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Remember when the summer of 2012 was supposed to be a quiet one for the Ottawa Senators?
Just a month and change after their elimination from the post-season, the Ottawa Senators appear ready to make one -- if not more -- big splash in the trade market this off-season, addressing their needs through a much more savory trade market than the terrifyingly subpar crop of unrestricted free agents who will become available on July 1st.
Two names -- Rick Nash of the Columbus Blue Jackets, and Niklas Hjalmarsson of the Chicago Blackhawks -- continue to remain linked to the Ottawa Senators. Amusingly enough, it's hard to rule either one out right now, as both currently fit the mold of the two players Bryan Murray desired to bring in this off-season.
One? A "twenty-five goal scorer" at the forward position. Rick Nash certainly fits that bill.
Two? A "top-four, defensive defenseman" on the blue line. Niklas Hjalmarsson, come on down.
Although much of the attention is going to turn to the sexier name in Rick Nash, it's probably Niklas Hjalmarsson who is the most realistic -- and likely -- acquisition on Draft Day.
Touching on Nash though is imperative, especially after numerous media types -- led by Nick Kypreos of Sportsnet -- suggested the Ottawa Senators were one of two favorites(San Jose, the other) in the bidding war for Rick Nash. As rumored by Kypreos, a potential package for Nash come today could include the following:
@RealKyper -- Names from #Sens being speculated in a potential Nash deal include prospects Lehner, Zibanejad as well as a 1st round pick
Further, Renaud Lavoie of RDS confirms that Bryan Murray and Scott Howson
have been in discussions this morning.
My take? Well, I think that's a lot of noise coming in from Columbus' end. I've been told that the Ottawa Senators have not yet considered packaging all three of those assets in a deal, and if you look at what's coming in from the Ottawa side -- substitute in Nick Foligno and Ben Bishop, substitute out at least one (if not two) of those major pieces -- it makes a ton of sense.
Regardless of what Ottawa's offering, there's two developments worth noting: One, if Columbus decides they ultimately
have to make a deal on Friday, Ottawa's a likely landing spot. Two, working off of the prior point, is that the biggest -- and maybe only -- hurdle in a deal between Ottawa and Columbus is whether or not Rick Nash actually wants to come.
So far, all we have heard is that the Ottawa Senators are not on Rick Nash's list. The front office has recently come to Nash to ask him to expand the list. Put the dots together, and you have a potential trade scenario, so long as Nash agrees.
As for any potential trade here -- well, I'll be back in short order to address it. I do like Rick Nash as a player, but his brutally long and expensive contract could be crippling on the back-end (and I'm not entirely sure he's worth that kind of money to begin with), and I'm not fond of sacrificing half of Ottawa's elite prospect system for said contract.
Still, I don't think this deal is as close as some would like. Columbus is just going to price gauge the living hell out of trade suitors until they get the price they want, and Bryan Murray's going to be uncomfortable sacrificing so much on this front. Let's see if they can trim the gap.
In turn, let's turn our attention to the Chicago Blackhawks, where I think a deal today is likely, if not imminent. Defenseman Niklas Hjalmarsson's availability was initially rumored by HockeyBuzz's John Jaeckel, and now
confirmed in a report from the Sun Times.
As soon as his name was shown on the trade block, GM Bryan Murray immediately inquired, and the two sides are not far apart. Ottawa knows they need a top-four defenseman. Chicago remains guarded with respect to Hjalmarsson's potential and upside, and further would enjoy some cap relief as they pursue bigger -- and better -- options for the blue line. In short: He's not going to be held for a king's ransom, and Ottawa has a few desirable pieces -- the initial rumored name was F Zack Smith, and I still believe he could be in play -- that Chicago would like in return.
Last night on Twitter, I said that if one trade happened today involving the Ottawa Senators, it would be for the Eksjo, Sweden native. And I'm sticking to that.
By the way -- there's an NHL Draft tonight? It's almost been lost in this whirlwind of trade rumors, and if a trade does go down, I weep for whoever gets grabbed fifteenth overall -- if the team even still has the pick.
Question to you: Where does Ottawa go at fifteen? Or, will the pick have been moved in a trade?
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Back with more later.
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