Could the Senators Be in the Market for a First Line Center?

Earlier today, Shawn Simpson posted on Twitter saying that he expects the Ottawa Senators to make a trade in the near future.  This is by no means a certainty, but I figured I’d start some speculation.

A possible first-line center?

My good friend Derek Lee laid out the possibility that the Senators could be in the market for a first-line center.  If this were a week ago, the obvious answer would be to make a serious push for Pierre-Luc Dubois. However, that is not the case.

As Derek mentions, the two names that can first be mentioned are Sean Monahan of the Calgary Flames and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins of the Edmonton Oilers. Both of these options are great, as they are proven top line capable players, but my question is, are the Sens willing to pay the price that these players will commend?

Out of these two players, I think RNH would be the most interesting option. Nugent-Hopkins is a capable top 6 forward, who can play center and wing. That holds a lot of value to me. Imagine a line of Stützle – RNH – Dadonov! RNH is a solid player who can help boost this line and can even switch to the wing once Tim Stützle is ready to transition to the center position.

The price for Monahan would probably be higher given he is Calgary’s top center and to part with that, the price would be pretty high, so I won’t even divulge onto that.

How about on defence?

Thomas Chabot needs an adequate d-partner instead of shuffling from Erik Gudbranson, Nikita Zaitsev, etc. He needs a proper partner. Just like how Erik Karlsson had Marc Methot, Chabot needs his partner. Thus far, nobody has emerged as that guy yet, and while it is still early in the season, it’s not a bad idea to explore it.

A guy that comes to mind for me is Julius Honka of the Dallas Stars. Honka seems to be the odd-man-out in that d-core. With guys like John Klingberg, Esa Lindell, Miro Heiskanen, Jamie Oleksiak and even Mark Pysyk seemingly above him in the depth chart, it might be time to move on from Julius Honka.

Honka is a decent player, with some potential still in my eyes. I think with the right partner and role, he could succeed. I think the price on him would not be really high given he was just placed on waivers the other day.

Closing thoughts

I don’t think the Sens are necessarily going to make a trade soon, rather I think that Dorion is just keeping an eye on the market. He is known to make trades at weird points in the year tho. You never know with PD.

As always, you can follow me on Twitter @JacobLarivire for more of my content!