When the lights are brightest, Steve Staios is not afraid of pulling the trigger.

During last year's Stanley Cup Final, the Ottawa Senators' general manager unquestionably made the biggest trade of his tenure by dealing Joonas Korpisalo and a first-round pick to the Boston Bruins for goaltender Linus Ullmark.

The Senators find themselves back in the rumour mill with the 2025 Stanley Cup Final getting underway on Wednesday night.

In Tuesday's episode of 'The Sheet', host Jeff Marek was expounding on the Dallas Stars' situation after they were disappointingly bounced from the Western Conference final for a third consecutive season.

PuckPedia lists the Stars as having approximately $5 million in cap space with eight forwards, six defencemen and two goaltenders under contract for the 2025-26 season. They face an impending crunch wherein productive veterans like captain Jamie Benn, Matt Duchene, Mikael Granlund, and Evgenii Dadonov will hit unrestricted free agency.

Without much cap flexibility, it will put significant pressure on general manager Jim Nill to creatively find avenues to preserve this team's competitiveness and maintain the organization's quality of depth.

That search for flexibility was something that Jeff Marek alluded to during his podcast.

"They have just under $5 million of cap space, and they want to change this team," Marek asserted. "It's still going to be a competitive team. No one is talking about taking a step back. But how do you get over the hump?

"The one thing that a lot of people that I talk to keep coming back to is, could Jason Robertson and his $7.75 million contract -- which is a very, very nice number considering the production you get out of Jason Robertson -- is this, I don't want to say the only move, but is it probably the most obvious move that the Dallas Stars could make in order to get a return that can help them get over the hump?"

Drake Batherson Doesn’t Belong Anywhere Near Ottawa's Trade Bait BoardThere's been quite a bit of dialogue over the past few days about Ottawa Senators winger Drake Batherson and potential trade talks around the league. According to Postmedia's Bruce Garrioch, three NHL executives are out there telling people that Batherson is "a name to keep an eye on" as the NHL Draft approaches.

I presume the conversations Marek refers to are with hockey executives, analysts or journalists covering the league. Without any direct sources, it is certainly presented more as inference and speculation than anything, but if he is available, Robertson would be an attractive target -- especially for a goal-starved team like the Ottawa Senators.

Yes, the same Ottawa Senators that Marek would later reference in a separate blog post for the Daily Faceoff, believing them to be an aggressive suitor for Robertson should he become available.

"Could the Stars move someone like Jason Robertson, who has one more year on his deal at an incredible $7.75 million value, to try to recoup Draft capital and free up cap space to once again go big-game hunting in the summer? If so, I'd watch the Ottawa Senators and Anaheim Ducks as possible destinations."

The Senators finished tied for 18th in the league in total goals (242) with Pittsburgh. It is a pedestrian figure for a playoff team, but their real struggles occurred at five-on-five. According to NaturalStatTrick, only the Nashville Predators scored fewer five-on-five goals than the Ottawa Senators' 139.

Jason Robertson is a two-time 40-goal scorer, who finished the 2024-25 season with 35 goals and 80 points. His 23 five-on-five goals this season tied for the league's 12th-highest mark, while his 53 points were the sixth-highest total in the league.

His production in the last four seasons is pretty remarkable.

• 2021-22: 74 GP, 41 G, 79 Pts
• 2022-23: 82 GP, 46 G, 109 Pts
• 2023-24: 82 GP, 29 G, 80 Pts
• 2024-25: 82 GP, 35 G, 80 Pts

Only 13 forwards have produced more goals and points during this span and the analytics affirm that he is one of the best offensive players in the league.

The question for the Senators is, what would you give up?

Interestingly, the timing of these Robertson rumours coincides with recent reports that the Senators would consider moving Drake Batherson.

In a vacuum, trading Batherson admittedly does not make much sense. The popular veteran, Claude Giroux, is an aging asset and is an impending unrestricted free agent, so moving a 27-year-old who happens to be the team's youngest and most productive right winger feels odd given the team's struggles offensively.

Batherson was the Senators' second-leading scorer behind Tim Stützle. For the third consecutive season, Batherson finished with more than 20 goals and 60 points.

• 2022-23: 82 GP, 22 G, 62 Pts
• 2023-24: 82 GP, 28 G, 66 Pts
• 2024-25: 82 GP, 26 G, 68 Pts

Points aside, Batherson is just one of five players this season who scored more than 20 goals and 60 points while recording 140 or more hits. And, playoff performance notwithstanding, it is well-documented that Batherson is on a team-friendly contract carrying an average annual value (AAV) of $4.975 million.

