February was a brutal month for the Ottawa Senators as they closed the month on a five-game losing streak after last night's 4-1 loss to the Winnipeg Jets. For almost the entire month, the Senators held a playoff position, but have fallen out of a Wild Card spot.
As the NHL Trade Deadline is eight days away, the Senators can be a team that either makes a playoff push and make a trade or two, or be sellers and get some value in return. One player who could be on the move is 24-year-old defenseman Jacob Bernard-Docker.
The former 2018 first-round draft pick has not played much this season, and has been out of the lineup for all of 2025. Now, there's a bottom team in the Western Conference rumored to be interested in the young defenseman.
Predators rumored to be interested in Bernard-Docker
Cole Shelton of "Heavy" recently wrote an article titled "Senators Likely To Trade Former 1st-Round Pick," and quoted Bruce Garrioch of Ottawa Cititzen in his article. Shelton quoted Garrioch that the Nashville Predators have been in talks about Bernard-Docker.
"Two league executives told Postmedia that the 24-year-old Bernard-Docker, a first-round draft pick in 2018, is available, and the Senators are looking for a prospect in exchange," Garrioch said. "There is some talk the Nashville Predators are interested."
The Predators currently have the third worst record in the NHL at 20-30-7. This season saw a lot of hype around the Predators when the team signed two-time Stanley Cup champion Steven Stamkos, but the season has been a major disappointment. With the Predators defense struggling, it can make sense to trade for a young defenseman who still hasn't quite hit his full potential.
Before getting injured with a high ankle sprain in January, Bernard-Docker had recorded four points in 25 games played with a +2 rating this season. In an ironic twist, the only goal Bernard-Docker has scored this season came against the Predators on Dec. 7. When Bernard-Docker was playing earlier this season, he did show early signs of consistency.
Top cheddahhhh#GoSensGo pic.twitter.com/0dhzs4ItvZ
— Ottawa Senators (@Senators) December 8, 2024
Bernard-Docker is on an expiring restricted contract at $805,000. If Bernard-Docker was to be traded, it could be possible that the Senators are interested more in re-signing Tyler Kleven and Nikolas Matinpalo this free agency, and both of them are on expiring restricted contracts.
Since being drafted in 2018, Bernard-Docker has only had one true full season, which came last season when he played in 74 games. Bernard-Docker has only played in 129 career NHL games.
Because Bernard-Docker is still young, if the Predators were to trade for him, his value could be reasonable. It could be possible that the Senators can get an equal prospect in return, or they could get a future draft pick, potentially in the middle rounds.
The trade deadline is on March 7 and the Senators will have big decisions to make. If the Senators do trade Bernard-Docker, it can be a sign that no prospect is safe from being traded away.