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Canadian Team Reportedly Desperate to Make Massive Trade for a Top Defenseman

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Daniel Lucente
November 25, 2024  (5:26 PM)
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The Ottawa Senators are struggling this NHL season, and now that they have just lost one of their best defensemen to injury, they are looking to make a big trade.

It appears the injury to Artem Zub has the Ottawa Senators ramping up their search for reinforcements on the blue line.

Zub blocked a shot with his foot in the Sens' loss to the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday and on Monday, head coach Travis Green confirmed the Sens' best right-shot D will be "out for a while," creating a big hole on Ottawa's back end.

Zub has brought stability, physicality, and dependability in high-intensity moments to the Senators' backend. He's shut down a number of opposing top lines this season and has been very effective on the penalty kill.

His absence will not only be felt in disrupting Ottawa's defensive pairings but will also force some younger players into larger roles that could expose the team to greater defensive vulnerabilities.

Here's a look at the club's defensive combinations with Zub out:

Jake Sanderson Travis Hamonic
Thomas Chabot Jacob Bernard-Docker
Tyler Kleven Nick Jensen

To fix that, the Senators are looking at moving bodies. They moved Jakob Chychrun for Nick Jensen earlier this offseason and can use any remaining draft capital.

Ottawa still has all of 2025 picks except for a fourth-rounder and three third-round picks in 2026, so the Senators do have some possible pieces to make a trade.

This is Ottawa's year to make progress toward the playoffs. Instead, the Senators have been anything but on even ground out of the gate.

They enter a Monday matchup with the Calgary Flames second last in the Eastern Conference, carrying an 8-11-1 record that places them 28th in the league standings while the team tries to snap a five-game losing streak.

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Canadian Team Reportedly Desperate to Make Massive Trade for a Top Defenseman

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