Iu200b think there’s a goodu200b caseu200b tou200b beu200b madeu200b thatu200b Ottawa Senators fansu200b just endured oneu200b of the mostu200b depressingu200b trade deadlines inu200bu200b NHL history.
Ottawa ended up trading away three veterans, including the team’s most popular player in Mark Stone, plus their next two leading goal scorers in Matt Duchene and Ryan Dzingel. Just in terms of talent going out the door, the Senators’ 2019 deadline exodus is hard to match.
But that’s not what makes the weekend so depressing. Instead, it’s the context here that makes it all sting so much. The Senators wanted to re-sign Duchene and Stone, but apparently couldn’t get them to buy into the team’s long-term vision for a return to contention.