Sterling Predictions: First Trade

Who will be the first Senator traded? As always, “nobody” is a valid answer, though probably a foolhardy one this year.

(Note: this question was originally asked before the Erik Karlsson trade went down, which means some people had to change their answers quite a bit while also grieving the trade.)

Spencer: The first Ottawa Senator traded will be Zack Smith. Why? Because he’s not worth the dollars anymore and will likely get outplayed by a rookie. While he may be a leader in the dressing room, the Senators don’t seem like they’ll be pushing for much success this year and Smith will have some trade value to a team who wants to “get bigger” or “play tougher” or whatever. (Ed. note: this is before we knew Smith was going on waivers, which either makes him less or more likely to be traded)

NKB: It feels trite talking about who might be traded after our beloved captain was already dealt, but I see Craig Anderson being a prime candidate for trade; he just doesn’t fit in with a planned rebuild at all.

Ary: Zack Smith, purely for salary reasons, but it may not happen until the deadline because this team lacks NHL bodies. Newly acquired Dylan DeMelo is also a good guess as teams always look for right-shot depth in the season, and I think the Sens will want to give Christian Jaros or Ben Harpur (who can play the right-side) extended looks.

Colin: My original answer was Erik Karlsson, although we all know how that turned out. I think we’ll start to see some more smoke coming out of the Mark Stone camp soon, following what was presumably an ugly contract negotiation. He’ll be the next one traded.

Beata: I’m going full pessimist and saying Mark Stone, closely followed by Matt Duchene.

Brandon: I’d venture a guess at Zack Smith. The Sens need to get young guys in the lineup and he’s the vet that would offer the best return, mediocre as it may be.

Dewie: I don’t buy the rebuild thing, I just think Melnyk is using this term to justify keeping the roster cheap so I honestly think Smith will be the first to go (sadly) purely for financial reasons.

B_T: *glare*

So, AFTER Karlsson...

*grumble*

I think a more depth player will go before any other bigger pieces, so Smith.

Ross: I think it’ll be Matt Duchene. The Sens are likely going to have to choose between keeping one of Stone or Duchene (at best). I think they’ll focus their attention on Stone, and Duchene will be shipped to his third team in two years. You can’t spell rebuild without “tear it all down”.

Who will be the first Senator traded?