Senators’ dream, nightmare scenario for 2026 NHL Trade Deadline

The Ottawa Senators finally made the playoffs last season, but have not replicated the magic in 2025-26. They are five points out of a playoff spot with many hurdles to clear before they become a legit contender. With the NHL trade deadline coming up, the Senators must consider a Drake Batherson trade. Not making any moves to prioritize the future is the nightmare scenario.

The Senators are well under the salary cap for this season, so they can take some albatross contracts back at the deadline. But other than that, they should not be adding players this year. Their core is all locked in for next year, including goalie Linus Ullmark, who has had a disastrous season. Starting fresh next year, potentially with a new coach, should be the plan for general manager Steve Staios.

What are the Senators’ dream and nightmare scenarios for the NHL trade deadline?

The Senators can get a haul for Drake Batherson

The Senators are in a tough spot. They believe they have a playoff-caliber core, as proven last year. But this year has not gone to plan, and it is time to sell. They should not trade stars like Brady Tkachuk, Jake Sanderson, or Tim Stutzle, even though those players would bring back incredible returns. There is one player whose production and contract status make them a 2026 trade deadline candidate.

Batherson was one of the first stars to emerge from this Senators rebuild core. Drafted in the fourth round in 2017, he scored 17 goals in the shortened 2021 season to cement himself as part of the core. Since then, four consecutive 20-goal seasons has hom among the best players available at the deadline.

Batherson has one year remaining on his contract at $4.975 million and will turn 28 years old in April. Instead of having a pending free agent nearing 30 on next year’s roster, the Senators should trade him now to build for the immediate future. They do not have a first-round pick, as it was forfeited for the Evgenii Dadanov trade, so getting one back would be significant.

Buyers like the Buffalo Sabres, Detroit Red Wings, and New York Islanders could use Baatherson’s goal-scoring touch. If the St Louis Blues are going to drive a hard bargain on Jordan Kyrou and Robert Thomas, Batherson could be a good pivot choice for those teams.

Steve Staios must pick a lane; nothing is not an option

It would be easy for general manager Steve Staios to look at the Senators’ season and determine that a new coach and a healthy goalie would solve all of his problems. Considering they made the playoffs a year ago, over-tinkering could lead to frustrations within the locker room. But that team lost in six games to the Toronto Maple Leafs, and the ceiling needs to be raised.

If the Senators want to buy a long-term piece, like Thomas or Kyrou, and make a push for this year’s playoffs, they could do that. There is no guarantee that the Los Angeles Kings make the playoffs, even though they traded for Artemi Panarin. But his two-year contract extension keeps him around for three playoff pushes. That type of buying move is not the nightmare scenario for Ottawa.

But what the Senators cannot do is stick with the same core once March 6 passes on the calendar. If Batherson is still in Canada’s capital, they need to add a player who can be with their team for at least one full season. If they do not add anyone, they need to trade Batherson to try to recoup that first-round pick. The future of the Senators is bright, but they can mess up their Stanley Cup chances by sitting on their hands at this trade deadline.

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