Trade Decisions Loom for Sens, Habs and Leafs

Here we are just a few scant weeks ahead of the calendar turn and our Canadian trio of Ottawa, Montreal and Toronto have some pretty heavy decisions to make in the next number of weeks and months.

The question all three are facing is – are you all-in, all-out or just wading the season away in the kiddies’ pool.

At this point, it’s pretty simple for the three clubs: slam your foot on the gas. Pick up the phone and make a splash.

But what’s interesting is that two of the three (Ottawa, Montreal) should be looking at pushing forward and buying while the other guy (Toronto) should be looking at divesting.

Let’s talk Leafs hockey first.

In case you’re wondering – and this has become bloody apparent – the aging Leafs and their window-to-win is done. Toast; done like dinner.

It was a nice ride for the past decade. Playoffs were a guarantee each year of the Matthews-Marner-Rielly-Tavares-Nylander era. Toronto was a regular-season dynamo.

And the reality is, with a bounce or two against Boston or Florida and we might be talking about a Stanley Cup finalist here.

But the reality today, in 2025-26, tells a different story. Toronto is too slow and passive, and its best-before date has expired. Auston Matthews plays older than he is and Willy Nylander is in a constant spar with the coach. The goalies – so good last season – are perpetually injured. The supporting cast is not particularly good, and the prospects cupboard is bare save Easton Cowen.

So, what we’re saying here is it is time to sell. Look, teams can turn things around a whole lot quicker than they used to be able to, and that’s what the Leafs have ahead of them.

Please stop pretending you’re a Cup contender. Get busy and sell Brad Treliving.

Now then, on to Montreal and Ottawa. These two need to add and with the St. Louis’s and Calgary’s and Nashville’s and Vancouver’s continuing to separate themselves from the rest of the pack (not in a good way), there’s plenty of talent that’s available now and available in the near future. (Hell, maybe they could pick over Toronto too?).

Kudos to the Habs though because they’ve already taken care of business in a major way. Adding Noah Dobson, Ivan Demidov and Zach Bolduc in the last year has truly gassed the Habs up.

Montreal made the post-season last year and expectations, as they’re prone to be, have risen. Montreal doesn’t necessarily need to add a star, but a couple of hard-nosed veterans surely would aid the cause. Blake Coleman from the Flames would be ideal. Blues’ centre Brayden Schenn? Yeah, him too.

You can add those two names to the Senators’ wish list as well, but if we’re talking about serious need, Ottawa falls into the scoring category. The team ranks 23^rd in goals scored; not horrible but not where they’d like to be.

The search for second-line help has been ongoing pretty well since the end of last season. That search continues.

Second-line mainstays Claude Giroux and Fabian Zetterlund have five and six goals respectively in their 32 games played. Not great as well.

If Ottawa was getting stellar netminding behind these stats, the worry wouldn’t be as hefty. As anyone who’s watched this year can tell you, the Senators’ net has not been in safe hands. Linus Ullmark’s .879 save percentage ranks near the bottom of the league for No. 1 goalies. Backup Leevi Merilainen’s rate is even worse at .877.

This is the season for GM Steve Staios to go for a big fish up front. The Eastern Conference is a toss-up and really, any one of seven or eight clubs are capable of representing in the Stanley Cup final.

Ottawa is one of them.

Staios is gaining a reputation – earning one actually – for being overly cautious. We get it. Frankly, there’s not much as far as prospects are concerned to deal away. Add that to the fact that the organization will be surrendering its first-round pick this coming summer (punishment for the 2021 botched trade deal involving Evgenii Dadonov) and you see Staios’s bind.

He’ll obviously need to get a bit creative if he’s to swing a deal, but it needs to get done, regardless. Ottawa could approach the front of the food chain in the East with a savvy move or two.

Stay tuned.

OTTAWA SENATORS WEEK AHEAD:

Thursday, Dec. 18: Pittsburgh at Ottawa (7 pm)

Saturday, Dec. 20: Chicago at Ottawa (3 pm)

Sunday, Dec. 21: Ottawa at Boston (7 pm)

Tuesday, Dec. 23: Buffalo at Ottawa (7 pm)

thegrossgame@yahoo.com

Photo: CourtesySportsnet.ca