To move that kind of production at that cost would be extremely difficult.

In saying that, however, with only two years left on his contract, if the organization wanted to sell high on Batherson, there may not be any better time than the present.

Under the hood, there are reasons to be wary regarding an expensive, long-term extension.

Defensively, Batherson is not terrible. He is closer to being league-average. The offence is interesting because most of his production tends to occur on the power play, where he has scored 34 of his last 76 goals across his last three seasons. He is not exclusively a power play merchant per se, but Batherson will be 29 years old when his current deal expires.

Analytics have demonstrated that a player's offensive peak is typically between 22 and 27 years of age before it plateaus in the late 20s and then declines progressively through their 30s. By the time Batherson hits free agency, the reality facing the team is that while he still represents being a good offensive player, he has likely played his best offensive hockey for the club.

If the Senators are exploring the market for Batherson, it is likely because they are considering both their short and medium-term outlooks. So, the weight of any prospective Robertson trade has to be, "If we trade Batherson for Robertson and sign him to an extension, how much different will their respective contracts be in AAV two years from now?"

With other reports suggesting the Senators are negotiating with Claude Giroux on an extension of his own, the congestion of forwards means that something has to give.

The Ottawa Senators’ Quiet Logjam Up Front: What Are They Planning?If the Ottawa Senators are planning a new contract extension for impending unrestricted free agent Claude Giroux, it is hard not to wonder whether an accompanying trade is on the horizon.

The portrayal of the Staios regime is of a measured and diligent group which will investigate every possibility to improve this team. Without knowing the other permutations of a trade package, flipping Batherson in a deal for Robertson would improve the team offensively and defensively.

But it would likely rob the team of their remaining valuable trade assets, as well.

Once Tyler Kleven inked his two-year extension with a $1.6 million AAV Monday, it left the Senators with approximately $15 million in cap space to shape their roster.

If the Dallas Stars wanted to preserve their competitive window, trading Robertson for a package that includes Batherson would work. He obviously would not replace all of Robertson's production, but he could replace a large chunk of it while saving the Stars $2.5 million that they could reallocate elsewhere to address another spot on the roster.

The two years remaining on Batherson's deal would also give the Stars an additional year of cost certainty that they would not get with Robertson needing an extension.

On the Senators' side of things, acquiring Robertson's cap hit would cut into their limited cap space, which they will need to maximize if they want to re-sign Giroux, add a top-four right-shot defenceman, and add quality depth to the fourth line.

Robertson is close to the same size as Batherson with both players being listed at 6'3" and a shade over 200 lbs. Robertson does not play with the same physicality as Batherson, however. And, based on the NHL's Edge data, he is not as good a skater as Batherson either.

If the Senators have designs for improving their team speed, it will not be accomplished by flipping these two players.

There is also the risk that Robertson would not want to play in Ottawa. Although his contract is not protected by a no-movement or trade clause, the reality of the Senators' situation is that they can ill-afford to move valuable assets for a one-and-done player.

Pierre Dorion's failed Alex DeBrincat experiment familiarly highlights the risks involved. The player holds all the contract negotiation leverage, with his final year of restricted free agent rights kicking in after the 2025-26 season. Without a contract extension in place, any trade involving a player in Robertson's situation has the potential to blow up in the acquiring organization's face.

With a measured front office, however, the likelihood of management incurring these risks without some measure of confidence or a guarantee that the player will sign an extension is small. It paid off last season with Linus Ullmark, and it may pay off again.

Whatever the case, it is encouraging to hear league insiders suggest that there are expectations that the Senators will aggressively be big-game hunting this summer.

Graeme Nichols
The Hockey News Ottawa

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The Anaheim Ducks head into the 2025 offseason with $38.69 million in cap space and need to spend $13.79 million to reach the cap floor. Ownership has given general manager Pat Verbeek a mandate to push for the playoffs in 2025-26 and has given him the green light to spend to the cap ceiling, if it’s deemed necessary to achieve that goal.

Barring extensions signed before July 1, the 2025 free agent class will consist of one franchise-altering superstar (Mitch Marner) and a long list of quality players just beneath at every position who could provide varying degrees of their personal brand and impact to a team’s depth chart.

The Ducks currently have 16 players under contract for the 2025-26 season, with five restricted free agents under team control.

They were a team near the bottom of the league in most traditional and underlying statistical categories in 2024-25 and could use upgrades at several positions within their lineup. Verbeek has stated his priority to add goal scoring, and recently hired head coach Joel Quenneville has traditionally valued puck possession.

