Senators play the role of the hunter, not the hunted. The team is “moving on,” not selling assets to accumulate draft picks and prospects. Instead of building for tomorrow, in an endless loop, the Senators are telling their fans and their young core that they are about today. If you’re like me and you either live in Ottawa or are connected to the Senators in some way, you’ve been getting text messages throughout the two days of the NHL draft. Most go along the lines of, “what’s up with the Sens? DeBrincat? He’s legit.” In case you missed it, the Senators traded their first-round pick, seventh overall, plus a second-round pick and a third-round pick in 2024 for the 24-year-old Chicago Blackhawks sniper, two-time 41-goal scorer . The trade meant that for the first time since 2014, the Sens did not trade a first-round draft pick. This team that was building a core of high draft picks like Brady Tkachuk, fourth overall in 2018, Tim Stützle, third overall in 2020, and Jake Sanderson, fifth overall, in 2020, as well as savvy late picks like Drake Batherson and Shane Pinto. has changed in quite a significant way. It’s not lost on anyone that both general manager Pierre Dorion and head coach DJ Smith are under pressure to compete for a playoff spot for the first time in five years (six from when the next playoffs begin). So, some survival instincts come into play. However, I’ve barely heard a discouraging word about this aggressive approach from Senators fans who were tired of always being this rebuilding franchise at the bottom of the Atlantic (Division, not the ocean). Even amateur scouts who had to give up a prized first-round pick are buying in, according to former head amateur scout Trent Mann, who was recently promoted to co-assistant general manager (with Ryan Bowness). “The scouts agreed with what we did (in Round 1),” Mann said after Day 2 of the draft, where the Sens made nine picks. “How often do you find a 40-goal scorer? Our scouts, like everyone else in the tournament, like everyone in the city of Ottawa – we want to win. And it’s time to start winning.” If you hit home runs, DeBrincat is just the tip of the iceberg. Even before that trade cracked the surface, forward Colin White was acquired, signaling an end to the roster’s malaise in favor of aggressive management, even at a short-term financial cost. Good boy, White. But very overpaid. Suddenly, everything seems possible. Despite acquiring DeBrincat, the Senators are believed to be still active in free agency this week, including pursuing hometown hero Claude Giroux. The Sens are aggressively pushing point guard Matt Murray and Nikita Zaitsev out the door, one way or another. The Toronto Maple Leafs have shown serious interest in Murray (the Kyle Dubas OHL Soo connection) and now winger Connor Brown’s name has come into play. It’s like a bomb has hit hockey businesses in Ottawa. What’s next, a top-four defenseman, a female hockey staff member and a former player serving as a defense consultant? Every day there is a new movement. On Monday, former D-man Wade Redden was hired as a development coach and was scheduled to skate with prospects in the afternoon. Stay tuned for more news. When it comes to the new-look Sens, Butch Cassidy’s classic line comes to mind when he and the Sundance Kid were relentlessly pursued by a posse: “Who are these guys? Who indeed? Cue the song and video from The Heavy — How You Like Me Now? A song we’d better revisit this week after free agency begins. As for this massive move with DeBrincat — whether he can continue to score in Ottawa will be tested on the ice, just as the team lets him adjust to the new room. There is plenty of time for both sides to determine if this is a marriage worth keeping. DeBrincat has RFA status after this season, in which he will be paid $9 million. With a qualifying offer of $9 million, he could become a UFA a year later. But for the first time in a long time, there is a belief that these senators could realistically extend DeBrincat if it feels right. The fact that they traded for a $9 million player is embarrassing in itself. “I’m very excited to join this young team and hopefully do something special,” DeBrincat said in an introductory Zoom call with Ottawa media. “That’s everybody’s goal — to be a better team, make the playoffs and win the Stanley Cup. I think this is a good start and I hope we are moving in the right direction.” Pretty much what we’d expect a man to say, but there weren’t any alarm bells either. Let’s see where this goes. It shouldn’t be too hard to find happiness between a serial goalscorer and a talent like Stützle. Oh, and they drafted nine players The Senators made such a Day 1 impact by acquiring DeBrincat that it was easy to overlook a busy Day 2 in the draft, during which they made nine picks: 64: Filip Nordberg, LD 72: Oskar Petterson, RW 87: Tomas Hamara, LD 104: Stephen Halliday, C 136: Jorian Donovan, LD 143: Cameron O’Neil, RW 151: Kevin Reidler, G 168: Theo Wallberg, LD 206: Tyson Dyck, C All but Nordberg will attend development camp, starting Monday at the Sensplex in Kanata. The camp culminates with a 3-on-3 tournament on Thursday at 10am. All skating sessions are open to the public, starting with a skate at 2pm. on Monday. A few notes on options. The Senators don’t mind the fact that many of their picks are college bound. Without the high-end talent of some draft picks, and with Ottawa not taking until No. 64 in the second round, it will take time for these picks to develop. Time will be an advantage. We did a feature recently on Ottawa’s push to find, develop and retain goalies, and the Sens drafted another goalie — six-foot-6, 201-pound Swedish prospect Kevin Reidler. Reidler will need time to develop and will likely stay in Sweden for a year or two. His grandfather, Hakan Wickberg, played professionally in Sweden and was a two-time Olympian. The Senators went heavy on defense, with four picks, a development that just happened as the draft unfolded, Mann says. The good pick of the day for Ottawa had to be D-man Donovan, son of former Senators winger Shean Donovan, now head of the team’s development program and one of the most popular members of the Sens alumni. The club made sure both Donovan and his dad were okay with Jorian getting a shot with his hometown team. “I wouldn’t have it any other way, it was special,” Jorian Donovan said. “Growing up as a Senators fan, it’s such an honor to be drafted by a team that I always looked up to and watched as a kid. . . I couldn’t be happier.”
