Should the Senators trade for a backup goalie? Shane Pinto at wing? Mailbag

Welcome to 2025, Senators fans.

For the first time in the new year, we open up the mailbag to you.

Who are some trade targets worth looking into for the Senators? Is Leevi Merilainen already good enough to be Ottawas backup goalie? More talk about Travis Hamonic .

And what about that first-round pick theyre supposed to forfeit either this season or next? Its all here.

Note: Submitted questions may be edited for clarity and style.

How concerned are people in the organization about the upcoming forfeited first-round pick? Is there hope it could be restored in some form like the Devils in 2014 where they were given the 30th pick? William D.

When commissioner Gary Bettman was asked about this in November during his visit to the nations capital, it didnt seem like hed budge from the punishment doled out from Ottawa not disclosing Evgenii Dadonov s 10-team no-trade clause to Vegas after trading him in July 2021.

The penalty that was imposed on the franchise wasnt something I took lightly, Bettman said in November.

It was not something I was happy to do, but I felt I had to do it.

Advertisement So, are the Senators doomed to give up that pick? Well, theres some precedent for the Senators to lean on because of the aforementioned Devils.

For those unfamiliar, New Jersey was penalized a first-round pick for signing Ilya Kovalchuk to a contract that attempted to circumvent the salary cap.

The Devils paid a $3 million fine, lost a 2011 third-round pick and were supposed to lose a first-round pick within the next four years after they were punished.

But the Devils appealed their punishment and their sins were reduced after the team cited changes in circumstances.

Even if it isnt exactly spelled out that way, its fair to assume those changes were Kovalchuk bolting from the NHL to the KHL in 2014.

But the Devils still had to pay a price.

Their $3 million fine was lessened, not eliminated.

Their 2011 third-rounder was still forfeited.

(Funnily enough, New Jersey acquired a third-round pick from Dallas that year and chose Blake Coleman with it).

And while they did keep their first-round pick in 2014, it ended up being the last pick of the round and the team couldnt trade it.

So yes, there is a world where the Senators can get that first-rounder back.

I suppose their change in circumstances could be their general manager Pierre Dorion resigning immediately after being punished.

But also, the NHL would need the Senators to pay some kind of price here.

So, if the NHL doesnt stand firm on its penalty, the precedent in the Devils case is making the first-rounder the final pick of the round that year.

Hi Julian.

Weve heard rumours of Staios looking to make some roster moves; in particular, youve already mentioned the need for a RHD and RW.

Who are some realistic targets Ottawa could acquire and/or what are some names floating around as potential acquisitions? Thanks.

Nick G.

In our recent trade targets piece featuring all The Athletic writers, I made the case for Calgary Flames defenceman Rasmus Andersson as a worthwhile trade target.

A top-four, all-situations defender who carries the puck.

Montreal Canadiens right-shot defenceman David Savard is another target that could be intriguing.

A defender with size, some mobility, an expiring contract and a Stanley Cup victory to his name.

But maybe the Canadiens would be less inclined to move him to Ottawa considering the standings.

Pittsburgh s Marcus Pettersson would cost fewer assets and doesnt have much offence in his game.

He isnt a right shot, either.

But his size would be welcomed on the Senators blue line.

But, again, similarly to Montreal, it might depend on where the Penguins are at in the standings.

Advertisement In terms of offensive options, I look at these names.

Utahs Nick Bjugstad has bounced around the league but would work fine as a cheap, middle-six option.

Mathieu Olivier is another affordable piece who is having a career year goals-wise.

Well know if he goes anywhere by Monday afternoon, but the Los Angeles Kings just put 23-year-old Arthur Kaliyev on waivers.

He scored a career-high 14 goals in 2022.

He played with the Hamilton Bulldogs, and won an OHL championship, during Steve Staios tenure with the team.

Hes coming off a fractured clavicle but was healthy scratched for a handful of games before the Kings put him on waivers Sunday.

GO DEEPER NHL trade board 2.0: Rangers take center stage, plus new targets ahead of the holiday roster freeze With Linus Ullmark s and Anton Forsberg s injuries, will the Sens look to acquire a stopgap goalie in the near future, or do you get the sense they trust Leevi Merilainen and Mads Sogaard to do the job? Matt R.

So, youve probably heard by now that Linus Ullmark is out week to week with a back injury.

But Anton Forsberg is back after some time away due to injury.

And while Mads Sogaard was reassigned to the AHL, Leevi Merilainen remains.

Hes deserved the opportunity to stay with the big club until Ullmark returns.

I think Merilainen has still made the case for himself to be a backup as soon as next season.

Unless something drastic changes a bad game from either goalie I expect the Senators to lean on Merilainen and Forsberg before looking elsewhere until they have no choice.

I thought the Senators shouldve made a waiver claim for Canadiens goalie Cayden Primeau when he was available, but that didnt happen.

