Staios says Senators a more balanced experienced group after Chychrun trade, signings

OTTAWA — Steve Staios was busy on his first free agency opening day as general manager of the Ottawa Senators, but be believes his team has come out more experienced and better balanced.

Staios's most significant move was trading blueliner Jakob Chychrun to the Washington Capitals in exchange for Nick Jensen, the sought-after right-handed defenceman they had been looking for, and a third-round pick in the 2026 NHL draft.

Last season in Washington, the 33-year-old Jensen recorded one goal and 14 points in 78 games.

With a cap hit of $4.05 million, Jensen offers the Senators a savings of half a million dollars compared to Chychrun, and stay-at-home defensive style will complement Thomas Chabot or Jake Sanderson.

“(Jensen) is a hard-nosed player with some experience, a right shot and he brings it, he gives it everything he’s got,” said Staios. “I like the balance that we have throughout our D-pairings now.”

The 26-year-old Chychrun had 14 goals and 41 points in 82 games with Ottawa last season.

The Senators gave up a lot to get Chychrun, who hails from Boca Raton, Fla., but has deep ties to the Ottawa area.

They sent a conditional first-rounder that June, a conditional second-rounder in 2024, and a second-round selection in 2026 to the Arizona Coyotes in a March 2023 trade.

Staios, who is in his first year with Ottawa, said he saw a need for the current core to be complemented by additional veteran leadership.

“As I watched our team last year I felt like maybe we needed a little more of that at times,” Staios said. “So, we’re pleased with what we were able to do.”

The Senators also signed veteran winger David Perron to an $8 million, two-year deal, right-winger Michael Amadio to a three-year, $7.8 million deal, and centre Noah Gregor to a one-year deal worth $850,000.

Ottawa also signed Garrett Pilon to a two-year, two-way contract.

In Perron the Senators see a winger with versatility who can play both sides and “pretty much anywhere in the lineup.”

Amadio also provides playoff experience having won the Stanley Cup with Vegas last year and has the ability to move up and down the lineup. Strangely enough Amadio had a brief stint with the Senators in 2020-21 where he played just five games after being acquired from the Los Angeles Kings in exchange for Christian Wolanin.

The Senators chose not to qualify Parker Kelly and see Gregor’s speed as an asset that will help improve its penalty kill.

Earlier in the week Staios made a splash acquiring goaltender Linus Ullmark from Boston in exchange for Joonas Korpisalo and Mark Kastelic.

While Staios wouldn’t go so far as saying the Senators are a playoff team, he does have increased expectations for the group.

“When I say the next step, I want to see us improve in consistency and competitive levels, consistent competitive levels,” he said. “I think that veteran leadership is going to help in that regard … I also talk about internal growth with our group and it’s amazing what a year does and it’s amazing what a bad year does and how much you can learn from that.”

“I’m not putting any expectations on it from a level of success when you talk about playoffs,” he added. “It’s just, it’s more on the consistency of this group and the maturity of this group.”

Ottawa also made the decision not to extend a qualifying offer to Erik Brannstrom.

Staios said the 24-year-old defenceman has grown as a player but didn't fit into Ottawa's plans at defence.

Staios may not be done tinkering with the lineup. He said he’ll continue to keep a dialogue open with other teams and see if there might be other opportunities that present themselves to help improve the team.

The Senators still need to come to terms with restricted free agent Shane Pinto. Staios shut down any rumours of the young centre asking for a trade and said “the negotiations continue to move on.”

Staios also said forward Josh Norris, who is recovering from shoulder surgery, is in town for the week and is progressing well.

“We feel good about the timeline that he’s on,” Staios said. “We’re going to take the best approach for Josh to prepare to play an entire season.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 1, 2024.

Lisa Wallace, The Canadian Press