Ottawa Senators Want To Add, But Teams Are Interested In a Couple of Forwards
Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Citizen: As Garrioch writes, Ottawa Senators forwards Drake Batherson and Josh Norris are getting attention ahead of the trade deadline. GM Steve Staios is working the phones to upgrade his team ahead of and at the Friday, March 7th Trade Deadline.
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The Senators are trying to return to the playoffs for the first time since 2017. They are right in the mix for the final wild card spot in the East. They hold a slight edge over the New York Rangers, but this is the year this club will get there. While the Senators do not have much cap space to work with, players like Batherson will open up room to add depending on what comes back.
Batherson’s cap hit is very manageable: $4.975 million through the 2062-27 season. Even with the cap rising, teams would like to take that on and see if the surroundings can get him back to his old form. However, Norris has a cap hit of $7.95 million over the next four seasons, including $9.5 million in real dollars. I’m not sure many teams would want to take the full boat on.
Senators are looking to add to their bottom six but will need to get creative as cap space is limited. But Brandon Tanev and Ryan Donato are guys Ottawa would like to add.
What Will The Vancouver Canucks Actually Do?
Thomas Drance of The Athletic: As Drance writes it is an interesting time for the Vancouver Canucks. Vancouver traded J.T. Miller and added depth with Filip Chytil and Marcus Pettersson. There is still a lot of talk about what GM Patrick Allvin and President Jim Rutherford will do at the deadline.
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There is a lot of drama in Vancouver surrounding Brock Boeser and Elias Pettersson. Throw in the uncertainty about Thatcher Demko and the new extension for Kevin Lankinen and the Canucks organization has a dilemma on its hands. They want to make the playoffs, but they have a pending UFA in Brock Boeser, who does not appear he wants to stay in Vancouver. That could change with one phone call. Not to mention the injury to Quinn Hughes. There is a lot to balance.
Meanwhile, Elias Pettersson needs to get out of this funk he is in and the best case scenario could be a change of scenery, but that could be an offseason thing. But if they do move Pettersson, they want a player with term, and a center has to be in the package. Not to mention the Canucks are looking for scoring too.
The Canucks have options on the table, but it is clear Allvin and Rutherford could major players on Friday.
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