While the Ottawa Senators made the playoffs for the first time in eight years, the tables have turned for the Senators' Atlantic Division foe, the Boston Bruins. Two years ago, the Bruins were statistically the best team in NHL history. Fast forward to 2025, the Bruins finished last in the Atlantic Division.
Concern around Bruins superstar David Pastrnak remaining in Boston has picked up in 2025. Pastrnak has had his name be swirling around in trade rumors. One team already in rumors to make a trade for Pastrnak are the Carolina Hurricanes.
With the Senators making the playoffs for the first time since 2017, the window to win has begun. Adding Pastrnak would be an elite move to make the Senators better, but it might be an unlikely thing to happen.
Bruins regret making Ullmark trade and can't afford to trade another star to Sens, and more factors surround Pasta
In June 2024, the Bruins traded 2023 Vezina Trophy winner Linus Ullmark to the Senators. The trade benefited Ottawa to help them make the playoffs. Ullmark produced a better season than Bruins goaltender Jeremy Swayman, who finished with a 22-9-7 record with a 3.11 goals against average and .892 save percentage.
After one season, the Senators have won the Ullmark trade with making the playoffs in his first season with the team. The Bruins would not want to afford trading another superstar player like Pastrnak to the Senators and have it backfire like it did for trading away Ullmark.
Pastrnak will be a player that many teams will want to get for his remarkable talent. The 28-year-old has produced three consecutive seasons of over 105 points. A player like Pastrnak is one the Senators would love to have, but along with being in the division, there could be another issue.
Pastrnak will have an $11.25 million cap hit until 2031. Not only is that a high salary for a contract, but the years left on it is a risk too. In 2028, both Brady Tkachuk and Thomas Chabot are unrestricted free agents. With both Tkachuk and Chabot being in Ottawa their whole careers, the Senators could have the idea to re-sign both of them instead of taking the risk of losing them with trading for Pastrnak which could lead to one or both of them departing.
The price to trade for Pastrnak would also be very high for the Senators to pay. Multiple draft picks, top prospects in Belleville and quality players in Ottawa might be too big of a risk for the Senators to take as well.
There's no doubt that Pastrnak will have his name swiriling around this Summer in trade rumors. As much as adding Pastrnak would be a huge get for the Senators, it might be very unlikely to to several factors. If the Senators can't get Pastrnak, looking for another superstar player will need to happen.