By: Adamo Marinelli
April 12, 2021
The Ottawa Senators haven’t been involved in several big deals at the deadline, however, they have been busy. The Senators were sellers at the deadline and received some draft picks and prospects in return for some of their players. They also made an interesting acquisition to toughen out the blue line.
The Ottawa Senators:
traded defenseman Mike Reilly to the Boston Bruins for a 2022 3rd round pick.
traded defenceman Braydon Coburn to the New York Islanders for a 2022 7th round pick.
traded defenceman Erik Gudbranson to the Nashville Predators for a 2023 7th round pick and a prospect to be named later.
claimed defenseman Victor Mete from the Montreal Canadiens off waivers.
Mike Reilly and Erik Gudbranson were huge parts of the Senators’ defensive line this season alongside Thomas Chabot, Eric Brannstrom, and Nikita Zaitsev, among others.
Reilly did not score this year but has 19 assists, sets up plays with crisp passes, forechecks well, is effective on the powerplay and penalty kill. Gudbranson is not as involved in the offense, with only 1 goal and 2 assists this season, but is a gritty defender that doesn’t shy away from puck battles, is physical, and is not afraid to throw his body around.
Braydon Coburn has not played a lot this season, appearing in 16 of the 42 games this season. He was decent when he played, but his age is starting to slow down his play. He registered only 2 assists this season.
By trading away those three players, Pierre Dorion has created space for youth on the blue line. This signifies to me that their prospects in the minor league like Jake Sanderson and Jacob Bernard-Docker will come up either at some point for the rest of the season or before training camp starts next season.
The Senators will also likely draft some more defenseman and wingers in the draft and possibly make some free-agent acquisitions this summer. They have 6 picks in the 2021 draft and 12 picks in the 2022 draft. By 2022-23, this team can be contending for Stanley Cups.
Until then, the Senators took a chance by acquiring 22-year-old defenseman Victor Mete, for no cost off waivers from the Montreal Canadiens. Victor Mete is a talented young defenseman with great potential. He is a great playmaker, speedy, physical, and has a great shot. He hasn’t played a lot this season with the Canadiens, but can be an asset on this young Senators team.
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