The Ottawa Senators turned something into nothing on Monday, when they traded Christian Wolanin to the Los Angeles Kings in exchange for Mike Amadio. Wolanin, 26, had clearly fallen out of favour with head coach DJ Smith this season, playing only sporadically and spending much of his infrequent in-game time on the bench.
From an asset management perspective, Wolanin’s treatment is questionable at best. He showed a lot of promise as recently as 2018-19, but never returned to that level after recovering from injury. Even so, it’s impossible to argue that he wasn’t a better option – or wasn't at least worth more of a shot – than some of the veteran bodies the Senators have used on the blue line this season. While there have been visible struggles for Wolanin this season, it’s still difficult to say with any degree of certainty what he might or might not be at the NHL level over the long-term based on how he was deployed this year.
In exchange for their once-promising rearguard, the Senators acquired a forward who doesn’t project as providing much more than roster depth for the organization:
Michael Amadio, acquired by OTT, is a replacement-level fourth liner. #GoSensGo pic.twitter.com/zdm3Sfpt4K
— JFresh (@JFreshHockey) March 29, 2021
If we work with the assumption that a chapter ending means the another one should start, Tuesday’s waiver wire provides for an interesting possibility. The Philadelphia Flyers waived Shayne Gostisbehere, who was once one of the league’s premier offensive defencemen. The 27-year-old has been on a fairly significant downward trend for the last few years, but it’s undoubtedly the case that he would provide more than many of the Senators’ current blue-liners:
Shayne Gostisbehere, placed on waivers by PHI, is a second-pair offensive defenceman who weirdly doesn't get any primary assists? #AnytimeAnywhere pic.twitter.com/q9V9PAhYim
— JFresh (@JFreshHockey) March 30, 2021
As always, thanks for reading.