The Ottawa Senators are going through an unusual rash of injuries this season. In particular, those injuries have extended to their forward group.
As it stands, the Sens have three regular wingers on IR: William Eklund. Andre Burakovsky and Warren Foegele. On top of that, the recent annihilation of Nick Cousins at the hands of Jacob Chyrchrun has momentarily left the Senators shorthanded.
Now, you have to hand it to the Sens. They blew a 2-0 lead against the Colorado Avalanche, but managed to pull out a 4-3 overtime win.
That’s a great motivator for the team, but it’s not a sustainable way to win. The Senators clearly need help. And while GM Steve Staios should go out there and find a winger or multiple wingers to help the team, there is a bit of a catch to the situation.
Specifically, the Senators need short-term help. They need someone who can step in right now, play a top-nine role, and potentially remain with the team as a depth piece once the regulars begin returning to the lineup.
Such a reinforcement would ideally be a guy on an expiring contract or a one-year deal. That’s crucial because signing someone with term left on their deal may represent a higher acquisition cost for the Senators right now.
Of course, that depends on the team’s long-term outlook.
There is a case for Senators to splurge on a big name
The argument above focuses on acquiring a short-term solution, punting a longer-term fix to the deadline or the offseason.
That’s all well and fine. But considering that Foegele and Burakovsky are on expiring deals, wouldn’t it make sense for the Senators to find a guy who could be more of a long-term fit?
Well, that was the point of acquiring Eklund. And while getting hurt the way he did was hardly his fault, the bottom line is that the Senators need to think about loading up for this season and figuring out a path forward.
That’s why acquiring a longer-term fix makes sense, but that might be more of an offseason thing. There aren’t many top-nine wingers out there on the block at the moment who could be had for a relatively low price.
And if there were a couple of guys out there like Bryan Rust and Rickard Rakell, the price tag on them would be far too high for Staios to stomach right now.
So, it seems that Ottawa will need to grit through a bit longer until Staios can find the right type of player at a reasonable price point.
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