The Trade (Duchene):
After Ottawa was struggling through another season, it was thought that trades were imminent for Matt Duchene, Mark Stone and Ryan Dzingel, and it took a few days before the trade deadline for the first domino to fall.
On February 22nd, 2019 Duchene was traded along with AHL defenceman Julius Bergman to Columbus for a great return.
Ottawa would get one of the top prospects in Columbus’ system in Abramov, a late bloomer who almost cracked the Blue Jackets roster in Davidsson, a 2019 1st rounder and a potential 2020 1st rounder if Duchene signed with the Blue Jackets (which he did not). Regardless Ottawa got tremendous value for a rental in Duchene and accelerated the rebuild.
Lassi Thomson would be brought into the fold with the 19th overall pick in 2019 from the pick acquired from Columbus. While Abramov enjoyed his best year in the pro ranks in 2020, Davidsson tried to gain his footing in North America. All around a great trade by Dorion to add some more prospects to a growing Senators prospect pool.
The Trade (Dzingel):
It was rumoured that Columbus was interested in both Dzingel and Duchene, but when the latter was traded a few days before the deadline, there were thoughts Columbus was out.
On February 23rd, 2019 a day after Duchene was dealt to Columbus, Ottawa would also send Dzingel to Ohio as another rental. Ottawa would get two 2nd round selections the following years (2020 and 2021) but arguably the biggest piece coming over was Anthony Duclair, who has been great for Ottawa since coming over. In 87 games with Ottawa since the trade, Duclair has 31 goals and 53 points and an all star appearance. Duclair has outplayed Dzingel since the trade, and this one marks as another win for Dorion.