Ottawa Senators acquire Vladislav Namestnikov in a trade
By James Reeve
The Ottawa Senators have announced a trade with the New York Rangers that will see forward Vladislav Namestnikov head to the Canadian capital.
After just two games into the regular season, the Ottawa Senators have acquired Vladislav Namestnikov in exchange for defenceman Nick Ebert and a fourth-round pick in 2021.
25-year-old, right-handed defenceman Ebert joined the Senators organisation earlier this year after spending two seasons playing for Örebro HK of the Swedish Hockey League.
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After just one appearance for the Belleville Senators, he finds himself heading to a new NHL organisation and will suit up for the Hartford Wolf Pack instead.
In exchange for the journeyman minor leaguer, as well as a fourth-round pick in 2021, the Senators receive a player with 362 NHL regular-season games under his belt.
Namestnikov was originally a first-round selection (27th overall) by the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2011, taking a few years to develop before becoming a regular depth player in the team.
The 26-year-old Russian has 66 goals and 158 total points in his 362 appearances and his best season came in 2017/18 when he earned 22 goals and 48 total points split between spells with the Lightning and the Rangers.
Incidentally, this was the season Namestnikov averaged the most time on the ice in his entire NHL career; 17:30 in 62 games with Tampa and 15:43 in 19 with New York, averaging 17:05 in total.
He spent all of last season playing in the Big Apple, but with the Rangers looking to head in a new direction it has allowed the Senators to jump in and bring him to the Canadian capital for a relatively low cost.
Obviously, with the Ottawa Senators rebuilding, giving up any draft pick is a questionable decision, especially with Namestnikov being a UFA at the end of this season, but a fourth two seasons from now is a fairly safe bet for an experienced player that will help the team over the coming year.
Namestnikov will carry a cap hit of $3.25 million after the Rangers retained $750,000 of his total deal.
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What do you think of the deal, Sens fans? Are you pleased to see the team make a move? Are you disappointed that this likely means keeping more of the prospects in the AHL as a result? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!