Ottawa Senators trade Matt Duchene to the Columbus Blue Jackets
The Ottawa Senators have today traded forward Matt Duchene to the Columbus Blue Jackets.
The Senators-Duchene relationship is finally over, coming to an end less than 18 months after Ottawa acquired him from the Colorado Avalanche.
During his time in the Canadian capital, Duchene earned 107 points (50 goals, 57 assists) in 118 goals - being named an alternate captain of the team in the process.
The Ottawa Senators had reportedly offered Duchene a contract extension that would've seen him earn in the region of $8 million a season for eight years, but the third-overall pick in the 2009 draft could not agree to a new deal.
With the trade deadline just three days away, the Senators clearly felt that it was time to part ways with Duchene and look to acquire as many assets as possible to help them build over the next few years.
In return for Duchene, the Ottawa Senators received Columbus' first-round pick in 2019, forward Vitaly Abramov, Jonathan Davidsson and a conditional 2020 first-round pick.
The condition attached to the 2020 first-round pick is whether or not Duchene re-signs with the Blue Jackets. The Senators also sent defenceman Julius Bergman to the Blue Jackets.
Abramov, a third round selection by Columbus in 2016, has been playing through his rookie season in the AHL with the Cleveland Monsters - registering 12 goals and 22 total points in 52 games.
Davidsson, meanwhile, has yet to bring his talents over to North America - continuing his development with Djurgardens IF in the Swedish Hockey League, where he has 10 goals and 20 total points in 35 regular season games in the top tier of Swedish hockey.
With the Senators potentially entering a rebuilding phase, acquiring picks and prospects will help with the long-term build but losing a player of Duchene's quality will be sorely disappointing for the fanbase.
With Ryan Dzingel and Mark Stone still to sign new deals, things will continue to heat up with the Senators over the next couple of days.
