We are a little less than two weeks into the NHL off-season and Pierre Dorion and the Ottawa Senators continue to wheel and deal.
This afternoon, they announced the acquisition of forward Austin Watson from the Nashville Predators in exchange for a 4th round pick in the 2021 Entry Draft. The pick originally belonged to the Colorado Avalanche.
In Watson, the Senators are getting a physical forward that ideally fits in a 3rd line role. He had 6 goals and 14 points in 53 games with the Predators last season. Despite signing a three-year deal in Nashville, he seemed to fall out of favour with the Predators and was a healthy scratch at times last year.
Here’s Pierre Dorion on what Watson brings to the line up.
“Austin Watson is a big, strong winger who will bring a significant presence to our forward group. He was among Nashville’s forward leaders in blocked shots last season, was the team’s leader in hits and is someone who is especially physical on the forecheck. We also expect him to be a valuable asset on our penalty kill.“
There is a pretty clear theme developing here in Pierre’s off-season additions and that’s primarily to get uhh bigger. Watson is 6’4 and like Josh Brown and Erik Gudbranson, is not afraid to play with a bit of an edge.
Of course the other theme is acquiring as many of DJ Smith’s former players as possible.
Watson has three years left on his current contract at $1.5 million a season.
