The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly – A History Of Ottawa Senators Trades

THE BAD

(November 27 1996)

Blues acquire: Pavol Demitra

Senators acquire: Christer Olsson

At the time, it seemed like an alright trade for the Sens. Now, you have to wonder what they were thinking. Christer Olsson played a total of 25 games for the Senators, racking up a total of 5 points. He then went to Sweden, never returning to the NHL. Pavol Demitra, however, turned into a scoring machine. He played 7 full seasons in St. Louis, scoring 493 points in 494 games. After his time in St. Louis, he played for the Los Angeles Kings, Minnesota Wild, and Vancouver Canucks, scoring 249 points in 294 games while with those teams.

(Jul 9 2006)

Blackhawks acquire: Martin Havlat, Bryan Smolinski

Nov 23, 2013; San Jose, CA, USA; San Jose Sharks right wing Martin Havlat (9) takes a shot on goal during the second period of the game against the New Jersey Devils at SAP Center at San Jose. The San Jose Sharks defeated the New Jersey Devils 2-1. Mandatory Credit: Ed Szczepanski-USA TODAY Sports

Senators acquire: Michal Barinka, Josh Hennessy, Tom Preissing, 2008 2nd round pick (Patrick Wiercioch)

No matter how good Wiercioch turns out, it’s pretty much impossible to consider this trade a success. Back then, Havlat was only 25, and had been scoring at an elite level. Smolinski was coming off two strong seasons with the Senators, scoring 46 and 48 points. Those are strong players that they’re moving. Now, lets talk about what the Sens got back. Michal Barinka was a prospect, who never played a game for Ottawa. Josh Hennessy played a total of 20 games for the Senators over the course of 4 seasons, and only managed 1 assist in that time. Tom Preissing played 80 games in a Sens uniform, scoring 38 points and helping the team to the Stanley Cup final. Not bad, though only 80 games isn’t worth one of the best young scorers in the league, plus a very capable veteran. Lets hope Wiercioch can develop the way he’s supposed to and make this trade seem a little less one-sided.

(Sep 12 2009)

Sharks acquire: Dany Heatley, 2010 5th round pick (Issac Macleod)

Senators acquire: Jonathan Cheechoo, Milan Michalek, 2010 2nd round pick (Kent Simpson)

Please continue reading. I know this one will be tough, but please don’t leave. It’s the last one before we get to the good stuff. If you had asked me before  the season started, I would have said this was in the bad section because of the whole situation between Heatley and the team. But now I’d consider including it in the bad section for the return as well. They traded the draft pick they received to the Islanders for Andy Sutton, who played one season with the Senators. Cheechoo, just three years removed from winning the Rocket Richard trophy scored just 14 points in 61 games, and was sent down to the AHL. He has yet to play another NHL game. And really, Michalek hasn’t done all that much as a Senator. He had a very good 2011-12 season, scoring 35 goals and 60 points, but other than that he’s really been an average player, with 131 points, in 237 games. Since the trade, Michalek has 191 points in 314 games compared to Heatley’s 245 points in 343 games.