Initial Reaction: Ottawa Senators Acquire Viktor Stalberg for 3rd round pick

The trade deadline has come early for the Senators, as now following yesterday’s trade for Alex Burrows, Dorion has made another splash acquiring Viktor Stalberg from the Carolina Hurricanes for a 3rd round pick.

I have three initial thoughts on the trade. Firstly, Ottawa now has only three picks heading into the 2017 draft: their 1st round pick, as well as selections in the 4th and 6th rounds. As much faith Dorion has in his scouting staff, a team can’t do much when they only have three picks. Each one is essentially a lottery ticket, and the more picks you have, the higher chances you find a Mark Stone or Mike Hoffman. This trade just further emphasizes Ottawa’s urgency to win now, sacrificing a future asset for a piece that most likely won’t stay in Ottawa for long.

Secondly, this trade is slightly confusing because the value is completely disproportionate to previous trades. The Sens acquired Wingels, Stalberg and Burrows, three bottom six players, each for a completely different price. The market is in an odd spot right now, which makes you wonder further why Dorion had to trade Dahlen for Burrows.

Finally, Ottawa has created a log jam in the bottom six. As of now, the Sens have on their main roster Burrows, Stalberg, Wingels, Smith, Neil, Lazar, Pyatt, Kelly, Pageau, Varone, Blunden, and DiDomenico who can play in the bottom six. One of them goes in the top six with Ryan out, and you pick the next six. Maybe one of them gets traded either today or tomorrow (Lazar the most likely candidate), but that still gives us ten players for six spots.

The acquisition of Stalberg doesn’t improve our depth by any means, since we already have an abundance of players who can fill the same role at the same quality. It’s a small unnecessary move by Dorion which further diminishes our future.