Ottawa Senators & Chicago Blackhawks Complete Trade

The Ottawa Senators have traded defenseman Nikita Zaitsev to the Chicago Blackhawks in a multi-piece deal. Zaitsev along with a second-round pick in '23 and a fourth-round pick in '26 head to the Blackhawks in a deal that sees the Sens receive future considerations.

Nikita Zaitsev, traded to CHI, is a depth defenceman. #Blackhawks #NikyZattyNattyHatty pic.twitter.com/N4VGT6QzAf
— JFresh (@JFreshHockey) February 23, 2023

Purely a salary dump, Zaitsev has one season left on his contract paying him $4.5 million annually. Senators general manager Pierre Dorion moves out a second rounder as a trade sweetener to free himself up and create some more cap flexibility for the upcoming trade deadline and into next season.

Zaitsev has suited up for 28 games in 2022-23, chipping in with five assists, playing just over 17 minutes of ice-time a night. The Senators currently sit with over $21 million in deadline cap space according to CapFriendly as Dorion has a ton of options. However, one big thing to consider here is the pending sale of the team. It's going to be much harder to make moves heading into this season's trade deadline.

The 31-year-old Zaitsev has appeared in 426 career NHL games, recording 108 points.