Ottawa Senators acquire Nikita Filatov for third-round pick

The Ottawa Senators announced that they traded their third-round draft choice (66 overall) in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft to the Columbus Blue Jackets in exchange for left winger Nikita Filatov.

Filatov is a dynamic offensive talent with a huge offensive upside, but he also comes with plenty of question marks. He's spent time over the last few seasons between the KHL, NHL, and AHL, and has become known as an enigmatic offensive talent--shades of Alex Kovalev, but much younger and much cheaper. His inconsistent messaging had likely worn out his welcome in Columbus, and based on the price Ottawa paid for him, it seems the Jackets were willing to give him up for just about any reasonable offer.

In my mind, it's a great move by Bryan Murray: The risk is low, and the potential payoff is high. Filatov will likely suit up on Ottawa's second line, behind Milan Michalek and ahead of Nick Foligno in the depth chart, but will get the benefit of plenty of powerplay time.

There are question marks surrounding Filatov, but if he does make this team out of training camp next season, he will be among the best purely offensive weapons in new head coach Paul MacLean's armoury.