Brady Tkachuk #7 of the Ottawa Senators (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images)
This was supposed to be the season the Ottawa Senators finally took that leap, but more has stayed the same as the once-upstart Senators continue to meddle in mediocrity. According to a well-placed NHL source, a frustrated Senators hockey operations department is contemplating a big change.
“Something big could go down there soon, and I’m talking a shake-up trade,” the source told RG on Sunday after the Senators lost their fifth straight game with a 4-3 loss to the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday night.
At this point the Senators are running out of options to change without making a franchise-altering trade. The issue was previously thought to be their goaltending, which Ottawa believed they rectified with their summer acquisition of Linus Ullmark.
But it seems the problem may be deeper.
Former Senators defenseman and now podcast host Marc Methot, who is a trusted source for Senators news, hinted at this last week.
That came last Tuesday after the Senators lost 5-2 to an Edmonton Oilers team that came in on the tail end of a back-to-back, having lost 3-0 to the Montreal Canadiens the night before.
“Methot was bang on,” the aforementioned source said. “They’re listening to anything and everything right now. There’s a real concern that this current Sens core doesn’t have it right now.”
There are rumors that Brady Tkachuk could be a trade candidate, but this source stressed that he hadn’t heard specific names, just that ‘anything is in play.’
The source specified that the Senators would love to acquire a top-four right-shot defenseman in any trade right now. The Ottawa Senators currently line up with Artem Zub, Nick Jensen, and Travis Hamonic on the right side, and according to this source, they’ve let it be known that they would like an upgrade there.
According to Puckpedia, as of Sunday, the Ottawa Senators only had $509,576 in salary cap space. If they were to acquire a top-four, right-shot defenseman, then yes, a notable roster player would have to go back the other way to make the cap space work.
Who that player would be is up in the air right now. But, if the Senators are going to be able to take the next step and at least challenge for a playoff spot, an impact trade seems to be on the horizon.
James Murphy
