The Ottawa Senators are facing a pivotal moment with the loss of veteran defenseman Nick Jensen to knee surgery. This effectively concludes the trade saga that brought Jensen to Ottawa back in July 2024.
Initially, the Senators sought to bolster their defense, pairing Jensen with Thomas Chabot. The move involved sending Jakob Chychrun to the Washington Capitals in exchange for Jensen. Now, with Jensen set for surgery on a torn meniscus and his impending free agency, his future with Ottawa is sealed.
The Senators will have to wait and see how this trade pans out long-term. They hold Washington’s third-round pick in the upcoming NHL draft, but the Capitals seem to have the upper hand for now. They secured Chychrun with a hefty eight-year, $72 million contract, a move that could pay dividends.
Chychrun was nearing free agency when the deal was made, and Steve Staios, Ottawa’s president of hockey operations and general manager, had no lingering ties to him. Despite this, the Senators argue the trade was mutually beneficial, as Jensen played a crucial role in breaking their eight-year playoff drought.
Looking ahead, Ottawa faces the challenge of finding a new right-shot defenseman, regardless of their playoff outcome this spring. Reports indicate that Staios had shown interest in nearly every available right-shot defenseman before the NHL trade deadline on March 6.
Among those considered were Ottawa native MacKenzie Weegar, who moved from the Calgary Flames to the Utah Mammoth, and others like Rasmus Ristolainen from the Philadelphia Flyers, Colton Parayko, and Justin Faulk from the St. Louis Blues, as well as Simon Nemec and Dougie Hamilton from the New Jersey Devils.
With Faulk now with the Detroit Red Wings, he's off the table. Parayko, who declined a trade to the Buffalo Sabres, might reconsider in the off-season amid St.
Louis's rebuilding phase. The asking price for Parayko is steep, involving a high-end prospect and a first-round pick, a package Buffalo was ready to provide with top pick Radim Mrtka.
The Senators' search continues as they aim to fill the void on their defense line, a critical step as they plan for the future.