but the club’s power play has struggled without him. the senators are 8.8% (3-for-34) with the man advantage since oct. 28.
tkachuk has stepped up his participation in the club’s skates to prepare to play. according to the amazon prime broadcast, tkachuk was taking faceoffs during the senators pre-game skate on monday in los angeles, which is another big step towards his return.
getting tkachuk back is a huge piece for the senators.
but the senators may be without alternate captain thomas chabot for a while.
he’s listed as day-to-day after reinjuring himself against the san jose sharks on saturday night, but postmedia was told that chabot may have left the club’s trip to return to home to get checked out by the club’s doctors.
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