Off-Season Agendas Fill Up for Sens, Leafs and Habs

Every NHL team looks to buff up its roster during the long and hot days of summer.

Ottawa, Toronto and Montreal – the triumvirate of hockey fans in these parts – are certainly no different.

With the Stanley Cup finale entering its last moments, the Senators, Leafs and Habs are already hard at work plotting a course of action to fill their needs.

Let’s jump right in and target their targets and wants.

OTTAWA SENATORS

Irony of ironies, the Senators can now make the claim of being one of the sounder defensive groups in the circuit.

Three, four and five years ago no such claim could be made. Ottawa was a nightmare behind its blueline, and the opposition licked its chops at the idea of playing at the Canadian Tire Centre (or whatever it was called back then).

Hell, even Bill Muckalt could score on this team.

But now?

Ottawa is a defensive stalwart.

Much of the credit goes to head coach Travis Green who quickly turned the bus around. Also, credit should be dealt to one Jake Sanderson who has emerged as a frontline, top-10 defenceman in the league.

And lest we forget the forwards. The d-zone in front of netminders like Matt Murray, Anton Forsberg and Cam Talbot (among others) in years past was, quite frankly, a fly-by zone.

Times have changed. Clearly.

So then, what does this organization that made its second consecutive trip to the post-season need to bulk up on in the offseason?

Timely scoring, clutch scoring and just plain old scoring, period.

The four-game exodus against Carolina last month revealed an enormous hole the team needs to fill, and that would be . . . scoring.

There are rumblings that the club is interested in Vancouver winger Jake DeBrusk. He would be an attractive fit. DeBrusk had 23 goals on a terrible Vancouver squad last season. He’s steady and dependable as well – the 29-year-old has eclipsed the 20-goal mark five times during his career with the Canucks and Boston Bruins.

The one issue that might stand on the way of making this happen is this – Vancouver will be seeking top-end prospects and high-end draft picks in return. Ottawa’s prospects’ pool is shallow and giving up draft selections as well doesn’t make sense.

So, do you surrender a young roster player as the return?

Stephen Halliday? Carter Yakemchuk? (both are targeted for the team’s main roster this winter).

And what of free agency?

Former Leaf Bobby McMann is available, as too are Anthony Mantha and Alex Tuch.

It’s not an overly strong free agent or potential trade pool in the summer of 2026. GM Steve Staios has his work cut out for him.

We’ll see what unfolds here prior to October and the start of a new season.

TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS

Where-oh-where do we begin?

It’s been a disastrous 2026 for the team that last won a Stanley Cup on May 2, 1967. So bad that the Buds fired their general manager, then their head coach. So bad that Toronto’s punch in the gut season – which ended in March, really – shows no signs of slowing down the punishment through mid-June as former whipping boy Mitchell Marner is currently the odds-on favourite to win the Conn Smythe as playoff MVP. Another former Leaf in Freddie Andersen is also in that discussion.

Ugh.

Toronto does have one chip it can play at the table though, and that’s an NHL draft lottery win. That means Penn State’s Gavin McKenna or Swedish sensation Ivar Stenberg will likely be headed to the Big Smoke. (Interesting to note that Sportsnet’s Jason Bukala, a veteran NHL scout, has Stenberg ranked No. 1).

Honestly though, the Leafs are going to need a ton of help/improvement to land a sniff of the playoffs next spring. The defence needs polish; Auston Matthews needs to get back to where he was health-wise and production-wise; and the goaltenders need to be who they were two seasons ago.

Toronto will and should be sellers over the summer months. This is a complete rebuild waiting to happen.

MONTREAL CANADIENS

Unlike the team above, Montreal’s imminent future looks exceedingly bright.

High-end prospects?

Check.

Scoring?

Check.

Defence and goaltending?

Check.

Salary cap room/budget?

Check.

The Habs won’t be surprising anyone next season after hammering their way to the Eastern Conference final. Sure, they got guzzled by the suffocating Hurricanes in five games, but the experience was more coin in their pockets.

In fact, this organization is right on course. The only missing link is a capable second-line centre.

Nick Suzuki is the team’s No. 1 pivot, and he’s one of the best. GM Kent Hughes is reportedly aggressively pursuing support, either through trade or via free agency (the free agent route though doesn’t hold much hope).

The name that IS available and fits the bill for Line No. 2 is Detroit’s Dylan Larkin. The Red Wings would want an exceptionally good package in return for the 29-year-old.

Montreal could easily accommodate, although the two clubs would need a way to convince Larkin to take the Habs off his no-trade list.

Hughes has a surplus of cards to be dealt to make this happen.

Start dealing.

thegrossgame@yahoo.com