Three spots in the lineup the Ducks could look to address in free agency are a top-of-the-lineup producing forward, a two-way middle-six center, and a mobile defensive defenseman.

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With how the Ducks roster is constructed and the brand of hockey they’re hoping to ice on a nightly basis, who are the best fits on the free agent market?

Defensive Defenseman

Verbeek stated during his post-season press conference that the biggest need heading into the offseason is improved goal scoring. However, the Ducks were one of the worst defensive teams in the NHL, spent too much time in their own zone, and had significant difficulty generating clean exits.

In the 2024-25 season, the Ducks allowed the 10th-most goals per game (3.18) in the NHL, the most shots against per game (32.3), and deployed the league’s 29th-ranked penalty kill (74.2%).

As the defensive depth chart is currently constructed, the Ducks have a breakout two-way star (Jackson LaCombe), two unproven offensive dynamos brimming with potential (Olen Zellweger and Pavel Mintyukov), two relatively stationary veterans (Jacob Trouba and Radko Gudas), and a trio of inexperienced right-shot youngsters with varying skillsets (Drew Helleson, Ian Moore, Tristan Luneau).

While the potential on the blueline is tantalizing and the roster had issues with logjams a year ago, if the goal for the 2025-26 season is for the Ducks to return to the playoffs for the first time since 2018, that collection of defensemen likely won’t cut it.

Adding a modern-day mobile defense-oriented defender to the Ducks' blueline would alleviate responsibility on Trouba and Gudas, who have shown trouble assuming shutdown roles at this point in their careers, while potentially insulating and nurturing one or several of the team’s young talents on the backend.

All contract projections provided byAFP Analytics

Aaron Ekblad

Contract Projection: 7 years, $7,802,350

Ekblad (29) is currently playing in his third consecutive Stanley Cup Final, as his Florida Panthers squad looks to hoist the greatest trophy in sports for a second straight season. Over the last three seasons, next to Gustav Forsling, Ekblad has made up half of one of the NHL’s most consistent and dominant shutdown pairs, winning shifts while matching up against the league’s elite opposing lines.

The 2014 first overall pick is a proven playoff performer who’s as bruising as he is tenacious. Playing against him, he makes it a chore to get to dangerous areas of the ice and will punish opponents for trying. Offensively, he plays a simple game, but is adept at absorbing forechecks and making clean outlet passes.

Ekblad’s mobility isn’t what it once was, and he’s had his bouts with the injury bug, missing at least 20 games in four of the last five seasons. In 2024-25, he served a 20-game suspension for violating the NHL/NHLPA Performance Enhancing Substances Program. He stated he used a substance as part of a recovery program from a recent spell of injuries.

For a player like Ekblad, the potential term on his contract would be more of a drawback for a team like Anaheim than the potential salary. He would, however, provide a needed boost to the Ducks' penalty kill, as he’s consistently among Florida’s leaders in TOI on the PK.

While he’s a proven playoff performer and champion, it’s unclear how much he’d help a team like Anaheim make the jump from 80-point playoff hopeful to 95-point wildcard threat, especially if he can be penciled into missing 15-20 games per season.

Vladislav Gavrikov

Contract Projection: 7 years, $7,608,621

Gavrikov (29) has earned recognition as one of the better shutdown defenders in the NHL since he was traded from the Columbus Blue Jackets to the Los Angeles Kings at the 2023 trade deadline. In 2024-25, he led the Kings in ice time (1893:06) by over 150 minutes and was their most frequently used penalty killer (271:40 TOI).

Gavrikov filled in valiantly for the injured Drew Doughty for the majority of the 2024-25 season on the right side of premier shutdown defender Mikey Anderson. He’s adapted well when tasked with playing his offside, something he’d likely have to do if Anaheim were to pursue him in free agency.

He’s suffered no major injuries during his six-year NHL career and would seemingly fit nicely next to a young, budding star like Pavel Mintyukov.

Dante Fabbro

Contract Projection: 4 years, $4,528,519

Fabbro (26) was seen as somewhat of an afterthought as his days as a member of the Nashville Predators dwindled. So much so that he was placed on waivers in early November and claimed by the Columbus Blue Jackets, where he played the remainder of the 2024-25 season.

He found a home next to All-Star defenseman Zach Werenski, where the duo paired together for over 1000 minutes and formed one of the better two-way top pairs in the Eastern Conference. Fabbro was the second-most utilized Blue Jackets defenseman on the penalty kill, averaging 1:41 TOI per game on the kill.

