2 Senators Forwards Becoming Interesting Trade Pieces

The Ottawa Senators are in shambles after firing their coach and sitting at the bottom of the Eastern Conference and league. They are 11-16-0 on the season, and though they have games in hand, they aren't showing any signs of using those games to come back in the standings.

The deeper into the season we get, the more difficult it will become for the Senators to march back into contention. As it looks right now, they are in a place to look to sell some of their players on expiring contracts. This team has some interesting assets too. At forward, there are two upcoming UFAs on pretty good deals in Vladimir Tarasenko and Dominik Kubalik. Neither make sense to bring back with the money they'll cost and how much production they're providing. In a season like this, changes have to be made.

Tarasenko signed a one-year deal with the Senators this past summer as a layover year to be able to get some term on his next deal. The Senators don't have the space or want to give him multiple years. If the team is out of the race, Tarasenko is proving that he can still produce with six goals and 19 points in 25 games so far.

Kubalik has been less impressive. He was a piece that came over in the Alex DeBrincat deal and was expected to produce at a similar rate to last season. That hasn't been the case as he only has seven goals and one assist through 27 games. He is seemingly locked in a third line role, but he hasn't played with the most impressive players. When Shane Pinto returns, Kubalik may show more offensively and up his trade value. He just hasn't shown enough to warrant a new contract with the Senators, so he should be traded.