The Ottawa Senators waded into the final few days before the NHL’s Feb. 25 trade deadline with three key names all poised to potentially move. Two of them — Matt Duchene and Ryan Dzingel — have already been shipped out of town, both to the Columbus Blue Jackets. Only one remains — 26-year-old winger Mark Stone, who now reigns as arguably the most enticing name on the market.
However, with only days remaining before the deadline, things appear to be quiet on the trade front involving Stone.
“The market is drying up on Mark Stone for the Ottawa Senators, for no other reason than because they’re ask is so high,” Sportsnet’s Nick Kypreos reported Saturday on Hockey Night in Canada‘s ‘Headlines’ segment. “They’d love to mirror the pieces that they got with Duchene. The difference is the prospects out of Columbus are regarded as maybe Bs and Cs, and what they’re looking for for Stone is grade-A — guys that actually can step in and play right away.
“And right now, there doesn’t seem to be any teams biting, including the Winnipeg Jets.”
Kypreos did shed some light on Stone’s potential suitors, however, should the asking price come down.
“If we were to handicap just the teams that solely are interested in Stone, we’d have Winnipeg at the top, followed closely by Calgary, and maybe Nashville and Boston on the outside looking in,” he said. “And if I’m Ottawa right now, I hope the market can reset between now and Monday at 3 p.m. ET in hopes of maybe one more crack at it. If not, maybe to Elliotte’s point, you try to get him signed.”
Stone is playing out the one-year, $7.35-million deal he signed with Ottawa last summer. He’s enjoyed a dominant campaign despite his club’s struggles in 2018-19, posting 28 goals and 62 points through 59 games.
The Winnipeg, Man., native amassed 62 points for the Senators last season and, overall, has topped the 60-point plateau in four of his five big-league campaigns.
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