The Ottawa Senators are currently watching the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs from home after they were eliminated in six games in the first round by the Toronto Maple Leafs.
What can sting a team is seeing former players leave and have success elsewhere. For the Senators, they have seen their fair share of players have success after leaving.
In the 2025 playoffs, the Senators are seeing former players Connor Brown and Josh Brown reach the 2025 Western Conference Finals with the Edmonton Oilers. Now, three more ex-Senators can add their name.
Duchene, Dadonov and Ceci make WCF with Stars
With the Dallas Stars defeating the Winnipeg Jets in six games thanks to Thomas Harley's overtime winner, former Senators Matt Duchene, Evgenii Dadonov and Cody Ceci will now reach the 2025 Western Conference Finals as players on the Stars.
Duchene's tenure in Ottawa went rough after he was traded by the Colorado Avalanche to the Senators in 2017. The trade backfired on Ottawa immediately and it will go down as one of the worst trades in Senators history.
Before the 2019 trade deadline, Duchene was traded to the Columbus Blue Jackets. While Duchene recorded 107 points in 118 games as a Senator, the trade set the Senators back for years.
Dadonov spent one season for the Senators in the 2020-21 season. In his one season as a Senator, Dadonov recorded 20 points in 55 games. Dadonov's name became infamous in Ottawa due to Ottawa being punished in November 2023 when the Senators were punished by the NHL for handling his trade to the Vegas Golden Knights.
Ceci spent the first six seasons of his NHL career with the Senators. For Ceci, playing for the Senators was special as he's from Ottawa.
In his Senators tenure, Ceci recorded 118 points in 440 games. Ceci was part of the 2017 Eastern Conference Finals team. Ceci played his final season in Ottawa in the 2018-19 season, then joined the Maple Leafs in the following 2019-20 season. Seeing Ceci in a blue and white Maple Leafs jersey broke the heart of Sens fans.
Duchene, Dadonov and Ceci will now face the Oilers in the Western Conference Finals. This year's Western Conference Finals is a rematch from last year. The Oilers defeated the Stars in six games in last year's Western Conference Finals.