If you want to talk about disappointing teams (there are quite a few this season), The Ottawa Senators need to be near the top. The Winnipeg Jets are good and looking to improve. They match up well, but what players could the Jets target?
The Ottawa Senators seem to be more underachieving than outright bad. This is a team that came one goal away from the Stanley Cup Finals last season. Maybe they were overachieving there, but there are pieces here. Also, one of the best scoring defenseman the NHL has ever seen. We’ll get to that later. As of now, the Sens find themselves with more points than two NHL teams.
The Senators are 30th in goals against and 27th in goals scored. This is brutal. Erik Karlsson, Mark Stone and Derrick Brassard are the only regulars with above-average Corsi numbers. They are sellers, no doubt about it.
On the goalie side, I don’t see much here. Craig Anderson is solid, but he’s not someone you acquire as a backup. Anderson hasn’t had a great season, and he’s 36. Mike Condon has been brutal this year. Hard pass. Moving on.
The forward group in the Capital city is very deep. Even before they acquired Matt Duchene, they had five forwards with more than twenty points. I realize this isn’t a fantastic barometer, but these players had shine. Ryan Dzingel is only 25 and shown he can score the puck. He’s improved the past two seasons, in terms of points.
Mark Stone is the gem, here. Stone has always been a solid scorer and great defender. This season, however, he’s shot up to a point per game and upgraded his status into a star power forward. I seriously doubt he’d be going anywhere, but he likely gives the Jets the best forward group in the NHL. Heck, they might have it already.
The Winnipeg Jets have a depth that probably shouldn’t be tampered with. Sending away roster pieces for major upgrades could be a possibility, and even a solid idea. It also allows them to pinpoint tiny weaknesses and find better players.
Derrick Brassard is kind of neither. Brass would be one of the top third line centers in the league, but he wouldn’t be particularly cheap. Ottawa gave up Mika Zibanejad and a second rounder for him. He’s 30, though, so the Sens may be motivated to move him. Also, his scoring has dipped in two seasons there. Worth acquiring at prospect cost? Maybe. Worth acquiring with a 5 million cap hit? Probably not.
I would like to see the Jets attempt to squeeze Jean-Gabriel Pageau out from Ottawa. He’s young (25), plays great defense (Selke votes past two seasons) and can improve. Pageau scored 19 goals and 43 points two seasons ago, but has dropped in the recent years. Maybe that means Ottawa is motivated to move him, and a change of scenery might help. He isn’t sexy, but he also could slide into the bottom six and help out on the penalty kill. It’s all about those special teams in the playoffs.
You knew I would get here. Look, Dylan detailed the possibility of seeing Erik Karlsson in Winnipeg, and you know it’s a great idea. The Winnipeg Jets have the blue line to ensure his “deficiencies” are not a problem, and he gives them the best scoring punch we’ve seen in a long time. Karlsson is NINTH (!!!!) all-time in points per game by a defenseman. He’s still young (27), he wants more money than Ottawa seems willing to spend, and he’s the best of the best.
Next: Could the Jets and Habs work a trade?
Erik Karlsson may be a pipe dream. A 10 team no-trade list and his free agency looms after next season. Even still, Winnipeg would get two playoff runs, at the least. This is a deal you make if it’s there. Flags fly forever.
I won’t pretend to know what any of these players might cost in a trade. Erik Karlsson? A lot. Picks and players, no doubt. A veteran writer taught us a few years back that our trade proposals suck . He isn’t wrong. I don’t know what the GMs want. I won’t pretend to speculate. A trade for Erik Karlsson would hurt. It should hurt. But in a good way, you know?