While the Senators have quieted the trade speculation with their impressive run of late, General Manager Bryan Murray and his staff will continue to keep a close eye on the market.
The Sens has won five straight games and find themselves within striking distance of top spot in the Eastern Conference as teams hit the 20 game mark. Goaltending remains a strength for the organization but they could certainly benefit from an additional top six forward and potentially another defenceman to help replace Erik Karlsson.
As always, any rumours and speculation need to come with the budget disclaimer. The Sens are not a big spending team and continue to be cautious when it comes to money spent on player salaries. Although it’s important to note that there is flexibility here if the right deal comes along.
So with that in mind, here are a few names that have been kicked around the rumour mill as of late.
Ryan O’Reilly is still out there and the Senators will continue to keep a close eye on that situation. The Sens have an interest but will obviously be wary about “over-paying”. Important to remember that not only would they need to trade for the Avs centre, they’d also need to get him signed to a reasonable deal. This is obviously something that the Avs have struggled with to date.
The question you’d have to ask is what is Ryan O’Reilly really worth- both in terms of assets given up in a trade as well as contract value. And would he fit in with the organization’s long term plans?
I think O’Reilly is a solid player but if I’m Bryan Murray, I’d be really cautious about overpaying for a guy that doesn’t really fill a particular need in the organization. Just my opinion.
While O’Reilly remains the most talked about option, there are a few guys that I can confirm the Senators are keeping close tabs on and that list starts with the guys in Anaheim. Pierre LeBrun addressed it this morning but the red-hot Anaheim Ducks continue to make signing Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry a priority.
But if they do decide to move either one of them, I expect Murray to be heavily involved.
Ottawa will also keep an eye on the Jarome Iginla situation in Calgary. There are gonna be a bunch of teams that make a call to Jay Feaster if they decide to move their Captain and I would expect the Senators to be one of those teams. Really not sure how serious Ottawa’s interest will be on this front but it’s a name they have at least looked at.
Derek Roy is another name I’ve heard mentioned recently. The UFA to be is having a decent year in Dallas (9 pts in 14 games) and could be made available if the right offer came along. Compared to the other guys mentioned above, the asking price would certainly be significantly lower for Roy.
Obviously some big names floating around right now but I want to emphasize that nothing seems imminent for the Sens. The organization loves the way the young guys are stepping up in the face of serious adversity and really don’t feel like they’re in a situation where they need to make a deal.
Perhaps the biggest additions this team can expect will come in the form of some injured players getting back into the lineup. Milan Michalek may travel with the team to Boston, Craig Anderson was on the ice for the second straight day and Jason Spezza is still hoping to make a return before the end of the season.
Sens held an off ice workout this morning and will return to the practice ice tomorrow morning. Ottawa is in Boston to take on the Bruins on Thursday night.
