The Ottawa Senators continue to load up on right-shot defensemen. On Saturday afternoon, on day two of the 2025 NHL Draft, they acquired 24-year-old defenseman Jordan Spence from the Los Angeles Kings.
In return, they give up the 67th overall pick and a sixth-round selection in 2026 (originally Colorado's).
Spence appeared in 79 regular season games with Los Angeles in 2024-25, putting up four goals and 28 points, along with a plus-23 rating. In 180 career NHL games, Spence has collected eight goals and 61 points. He is signed for the 2025-26 NHL season with a contract that carries an AAV of $1.5 million.
Born in Manly, Australia (a Manly Man), Spence was a fourth-round selection (95th overall) by Los Angeles in the 2019 NHL Draft. He appeared in 160 games in the QMJHL with Moncton and Val-d’Or.
11 days ago, The Hockey News/Ottawa's Graeme Nichols wrote about Spence as a possibility for the Senators after Sporrtsnet's Elliotte Friedman mentioned the Kings may be willing to move Spence.
Summer Trade Targets: Would Kings Defenceman Jordan Spence Be A Fit With The Ottawa Senators?When outlining the prospective right defencemen the Ottawa Senators could potentially target in a trade this summer, one of the names that I've mentioned offhand is Jordan Spence of the Los Angeles Kings.
From Nichols:
Spence's underlying metrics were excellent. Granted, he played sheltered minutes on one of the better defensive teams in the league, so that is an obvious consideration to factor in.
When Spence was on the ice at five-on-five per NaturalStatTrick, the Kings generated 56.80 percent of the shots (CF%), 56.98 percent of the shots on goal (SF%), 65.43 percent of the total goals (GF%), and 56.88 percent of the expected goals (xGF%).
The problem with Spence is that he is listed at 5'11" and 180 lbs.
He defends almost exclusively through his skating, gap control and stick placement, but his strong underlying possession metrics are driven principally by his excellent puck-moving ability. According to the NHL.com's Zach Dooley, "no Kings blueliner had a higher success rate of exiting the defensive zone this season via a carry-out or a pass than Spence did, at just shy of 90 percent."
Highly efficient exits mean fewer minutes spent defending within the defensive zone. In essence, Spence's success is not that dissimilar from what makes Nick Jensen so effective.
Like Ken Holland, however, it certainly feels like the Senators have emphasized adding a measure of size and physicality to their lineup. It may also be a coincidence, but it was also an observation of their selections at the 2024 NHL Draft.
With puck-movers like Thomas Chabot and Jake Sanderson already in the lineup on Spence's opposite side, the need for an undersized puck-mover just is not there. Circumstances may change if Jensen's recovery from offseason hip surgery goes well and he is ready for training camp.
The organization could decide that a puck-mover to partner with Tyler Kleven as an alternative to Nik Matinpalo is ideal.
And suddenly, we may have some interesting battles shaping up at training camp this fall. Not only that, but the local sports radio station may have a new spokesperson for their omnipresent Spence Diamonds ads.
Steve Warne & Graeme Nichols
The Hockey News/Ottawa
Banner image credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
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