NHL Rumors: Senators Defenseman Finished in Ottawa

The Ottawa Senators have reportedly given permission to defenseman Victor Mete to start speaking with other teams as the Sens are open to a trade depending of course on what's coming back the other way. Mete is a pending restricted free agent who has never found a consistent game as a member of the Senators.

Darren Ferris, the agent for Senators Dman, Victor Mete has been given permission to speak to teams about potential trade. Return will likely be a draft pick, but there’s interest.
— Darren Dreger (@DarrenDreger) March 12, 2022

Mete's cap hit of $1.2 million shouldn't be an issue for other teams and so far in 31 games this season he's yet to record a goal and has seven assists. He's averaging only 14:56 of ice-time per game which is rather low considering he does see time on the power play and while shorthanded.

Perhaps the Montreal Canadiens circle back but at this point that seems unlikely. Playoff bound teams who have been in the market for defensemen include the Toronto Maple Leafs, Florida Panthers, and New York Rangers, meanwhile a team like the Arizona Coyotes could be interested as Mete is only 23 years old and may be able to find his game with more opportunity.

Look for the Senators to be busy before the March 21 trade deadline as they have a number of players drawing interest from other teams. While Mete's agent works the phone for his client, teams have been calling Senators management about the likes of goaltender Anton Forsberg and wingers Nick Paul and Zachary Sanford. Make no mistake about it, they'll be some movement out of Ottawa before the deadline.