Ottawa Senators acquire Zaitsev and Brown from Toronto Maple Leafs

The Ottawa Senators made a splash on Canada Day by acquiring Nikita Zaitsev and Connor Brown from bitter rivals the Toronto Maple Leafs.

With the Ottawa Senators hiring former Leafs assistant coach D.J. Smith, it is not surprising that the first-time head coach wanted to bring in some familiar faces.

The trade, which was first mentioned over the weekend, sees the Senators make a dent in their cap situation while adding two experienced NHL players in Nikita Zaitsev and Connor Brown.

As part of the deal, the Senators also received AHL forward Michael Carcone in exchange for the rights to RFA Cody Ceci, Ben Harpur, Aaron Luchuk and a 2020 third-round pick, which originally belonged to the…