Senators Ready To Send "Lightning Bolt" Through Roster With Major Trade

It is evident that there is something wrong with the Ottawa Senators, and it is starting to fall solely on the players at this point. On 32 Thoughts, Elliotte Friedman mentions that he thinks the organization believes the players are too comfortable and says they might be exploring "sending a lightning bolt" through their roster to send a message.

While the team has games in hand and could make up ground, they are currently dead last in the Eastern Conference and it is becoming harder and harder to get back in the race. The team has now lost two in a row and are 3-7-0 in the last 10 games. Ottawa has 28 points and is 14-20-0 on the season, 16 points out of a playoff spot with only four games in hand.

Sending a lightning bolt refers to making a massive trade to move on of the pieces that have seemingly gotten too comfortable. This would entail moving on from one of the core players, likely one of said players who are locked in long-term and have less incentive. This is an example of why locking everyone in long-term before they prove much can hurt an organization even though it might be a good deal.

The Senators have eight players signed through at least 2027. Since Joonas Korpisalo just got to town this season, I won't include him as someone who has gotten comfortable despite struggling. The players, all younger by the way, that Friedman is referring to according to the organization, include Brady Tkachuk, Tim Stutzle, Drake Batherson, Josh Norris, Thomas Chabot, and Jake Sanderson. Some of these players are playing better than others and it is anybody's guess who would actually be the players moved, if any. Who makes the most sense would be Chabot or Norris.