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Top Five ‘What-Ifs’ in Ottawa Senators History

By Joe Hanniman

BUFFALO, NY - FEBRUARY 4: Dominik Hasek #39 of the Ottawa Senators looks on against the Buffalo Sabres on February 4, 2006 at HSBC Arena in Buffalo, New York. The Sabres won 2-1 in a shootout. (Photo by Rick Stewart/Getty Images)
BUFFALO, NY - FEBRUARY 4: Dominik Hasek #39 of the Ottawa Senators looks on against the Buffalo Sabres on February 4, 2006 at HSBC Arena in Buffalo, New York. The Sabres won 2-1 in a shootout. (Photo by Rick Stewart/Getty Images) /
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TORONTO, ON – FEBRUARY 11: Taylor Hall #91 of the Arizona Coyotes skates with the puck against Kasperi Kapanen #24 of the Toronto Maple Leafs during an NHL game at Scotiabank Arena on February 11, 2020, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Maple Leafs defeated the Coyotes 3-2 in overtime. (Photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images)
TORONTO, ON – FEBRUARY 11: Taylor Hall #91 of the Arizona Coyotes skates with the puck against Kasperi Kapanen #24 of the Toronto Maple Leafs during an NHL game at Scotiabank Arena on February 11, 2020, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Maple Leafs defeated the Coyotes 3-2 in overtime. (Photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images) /

#2: Cody Ceci for Taylor Hall

A now-famous tweet from Bob McKenzie broke the news of a trade that shook the hockey world on June 29th, 2016. Taylor Hall had been traded from the Edmonton Oilers to the New Jersey Devils in exchange for Adam Larsson.

The New Jersey Devils would pull off a heist in this deal. Taylor Hall is a superstar forward in the NHL. In the 2017-18 season, he scored 93 points in 76 games, good for a Hart Trophy as the most valuable player in the league.

TSN’s Darren Dreger would shed light on a trade that fell through between the Edmonton Oilers and the Ottawa Senators that would have seen Taylor Hall in a Senators jersey.

"“These two clubs came real close to making a pretty big trade not that long ago and just couldn’t get it done, and that trade was Taylor Hall for, I think they finally got to a place where Ottawa was willing to consider Cody Ceci, so it would have been Hall for Ceci, but it had to be cleared in Ottawa through ownership and before they could get clearance Hall got traded to New Jersey for Larsson.” – TSN’s Darren Dreger to TSN1260’s Dustin Nielson on January 4th, 2018"

This deal would have been massive for the Ottawa Senators. Imagine the 2017 playoff run with Taylor Hall supplying top-line firepower. Who knows if it would have been enough to get past the Pittsburgh Penguins but it would have increased the odds a lot in my opinion. Cody Ceci would remain in Ottawa until July 1st, 2019 when he was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs in return for Nikita Zaitsev and Connor Brown. Ceci would often draw the ire of fans for his frequent defensive blunders.

What-if the Senators traded Cody Ceci for Taylor Hall?

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