Three months after dealing Josh Norris at the trade deadline, the Ottawa Senators are reportedly fielding trade offers for winger Drake Batherson.

So much for enjoying the honeymoon period following their first playoff appearance in eight years.

Then again, that first-round exit — to the Toronto Maple Leafs, of all teams — left the Senators with a lot to think about this summer. Chief among them is: how do they go from being a playoff contender to a Stanley Cup contender?

With Florida's Matthew Tkachuk playing in his third straight final, the easy answer is finding more players who look like his younger brother than Drake Batherson.

Luckily for GM Steve Staios, there's a blueprint he can follow.

When the Panthers lost in the first round to the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2022, they didn't roll things back, even though they had finished with the best record in the NHL. No, they swung for the fences and traded Jonathan Huberdeau, who was coming off a 113-point season, and defenseman MacKenzie Weegar to the Calgary Flames for Matthew Tkachuk in a move that was initially criticized.

The result? Three straight trips to the Stanley Cup final.

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Which brings us back to the Senators, who in a lot of ways are the kid brother of the Panthers.

After all, Brady Tkachuk is literally a younger version of Matthew Tkachuk. Ottawa also has a Marchand-type of player in Ridly Greig. And after trading Norris to Buffalo in exchange for Dylan Cozens last March, the Senators acquired their version of Sam Bennett.

The question is what type of player can Drake Batherson get them.

Can you package Batherson in a trade for Vancouver's Elias Pettersson? Or for Jason Robertson, who may have priced himself out of Dallas?

Is that too much? Too little?

Batherson, who is 27 years old, is coming off a season where he finished second in team scoring with 26 goals and 68 points. Those are not Huberdeau-type numbers. Then again, his most important statistic might be the one that is preceded by a dollar sign.

Batherson has two years remaining on a contract that carries a $4.975-million cap hit.

That’s why teams are reportedly calling. And that’s why Ottawa should at least be listening to the offers.

Tick-Tock: Ottawa Senators Continue To Navigate Contract Decisions On Six Pending UFAsWith Steve Staios seemingly looking to build the Ottawa Senators’ roster along the lines of the Florida Panthers’ model, how does he intend to deal with his six unrestricted free agents as July 1st approaches?

They know that trading Batherson is a risk, mostly because they are likely not going to find another player who produces at Batherson's level while also costing so little. But after losing to the Leafs in the first round, where Batherson managed only a goal and an assist in six games, they also know that there is another step (or three) they have to take if they are going to compete for a championship.

That means taking a chance and swinging for the fences. And leveraging a player whose value has never been higher.

It worked for Florida, which probably wouldn't have won a Cup — much less made three straight trips to the final had they not acquired Tkachuk. And if Ottawa wants to follow in the Panthers' footsteps, it could mean making a similarly difficult decision this summer.

NHL Rumor Roundup: Could The Dallas Stars Trade Jason Robertson?After coming up short in the last two Western Conference finals, the Dallas Stars were considered a favorite to win the Stanley Cup this season, especially after acquiring right winger Mikko Rantanen.

Top image credit: Marc DesRosiers-Imagn Images

Cover image credit: Marc DesRosiers-Imagn Images

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