It's Buying Time: the Ottawa Senators Need Reinforcements Before the Trade Deadline

With just over a month to go before the NHL's trade deadline, it is my sincere pleasure to publish the piece I've been dying to write for years: the Ottawa Senators should be buyers at the trade deadline. Boy does that ever feel good to say out loud.

Unfortunately, the circumstances that demand General Manager Steve Staios make a move aren't exactly ideal. With Josh Norris already out for "weeks" with a "mid-body" injury, Shane Pinto last night appeared to suffer yet another shoulder injury. The extent of the damage is not yet known as of this writing, but the fact that Pinto did not return to the game, combined with his long history of shoulder trouble, does not exactly leave me optimistic about his availability in the near-to-medium term. It is a real shame for many reasons, not least of which is that Pinto seemed to have found his game in recent weeks after struggling for long stretches this year. I long for the day when Pinto is healthy enough to play a full season.

Moving along, the more conservative-minded fan might gesture to the upcoming break in the schedule for the 4 Nations tournament and suggest that could be time enough to get at least Norris back, if not Pinto. Why waste good capital for a problem that might fix itself ?

To that, I would make the following three points:

Competitive Windows are Fleeting

The Sens' journey back to competitive NHL hockey has been long and arduous, and it hasn't exactly been linear either. One of the things that years of fandom will help you appreciate is that nothing is given in this league. There's no rule that your young players will continue to improve, or that your draft picks will turn out. Right now, the Senators look like, at a minimum, a bonafide play-off threat. The difference between making some real noise in the post-season and not, could be as simple as a capable middle six centre.

There's also the context that the Eastern Conference is less menacing at the top than it's been in some time. Ottawa currently sits third in its division and I don't view the Florida Panthers or Toronto Maple Leafs as the threats they once were. Along with Tampa Bay, all three are good teams but I'd give the Sens a fighting chance against any of them. In the Metro, the only team that I really fear is the Carolina Hurricanes. Yes, the Washington Capitals boast the league's best record by PTS%, but mark my words they are paper tigers. If I had to pick a first-round upset, as of this writing, the Caps would be my easy first choice.

All this to say that there is an opportunity for Ottawa to aspire to something beyond just scraping into the postseason. And add in the fact that several key contributors, notably Claude Giroux and Nick Jensen, aren't getting any younger, and the time is now.

Injuries Happen

Injuries happen to every team, but as aforementioned, the Senators have two key contributors that are especially injury-prone and that's before we get to Artem Zub and Thomas Chabot. Thank goodness for the continued good health of Tim Stützle, Jake Sanderson and Brady Tkachuk, because Ottawa's core has several other players whose bodies have accumulated a lot of damage over the years.

This is a team whose depth chart looks pretty good if everyone is healthy, but that's a big if. Ridly Greig is a useful middle-six player but he is not a long-term option as your second line centre, and Zack Ostapchuk and Adam Gaudette would be out of their depths as third line pivots. On the blue line, as I'll get to in a minute, things don't look much better if there's a long-term injury to any of the team's top four defenders. We've already witnessed the consequences of a prolonged Zub absence. Yes, every team is somewhat at the whims of injury luck, but I'd argue that it would be malpractice to not add some insurance with what we know about the Sens' injury history.

The Upgrades Don't Have to Be That Expensive

This last point obviously depends on just what type of trade Staios is trying to pull off, but in my estimation reinforcements wouldn't necessarily have to be that expensive. The Sens need someone who can credibly play 2/3C and one more competent defensemen to fill out the third pairing. There will likely be some readers who have an adverse reaction to the notion of trading for defensive depth since the team has, as a whole, defended quite well.

Consider the 5v5 on-ice numbers of the two players who suited up on the Sens' third pairing last night:

The above noted poor showing is in spite of sheltered deployment and very soft competition. Fortunately for the Sens, their top two pairings have been absolutely shredding the competition, and the third pair is not asked to do any heavy lifting. Still, it wouldn't cost much to upgrade on the above results. Hamonic is almost certainly at the end of his time in the league after this year, while Kleven is a young player who figures to have a role to play for many years to come. That he's still a work in progress is no shame, and doesn't close the door on the possibility that he could be an important contributor in future seasons. In the here and now, though, the Sens need a third pair that can at least come close to treading water.

As for the centre depth, I don't see the cost being beyond what the Sens should be willing to pay. There's exactly one prospect that is untouchable right now, Carter Yakemchuk, leaving the Sens with raft of "B" quality prospects and a full cupboard of picks going forward. I'd be pretty hesitant to part with a first-round pick short of getting a longer term piece, but second round picks, and especially third round picks and beyond should absolutely be on the table.

Ultimately, the mark of a good GM is understanding when it is the time to be cautious and hoard assets, and when it is the time to loosen the reins and pay the piper for some necessary upgrades. Ottawa doesn't need a massive overhaul, just a couple of judicious additions. It wouldn't even cost that much, and the depth will almost certainly get tested again when there are more injuries.

Let's see some moves.