The Ottawa Senators continue their search for the addition of a forward who can play in their top six, and as we get into the dog days of summer, moves will be scarce. The Seattle Kraken have a few forwards that could be of interest to Ottawa, but one in particular has a knack for scoring goals.
Jared McCann is a 30-year-old forward who has five consecutive 20+ goal seasons, including a 40-goal season in 2022-23. Entering into the last year of his five-year, $25 million contract, with a cap hit of $5 million on the books this season, he is an extremely cost-effective option for the Senators.
McCann is a shoot-first player with decent speed and better edge work that gives him the ability to find time and space. McCann would be brought in under the guise of being that running mate with centre Stützle to find the space necessary to score goals.
As it stands, McCann has a modified no-trade clause that is a 10-team list; however, being a born-and-raised Ontario player may mean he doesn’t have the Senators on his list.
Even if they were, the idea of moving to a team who has made the playoffs in back-to-back seasons and playing in an elevated role would entice many players.
With the trajectory of where the Kraken seem to be going, it’s no secret that they are evaluating where the team is at moving forward. They just made a hard push for star forward Jason Robertson, with a handsome pay raise of an eight-year, $15 million contract, but Robertson rejected it. However, the Kraken aren’t one Robertson away from competing, and it may look like a total rebuild around some of their young prospects.
By getting as much value as you can with your aging players, it will help the Kraken put together a good up-and-coming pipeline, and McCann won’t fit that window. The Kraken may be looking at bolstering every area of their pipeline, so a trade that includes Senators prospects Logan Hensler or Jaxon Cover would be a good starting point.
Though that may seem like a steep price, general manager Steve Staios reiterated multiple times this offseason that the Senators "have no intention of taking a step back."
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