Twelve games have been played by the Ottawa Senators as November has arrived for the team's first game against the Montreal Canadiens tonight at 7 p.m. ET at Bell Centre.
As the Senators currently sit with a 6-5-1 overall record, the team is finding ways to get better and gain more confidence. The good thing for the Senators is that it's still early into the season with November arriving.
While there hasn't been many trades into the season, it could change when the NHL Trade Deadline gets closer. However, there was one trade projected between the Senators and New York Rangers from this offseason that is now laughable because there's no way the Senators would even think about making the trade at all.
Old trade from this Summer projected involving Lafreniere and Pinto is so laughable for Senators
This past August, a trade was projected between the Senators and Rangers on Heavy.com. It's a trade projection that is now laughable to look back on from a Senators perspective.
Heavy's projected trade from August:
Senators receive Alexis Lafreniere
Rangers receive Shane Pinto, Nick Jensen and two third-round draft picks in 2026 NHL Draft
While trading away Jensen's salary of $4.05 million would've freed up some cap space for the Senators this offseason, the trade was mainly featured around Lafreniere and Pinto. With how the season has gone for both players, this trade projection is laughable for the Senators to look back on.
Pinto is off to the best start of his career with recording 11 points and scoring eight goals already this season. With being a restricted free agent after this season, Pinto's play is setting him up for a nice contract. Pinto has turned into one of the best goal scorers in the NHL, and one of the best and most important players on the Senators.
Meanwhile, Lafreniere continues to be a disappointment for being a first overall pick. So far this season, Lafreniere has recorded just five points. Lafreniere's -8 rating is also tied for the lowest rating on the Rangers roster with Mika Zibanejad. It hasn't helped Lafreniere that Senators forward Tim Stutzle, who was drafted two spots after Lafreniere, has recorded the most points out of any player from the 2020 draft class.
Lafreniere's contract would've been awful to trade for with having a cap hit of $7.45 million per year until 2032. While Pinto's chances of earning higher than $7.45 million per year can be very likely with how he's playing so far this season, the Senators would much rather have Pinto than Lafreniere on their roster.