3 Senators Most Likely to be Traded by the Deadline
The Senators enter the trade deadline as sellers for hopefully the final time
There’s no denying that Ottawa Senators general manager Pierre Dorion will be shopping around a few players prior to the March 21st trade deadline, however, don’t expect Dorion to be as active as in years past with most of his expected activity to take place in the offseason. The Senators have a few pending unrestricted free agents that could potentially attract some interest from other teams, especially former Stanley Cup Champion with the St. Louis Blues, Zach Sanford. Other players of interest could potentially include: Nick Paul, Anton Forsberg, Chris Tierney, Tyler Ennis, and Josh Brown, but it’s highly unlikely the Senators deal them all, as there’s some future value in some of their pending UFA’s.
With the Senators having some hopeful additions to their lineup before the season concludes, those including 2020 5th Overall Pick Jake Sanderson, and a hopeful clean bill of health for Drake Batherson and Shane Pinto before the season ends, the team will need to move some bodies to free up space for some younger, more valuable players.
Zach Sanford
2021-22 Season Stats: 55 GP, 9G-8A-17P, -10, 74 Shots, 117 Hits
Acquired for Logan Brown and a conditional 4th round pick in the 2022 NHL Draft, Sanford has been inconsistent during his time in Ottawa, putting in good efforts on some nights, while on others he can be hardly noticed.
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The 27-year-old forward has scored 9 goals and 17 points in 55 games this season, while also providing a bit of a physical edge with 117 hits (3rd among OTT skaters). Standing at 6’4″ and 207 pounds, Sanford plays a power game with some flashes of high-level skill, but those are typically few and far between. This subtle play that Sanford pulls on Makar is impressive and shows the skill the big, power forward has:
Zach Sanford. 😳
— Everyday Sens (@EverydaySens) November 23, 2021
What a play to get around Makar, followed by a finish that the team has desperately needed this season. pic.twitter.com/JGxok0eaRi
Sanford is a pending UFA, and he will likely be nothing more than a bottom-six forward in Ottawa, and his play doesn’t move the needle enough for the team to consider hanging onto him for the final month of the season.
Potential Trade Package
OTT: F Zach Sanford
BOS: 2022 4th Round Pick
Boston has struggled with depth and injuries at forward, adding another big body into that forward group would definitely be appealing to Bruins bench boss Bruce Cassidy.
Anton Forsberg
2021-22 Season Stats: 26 GP, 11-10-2, 0.920 SV%, 2.77 GAA
Forsberg has been a revelation this season for the Senators, and has been far and away the team’s best goaltender, and his play has definitely grabbed the attention of team’s hungry for stable goaltending. The 29-year-old native of Harnosand, Sweden has been spectacular for most of the season, his 8.7 goals saved above expected ranks 14th in the entire league. For the quality of chances Forsberg faces on a nightly basis, his consistent play, especially since the beginning of December:
Ottawa's season turned around on December 2nd against Carolina. They're 15-16-4 since then, after starting 4-15-1.
— Everyday Sens (@EverydaySens) March 7, 2022
Anton Forsberg since December 2nd:
20 GP
10-6-2 Record
.930 SV % (12th)
11.43 GSAx (6th)
Perhaps most importantly, he hasn't been injured this season.
Now leaves a decision for the Senators to make, trade Forsberg and hope that the oft-injured Matt Murray can remain consistent and healthy, or, keep Forsberg past the deadline in hopes of agreeing to an extension before free agency. The latter obviously offers a lot more security, and it’s probably the option I would vouch for, trusting Matt Murray and an inexperienced Filip Gustavsson as your tandem next season would be recipe for disaster.
Potential Trade Package
OTT: G Anton Forsberg
EDM: 2022 2nd Round Pick
The Oilers haven’t had great output from their goaltending position over the last few seasons, and they can’t continue to waste years of McDavid and Draisaitl’s prime with a goaltending duo of Mikko Koskinen & Mike Smith.
Josh Brown
2021-22 Season Stats: 39 GP, 0G-5A-5P, -8, 37 Shots, 90 Hits
Brown hasn’t provided much since arriving in Ottawa during the 2020 NHL offseason for a 4th round pick from the Florida Panthers, he plays a simple, tough game that is most effective as a depth/7th defenceman. The blueliner stands at 6’5″ and 221 pounds and possesses a right shot, that should be enough to at least get some teams interested in the Josh Brown sweepstakes.
While Brown isn’t supposed to provide much in terms of offensive ability, the consistent struggles that he has breaking the puck out of his own end has directly affected his play in Ottawa, spending too much time in his own end. His size and length will for sure attract some attention, and a scuffle versus the Panthers the other night shows his physicality.
Josh Brown SMOKES Lomberg, gets challenged - then jumped. pic.twitter.com/XsY5UeQrQ6
— Martian (@LalimesMartian) March 4, 2022
In totality, his play hasn’t been up to NHL standards during his time in Ottawa, and it’s obvious he shouldn’t be in the future plans as the Senators continue to build toward being a playoff contender, if the Pierre Dorion can receive an asset for Brown, he should jump at the opportunity.
Potential Trade Package
OTT: D Josh Brown
NSH: 2022 7th Round Pick
Nashville plays a physical brand of hockey and currently houses former Senators Mark Borowiecki and Ben Harpur, both play a similar brand of hockey to Brown. Predators’ GM David Poile will try and bolster his team’s depth in the hopes of making a playoff run.
All stats via Hockey Reference