Senators: Is Pierre Dorion preparing a big coup?

The Ottawa Senators won’t draft a top-five pick on July 8, but their seventh overall selection might serve as a bargaining chip to improve their offense.

• Read also: “In my country, it’s not trivial at all” – Pierre-Édouard Bellemare

• Read also: Touching the trophy: you don’t change a winning formula

In a post published in the last few days in the daily Ottawa Sun, columnist Bruce Garrioch reports that general manager Pierre Dorion might use his first-round pick and a young prospect to add a striker to his club’s top six, ideally on Tim Stützle’s line.

“A check with a few league executives on Wednesday indicated that the Senators will have options if they want to trade the No. 7 pick, but they may have to give a candy with a hope to get the return they want” , reported the seasoned scribe.

According to Garrioch, the Minnesota Wild winger Kevin Fiala, author of 33 goals and 85 points with the Minnesota Wild in the regular season before disappearing from the map in the playoffs, might interest the “Sens”.

The 25-year-old Swiss will become a restricted free agent and will be eligible for arbitration this summer.

The team will fish at 24^e rung; this selection might be part of a transaction.

Garrioch adds that the New Jersey Devils and New York Islanders might be added to a list of teams in the race for Fiala’s services.

Devils GM Tom Fitzgerald has already indicated he will listen to offers to part ways with the second overall pick and improve his roster.

Several teams are grappling with payroll problems, caused by a cap that has not increased for three years and which will only rise by $1 million in 2022-2023.

Other organizations, like the Chicago Blackhawks, would be willing to part with some impact players to claim a first-round pick.