If the Ottawa Senators trade Drake Batherson, they'd have to get a strong return
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What does a trade involving Drake Batherson look like?
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'If you're going to move him, it had better be for a lot,' former league executive Doug MacLean said over the phone from his home in Prince Edward Island on Wednesday morning. 'We're talking a good player here, a really good player who has had a lot of success.'
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It once would have been unthinkable that the Senators would consider moving the 27-year-old winger. Still, with the National Hockey League Combine taking place this week in Buffalo, there has been no shortage of talk that the club is listening to teams interested in Batherson.
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Whether the talks that Senators president of hockey operations and general manager Steve Staios is having will lead to action remains to be seen. The fact that the Senators are considering it means the club wants to continue to change its mix up front.
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Staios struck at the club's core by dealing centre Josh Norris to the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for pivot Dylan Cozens at the NHL trade deadline in March.
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Listening is a large part of Staios' job, but whether the talk turns to action with Batherson remains to be seen. The Senators made the playoffs for the first time in eight years this spring, but they struggled mightily to score this year and were last in the league in five-on-five offence.
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The Senators have been linked to Dallas Stars forward Jason Robertson because the club was eliminated in the Western Conference final last week and has a cap crunch. League executives say the Stars haven't shown any interest in moving Robertson and there haven't been any talks.
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If the Sens do move Batherson, who had 26 goals and 68 points in 82 games last season, the club will need to bring back a big piece. League executives say the Senators have been studying the market for a right-shot defenceman because of the uncertainty surrounding veteran Nick Jensen.
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League sources say Jensen, 34, is believed to have played through a hip ailment for the second half of the season and had surgery last month in New York City. There is no timeline for his return, but it's almost a certainty he won't be ready for camp in September.
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The Senators could move Tyler Kleven to the right side to start the year, but they'd still need to add depth. Since we don't know when Jensen will play, that's why Staios may be scouring that market. To get a good player, you have to give up something in return.
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Batherson is a good player and that may be a tough pill for the organization to swallow, which is why he could indeed be back next season. He has two years left on a deal that pays him $4.975 million US per season.
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