I think the Senators would have to be a bit creative looking for options otherwise.

Guys like Primeau, Buffalo s James Reimer , Detroit s Ville Husso and Pittsburghs Alex Nedeljkovic are all on teams who might not be all that eager to help the Sens right now, considering their respective places in the standings.

But what about Chris Driedger, currently under contract in Florida with a $795,000 cap hit? Dustin Tokarski was in Senators camp on a professional tryout.

Those two can easily be stopgaps until Ullmark returns you can obtain them without shelling out a ton.

I think if the Senators are actively looking for a piece, theyll need to buy low.

Why the insistence on the Sens part that Travis Hamonic is a top pair defenceman? Nothing against the guy personally, and yeah hes a great teammate and sacrifices his body for the puck regularly.

But I am absolutely flummoxed as to why hes still being given prime minutes.

He seems to make several bonehead plays a game, and Sanderson seems to be suffering this year having him as a defence partner.

Scott K.

Hamonic is now out for up to four weeks due to injury.

He got hurt against the St.

Louis Blues on Friday.

As he was in pain on the ice, he tapped his left knee.

So, the Senators wont have him for the foreseeable future.

Itll be very interesting to see if the Senators still go back to him once hes healthy.

If anything, this is Jacob Bernard-Docker s greatest chance to show that hes undeniable and worth keeping in the lineup when Hamonic gets healthy.

Advertisement Ottawa doesnt have an abundance of experienced, defensive options.

It explains why the Senators werent quick to give extended minutes to Nikolas Matinpalo or Donovan Sebrango .

Head coach Travis Green made it clear to The Athletic that hed much rather Hamonic on the ice than Bernard-Docker, leaning on his experience.

He also liked Tyler Kleven and JBD together, and theres some logic in keeping those young players together for familiaritys sake instead of trying to break in a younger defender with a new partner.

GO DEEPER How Senators head coach Travis Green helped get Ottawa back on track Ive been on record saying Bernard-Docker should get more time on the ice over Hamonic.

But because JBD has made his share of mistakes too and his production hasnt completely overtaken Hamonics own, hes in limbo.

And with JBDs mistakes being attributed to inexperience, Green would much rather have an experienced hand on the ice versus the younger guy.

Especially if he has to play top-pairing minutes against top players.

As for Hamonic, its not just for his defence.

The best example I can think of when it comes to his veteran-ness is of a stretch pass Jake Sanderson made against the Vancouver Canucks , leading to a secondary assist on a Josh Norris goal.

That happened, according to Sanderson, because Hamonic told him he had time and space to do it.

Josh Norris gets behind the #Canucks power play unit and finishes off a Claude Giroux pass, Ottawa leads again 4-3.

pic.twitter.com/BEDDOdIqAU Lachlan Irvine (@LachInTheCrease) December 22, 2024 It all started with Travis Hamonic yelling at me, Sanderson said that night.

Yelling I had time.

I was able to get my head up and I found (Giroux).

And then Josh with his speeds beats his guy up the ice.

Stuff like that is going to keep Hamonic in the lineup over JBD.

At least with Artem Zub healthy, Hamonic will be back on third-pairing duty instead of the first pair.

Ultimately, as Ive said before and it bears repeating, the Senators need an upgrade on defence.

When that happens, Im sure that would end the JBD-Hamonic debate once and for all.

Theres a lot of talk about the Sens adding a top-six winger.

But Im convinced that Shane Pinto could play RW beside Claude Giroux and Tim Stutzle .

That would leave Ridly Greig as our 3C.

Am I alone in this thinking? Who else in the organization could possibly be elevated? Davey W.

I gave your idea a run-through, Davey.

Let me know what you think of this possible set of lines.

Assuming everyone is healthy, of course.

My initial hesitation is that Greig doesnt have the same skill set as Pinto, so I think theres a drop-off at the centre position.

So then your next question is which centre the Senators should acquire to upgrade their depth.

And while Pinto does have some scoring ability and can play up and down the ice, I think a proven scoring winger could be more effective in that spot.

Personally, Id much rather have Pinto at centre.

Advertisement This shouldnt be seen as shade toward Greig.

Hes a talented, versatile forward who can be placed anywhere in the lineup as a secondary scorer.

Its just the contents of the roster, which is one forward piece from taking that next step.

And to your point about who else could be elevated, the options arent the most enticing.

You could move up Adam Gaudette again.

Zack Ostapchuk has been fine as a fourth-liner but he might have to show more to warrant putting him higher up the lineup.

The same goes for Cole Reinhardt .

But Id still think the Senators would be better off going outside the organization to make a move.

Fun exercise, though! (Top photo of Anton Forsberg: Dilip Vishwanat / Getty Images).

This article has been shared from the original article on theathleticuk, here is the link to the original article.