Ottawa Senators Sterling Predictions Part 2: Trades
Who’s getting dealt?
We’re back with another round of Sterling Predictions for the 2021-2022 season. This time, we take a crack at predicting just who Pierre Dorion might be thinking of moving — an unpredictable thing at the best of times!
Who will be the first player traded? Are the Sens buyers or sellers at the deadline?
Owen: The Sens still won’t graduate into serious buyers but I can see them moving assets around for the sake of progress (not unlike the Logan Brown trade). I’ll predict that Nick Holden goes first with Anton Forsberg and Chris Tierney as the other primary candidates.
Shaan: If it’s another season in the bottom-10, I expect them to get picks for Zach Sanford, Nick Holden, and Anton Forsberg. That said, there’s a strong likelihood they’ll make a minor trade to improve their bottom-six a month or two into the season.
Trevor: The Senators won’t really be either buyers or sellers at the deadline as they sit out of a playoff spot but not far enough out to make it worth moving all pending UFAs. I’ll say they end up moving Erik Brännström in an intriguing trade that involves multiple NHLers because I just don’t see him as part of their vision. After that, Chris Tierney also gets dealt for a late pick before the deadline.
Beata: I think it’ll be another year of not doing much of anything in terms of trades. We’ll see a few bottom-six forwards and bubble players flipped for players of a similar calibre or late round picks, but no big moves.
Nada: I think Sens fans hope it’s MIchael Del Zotto at this point. I was going to say Tierney but the situation down the middle is a little muddy at the moment so Ottawa may hold onto him for a while but I don’t see him lasting past the deadline. My second pick would be Nick Holden, he seems like a good candidate for a higher pick range down the line.
Ross: I predict it’s going to be Josh Brown, in a weird panic about having too many defencemen. I predict they will do both buying and selling, selling off assets like Tierney while simultaneously trading a 2nd round pick for a late-career vet of dubious merit.
Ary: I think the team does a bit of both. They’ll move on from players like Sanford and J. Brown, but potentially trade for a veteran centre.
Spencer: Prior to the injury to Colin White, I would have put Chris Tierney at the top of the list but I think it’s more likely now that the first person traded is Tyler Ennis. He’s going to lose his spot to a younger AHLer who comes up and knocks our socks off. The Sens will be neither buyers nor sellers, they’ll be kind of close enough to a playoff spot that they won’t want to sell but not close enough to buy.
nkb: Regrettably, I think the Sens are still at least one season away from adding rather than subtracting at the deadline. They’ll hold on until then, though, and Ennis, Holden, Tierney, and Mete will all be on the move. For an added bonus, I think Dorion will try very hard to move Nikita Zaitsev before he’s due his bonus next June but that trade could happen after the season.
