Senators’ off-season checklist: Staios needs a top defenceman
The off-season is here for the Ottawa Senators. While a top-six winger would help, a blue-line boost should be the priority for GM Steve Staios.
OTTAWA — The off-season is here for the Ottawa Senators.
The message from general manager Steve Staios following the 2024-25 season was that his team had taken a good “first step”, but that the next step — becoming a championship contender — is the hardest leap to make.
Let’s dive headfirst into what Ottawa’s off-season “to-do list” should include:
Top priority
We could have a spirited debate over whether Ottawa’s No. 1 goal should be adding a top-six winger or top-four right-shot defenceman.
Here’s the case for a right-shot defenceman, while detailing some potential targets.
The Senators lost in the first round to a Toronto Maple Leafs team with a better defence than Ottawa. If the Senators could add a defenceman either via free agency or a trade, it would make their blue-line one of the best in the league.
Meanwhile, there are some worries that Nick Jensen could require surgery, which would leave the right side of the defence wide open. Carter Yakemchuk could be the solution in two or three years, but his most recent season in junior with the WHL’s Calgary Hitmen featured lower production than his draft year.
Sure, the Senators were 18th in goals for this season, but their core forward group outside of Claude Giroux and David Perron features players all under the ages of 26. There is a significant pathway for offensive improvement for players such as Tim Stutzle, Brady Tkachuk, Ridly Greig, Shane Pinto, Drake Batherson and Fabian Zetterlund. Meanwhile, on the right side of the defence, Artem Zub and Jensen are over 30 and Nikolas Matinpalo just earned himself a two-year, $1.75-million contract, but may never be a top-four guy.
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So, what are the options?
In free agency, the one big name would be Aaron Ekblad. The 29-year-old Barrie Colts product is big, mean and a winner. The Senators have $17 million in cap space, and signing Ekblad likely would eat half of that, but imagine Jake Sanderson-Ekblad and Thomas Chabot-Zub pairings. Paying a pretty penny makes sense.
Unfortunately, outside of Ekblad the right-shot defenceman market in free agency is bleak; thus, a trade would be needed. The one name that keeps surfacing on the trading block is Calgary Flames defenceman Rasmus Andersson, who has one year left on his deal. Andersson had a down year but played through a fractured fibula to finish the season. An extension for Andersson might be an overpay but with Stutzle, Sanderson and Tkachuk on undervalued contracts, Ottawa can afford to do it.
Unfortunately, the Senators will not have their first-round pick this year or next because of the punishment from the NHL for the botched Evgenii Dadonov trade, but Calgary is missing its first-rounder this season and Ottawa seems intent on keeping its 21st-overall pick — so there are obstacles with this idea.
If he can’t get a right-shot defenceman, Staios could pivot to looking for a top-six winger, which likely would come via free agency where there are multiple options.
Mitch Marner? Well, that would be funny.
In all seriousness, Winnipeg Jets forward Nikolaj Ehlers should be the player Ottawa goes after. The Senators’ lack of dynamic firepower against Toronto was evident. Even though the play was fairly balanced in the Battle of Ontario, Toronto’s stars routinely made something out of nothing, which was the difference. Ehlers brings flashy hand skills, a great shot and could be an absolute weapon with his speed alongside Stutzle.
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If not Ehlers, Sam Bennett of the Florida Panthers would be great, but Ottawa doesn’t need a centre unless they flip the recently acquired Dylan Cozens. Bennett’s teammate Brad Marchand could be optimal, though. His leadership would be something and his peskiness alongside Greig would be something else. He’s a proven playoff performer.
Meanwhile, many will want Vancouver Canucks forward Brock Boeser to reunite with his former coach, Travis Green, in Ottawa. In this writer’s humble opinion, that would be a mistake: Boeser, 28, has an amazing shot but hasn’t shown himself to be a consistent 30-goal player, is not good defensively and is not fast, which could hamper him as he gets older. The last name to be mentioned is Pius Suter: he is a centre but can play the wing, scored 25 goals last season for the Canucks, is very good defensively, is fast and can effectively kill penalties. He won’t cost Ottawa as much but could be very effective, just like Michael Amadio and Jensen were last season.
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Other potential free agent forwards targets: Ryan Donato (Chicago Blackhawks), Mikael Granlund (Dallas Stars).
Re-signings
This is where it gets fascinating. What the Senators decide to do with pending UFA Giroux could affect other plans, specifically their need to add another top-six winger. Giroux still is effective at the age of 37. If Giroux re-signs, we’d imagine it’s an average annual value of $3-4 million for one to three seasons. Giroux likely could make more elsewhere, but he’s from Ottawa and signed to play for his hometown team.
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Meanwhile, the Senators have two key decisions to make on pending RFAs Tyler Kleven and Fabian Zetterlund. Staios has a good core of younger players and should prioritize signing his youngsters to longer-term contracts to give him cap flexibility going forward.
Both Staios and Green spoke about Kleven’s lack of preparedness ahead of the season, but he was a standout in the playoff campaign. If the Senators believe as I do that the playoff performance is really who Kleven is, a long-term deal would be the best course of action. A four- or five-year contract at $3-4 million per season could prove to be a bargain.
Meanwhile, Staios re-affirmed to the media this week that he sees the 25-year-old Zetterlund — a one-time 20-goal scorer acquired at the deadline for a second-round pick — as a part of the Senators’ core. Zetterlund is two years away from becoming an unrestricted free agent. If the Senators believe in him despite his mere two goals in 20 games with Ottawa this season, buying low on Zetterlund on a long-term contract could be a steal.
Shane Pinto also is up for a contract extension this off-season. Pinto did a marvellous job containing Auston Matthews in the playoffs. He is still just 24 and if the Senators give him a small raise from his current $3.75-million for four or five years, that would be a tidy bit of business.
Finally, goaltending. Staios didn’t rule out extending free agent Anton Forsberg at his end-of-season press conference, but youngster Leevi Merilainen was excellent in the AHL and his short stint in the NHL with three shutouts in 12 games. The Senators could re-sign Forsberg or another quality backup to ensure they have a partner for Linus Ullmark, who has never played over 49 games in a season.
One thing that Staios should do is sign Merilainen to a Joseph Woll-type deal. Former Leafs GM Kyle Dubas signed Woll to a three-year deal with a cap hit under $1 million. Merilainen has not proven enough to earn big bucks, but may be looking for some security on a two or three-year deal.
Finally, barring something miraculous, don’t expect Adam Gaudette to return; he’s likely priced himself out of Ottawa with his impressive 19-goal campaign. Meanwhile, Nick Cousins said on local radio that he’d love to stay. A short-term, cheap deal could be a fit for the team.
This off-season must be about adding talent while prioritizing signing young players to longer-term contracts.
