Ales Hemsky. Nelson Emerson. Matt Gilroy. Steve Konroyd. Pascal Leclaire. What do all these names have in common? They’re all players acquired by the Ottawa Senators at the NHL Trade Deadline.
NHL GMs are always looking to bolster their lineup at the NHL Trade Deadline in hopes of a long playoff run. The Trade Deadline is on March 21st, so let’s look back at some deals the Sens have made on Deadline day over the years. We’ll cut it off at the ’99-2000 season (Sorry Phil Bourque and Mike Prokopec).
Worst
March 9th, 2006: Sens Trade For Tyler Arnason And Give Up Brandon Bochenski & A 2nd Round Pick
There was excitement when John Muckler brought in Arnason, who had 13 goals and 41 points in 60 games with Chicago before joining the Sens. Arnason only played 19 games registering 4 assists and was a healthy scratch during Ottawa’s playoff run. The following season, he signed with Colorado and finished with 16 goals and 49 points, playing in all 82 games with the Avs.
Bochenski went on to have limited success in the NHL, playing in 116 games scoring 51 points and is currently the Mayor of Grand Forks, North Dakota. The 2nd round pick in 2006 turned into Simon Danis-Pepin, who never played a game in the NHL.
Best
March 13th, 2001: Ottawa Acquires Curtis Leschyshyn From Minnesota For A 3rd Round Pick
This was one of 3 trades GM Marshall Johnston made on deadline day in 2001. Leschyshyn played 200 games for the Sens over the next 3 years, including his 1000th and another 36 in the playoffs. He only tallied 3 goals and 28 points in the combined 236 games but became a reliable defender for Ottawa’s back end.
The 3rd round pick would turn into Stephane Veilleux, who played 506 career games in the NHL with Minnesota, Tampa and New Jersey. Veilleux scored 50 goals and 106 points.
Most Recently
February 25th, 2019: Sens Trade Mark Stone & Tobias Lindberg To Vegas For Erik Brannstrom, Oscar Lindberg & A 2nd Round Pick
You can likely file this as TBD, but I’m going to label it as a loss for now. Mark Stone was a fan favourite, and many wanted him to be the next captain during this rebuild. Stone’s now the captain in Vegas and led the team in points last season with 61 in 55 games.
Erik Brannstrom is just starting to show that he can be a reliable defenseman in the Sens lineup but is still very much unproven. The 2nd round pick in 2020 turned into Egor Sokolov. The Russian forward scored 15 goals and 25 points in 35 games during his first pro season with Belleville last year. He made his NHL debut with the Sens this season, and while the future is bright, he’s still an unknown at this point.
February 24th, 2020: Ottawa Trades J.G. Pageau To The Islanders For 1st, 2nd & 3rd Round Picks
This is another one that you can argue is too early to make a call on, but I’m giving Pierre Dorion a win here. There were plenty of reasons not to trade the former 4th round draft pick, from his hat-trick against the Canadiens as a rookie (line brawl and Pageau chant game) to scoring 4 vs the Rangers (the infamous 2 chicken parm game). Then Lou Lamoriello and the Islanders made Dorion an offer he couldn’t refuse.
The 1st round pick turned into Ridly Greig, and the 2nd rounder was used in a trade to move up and select Tyler Kleven. The 3rd round pick was conditional upon the Islanders winning the Stanley Cup in 2020, which obviously didn’t happen.
Both Greig and Kleven are promising prospects with the potential to play impactful roles in the future. Meanwhile, Pageau continues to have more success in the playoffs than he does during the regular season with the Islanders. It will be fun to revisit this trade in a few years.
By Steve Bunda
