The Ottawa Senators currently sit in the first wild-card spot as of Friday morning with a 10-6-1 record. They are 14th in the league in goals scored but also rank 31st in power-play percentage at 12.1%. The Senators have had a rotating cast of players auditioning for a top-six role, with players like Warren Foegele, Andre Burakovsky, Ridly Greig, Nick Cousins, and Stephen Halliday all getting a shot. With the exception of Halliday, it’s clear that many of those players aren’t a fit there, and the Senators are still missing a good top-six forward option, even when William Eklund returns. So, what players could the Senators target around the league to add to their forward group? Let’s look at four bottom-feeder teams and pick a player the Senators could take off their hands.
The Vancouver Canucks and Brock Boeser
Brock Boeser has always been a guaranteed 20-goal guy, and with six goals already this season, he’s well on his way to hitting that mark again. He also has 15 points on the season. Boeser is no stranger to trade rumours during his tenure with the Vancouver Canucks, and as the season progresses, you can imagine his name will come up again as a trade candidate. Boeser would be a natural fit in the Senators’ top six, more likely finding himself playing with Tim Stützle as Stützle continues to grow his offensive toolkit this year. The Canucks may want to commit to a full teardown to ensure the 1st overall pick, and getting rid of Boeser would help with that.
The Philadelphia Flyers and Matvei Michkov
Matvei Michkov has had quite the year so far: he wiped anything to do with the Philadelphia Flyers from his social media and is also 10th in goal scoring league-wide. Michkov is an enigma and is one of the most impressive offensive talents in the league when he’s allowed to use it. His head coach, Rick Tocchet, hasn’t wanted to play him nearly as much as Michkov would like, and he’s been quietly loud about it. Does this come to a head during the season? Well, the Flyers are 4-10-4 and would need a miraculous turn of fate to get back into the playoff conversation. But if the Senators were able to add Michkov, he’d instantly become part of their future, and we could see him and Stützle being deadly for years to come.
The Pittsburgh Penguins and Rickard Rakell
Rickard Rakell and the Pittsburgh Penguins look ready to finally break apart, especially with the season the Penguins are having. It’s a bit shocking to see Sidney Crosby not on a point-per-game pace, while their other core pieces are aging: Evgeni Malkin is 40, Kris Letang is 39, and Erik Karlsson is 36. Rakell himself is the oldest player you’ll find on this list at 33, but he can still produce. The biggest draw for the Senators would be his potentially low cost and solid overall numbers; otherwise, he wouldn’t be the first choice.
The Columbus Blue Jackets and Matthew Knies
The way Matthew Knies plays has always screamed Senators identity. He’s big, hits hard, wins puck battles, and puts up points. His move to the Columbus Blue Jackets hasn’t been the slam dunk many thought it would be, as he has only six points in 14 games. With that said, Knies had 66 and 58 points in the last two seasons, and the lowered production seems to be more of an adjustment issue. Knies is on a very manageable contract as he enters year two of six, with a cap hit of $7.75 million. Knies would fit right into a Travis Green-led system and can mould his game to fit playing with Stützle or Shane Pinto/Dylan Cozens.
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