The Carolina Hurricanes have traded forward Ryan Dzingel to the Ottawa Senators for Alex Galchenyuk and Cedric Paquette. This deal is the second major trade of the 2020-21 season after Patrik Laine was dealt to the Columbus Blue Jackets for Pierre-Luc Dubois on Jan 23. Like Dubois, Dzingel will have to quarantine for two weeks before officially joining the Senators.
Dzingel rejoins the Senators after brief stints with the Blue Jackets and Hurricanes. Overall he played 96 games over the past two campaigns after getting traded to the Blue Jackets at the deadline during the 2018-19 season. He signed a two-year contract with the Hurricanes at the beginning of the 2019-20 season and ended up having only 10 goals and 33 points in 75 games.
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Dzingel will be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season and carries a cap hit of $3.375 million. The Senators will be hoping that he can regain the form he had during his first three seasons with the team, as he posted two straight 20-goal seasons and 62 goals and 126 points overall.
Dzingel was playing on the fourth-line in Carolina, so if any team can re-ignite his offence, it’s the Senators. Granted, many of the players have changed in the Nation’s Capital, but he still has the pedigree of a goal scorer with familiarity of the team and the city. He likely will be playing in the top-six and on the power play, which should afford him a few more opportunities than he was having with the Hurricanes.
Galchenyuk and Paquette on the Move Again
With this trade, Alex Galchenyuk will be joining his fifth team in three years after spending his first six seasons with the Montreal Canadiens, and he is only 26-years-old. Since posting 19 goals in 72 games with the Arizona Coyotes in 2018-19, he only has 17 goals in 126 games playing for the Coyotes, Senators, Pittsburgh Penguins, and Minnesota Wild. As time goes on, it’s difficult to see him catching on with any team at this point. His stock has plummeted from a highly regarded first-round pick to a throw-in. If he doesn’t turn it around soon, the KHL will probably be the next destination for the former 3rd overall pick.
As for Paquette, he likely was the centerpiece of this trade. He will replace Dzingel on the fourth line and become a more effective bottom-six forward than he ever was. In seven seasons with the 2020 Stanley Cup champions Tampa Bay Lightning, he had 47 goals and 85 points while recording 956 hits and 278 blocked shots. He is a physical presence on the forecheck and an effective penalty killer, who should fit in perfectly with Rod Brind’Amour’s system. If the Lightning didn’t have to shed salary in the offseason, he probably would still be a prominent piece of their team.