He isn’t as physically imposing as other available defensively-minded blueliners, but what he lacks in size, he makes up for with proper angling and engagement techniques so as to never surrender the middle of the ice. He is a more-than-capable puck mover who can get to dumped pucks and find his outlets quickly to negate opposing forechecks.

With his skillset, age, and success next to a star two-way puck mover like Werenski, Fabbro could form a formidable pair next to someone like Jackson LaCombe in Anaheim’s top four.

Other potential fits on the free agent market: Ivan Provorov, Dmitry Orlov, Brent Burns, Ryan Lindgren, Brian Dumoulin, Nick Perbix, Henri Jokiharju

If the Ducks do decide to add to their blueline without subtracting, they could find themselves in a similar situation they were in during the majority of the 2024-25 season, where they had too many NHL-caliber defensemen in need of NHL minutes, leading to potentially hindered development.

However, if the intention is to take the next steps toward contending, it’s unlikely the backend is sufficient as currently constructed. It may benefit them to add a complementary, modern-day, mobile, and defensive-oriented defender to their blueline and sort out the rest of the organizational depth chart when they get to that point.

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Photo Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

The Vancouver Canucks didn’t make the Stanley Cup Playoffs this year, but for some former Canucks, the ultimate trophy in professional hockey is only four wins away. Two former Canucks will take part in the Edmonton Oilers’ second consecutive Stanley Cup Final appearance, with one having been a fan-favourite for pretty much his entire time with the Canucks organization. 

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Troy Stecher is from Richmond, BC, and started his NHL career with his hometown team back in the 2016–17 season. Before this, he skated with the Penticton Vees from 2010 to 2013, taking on a leadership role in his final two seasons with the club. After, he spent three seasons at the University of North Dakota in the NCAA, the last of which he played with Canucks prospect at the time Brock Boeser. 

Originally undrafted, Stecher signed his first NHL contract with the Canucks back in April of 2016. He started the 2016–17 season with Vancouver’s AHL affiliate at the time, the Utica Comets, but was quickly called up and has remained in the NHL ever since. Stecher made a lasting impression on the fanbase only four games into his rookie season after he was nearly taken out by Toronto Maple Leafs forward Matt Martin. However, Vancouver’s goaltender at the time, Ryan Miller, quickly stepped in to help out the young defenceman. Later on in the season, Stecher was the victim of an April Fool’s Day prank that saw him skating on a line with Daniel and Henrik Sedin during practice. 

When @troystecher arrived at practice Saturday, he had been moved to forward. With the Sedins.

Stech forgot it's #aprilfoolsday... pic.twitter.com/KBz9hUljYU

— Vancouver Canucks (@Canucks) April 1, 2017

Stecher remained with the team throughout a quick roster turnaround that saw them pick up star prospect after star prospect. He was with the team when all three of Boeser, Elias Pettersson, and Quinn Hughes made their NHL debuts. As well, he played with a defensive core that featured members of the Canucks 2011 Stanley Cup run in Alex Edler and Chris Tanev. Because of this, he could have easily become a mainstay in the Canucks core moving forward. However, after Vancouver failed to qualify him following the 2019–20 Bubble Playoffs, Stecher found himself signing with the Detroit Red Wings. 

From 2020 to 2022, Stecher played in 60 games with the Red Wings, putting up four goals and nine assists in this span of time. He also joined Team Canada during the 2021 World Championship, helping his home country to their third gold medal in six years at the time. After playing 16 games with Detroit in the 2021–22 season, he was traded to the L.A. Kings for a seventh-round pick in the 2022 NHL Draft. He played his first postseason matches in front of a live audience with the Kings, tallying two goals and two assists in four games. 

Stecher flip-flopped between the Arizona Coyotes and the Calgary Flames before he ended up with the Oilers in the 2023–24 season via trade. Last season, he only played seven games for Edmonton and ultimately didn’t dress for any of their playoff matches due to ankle surgery. With changes hitting the Oilers throughout the off-season, Stecher found his way into the lineup and played in 66 regular season games, potting three goals and four assists. Injuries and lineup shifts forced him out to start the 2025 postseason, but in Mid-May, he was able to make his Oilers playoff debut against the Vegas Golden Knights. While the return of Mattias Ekholm to Edmonton’s lineup has taken Stecher off the bench, the defender has effectively contributed when needed and has earned himself a Stanley Cup Final appearance without a doubt. 

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