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In a multi-player transaction, the Senators Senators sent defender Nikita Zaitsev to the Chicago Blackhawks. Zaitsev, along with a second-round selection in ’23 and a fourth-round pick in ’26, will be traded to the Blackhawks in exchange for future considerations.
Zaitsev has one season left on his deal, which pays him $4.5 million per year. Senators general manager Pierre Dorion trades a second-round pick as a trade sweetener in order to free up salary space for the impending trade deadline and next season.
In 2022-23, Zaitsev appeared in 28 games, recording five assists and averaging just over 17 minutes of ice time per night. According to CapFriendly, the Senators now have more than $21 million in deadline cap space, indicating that Dorion has a lot of alternatives. Yet, one important factor to consider is the team’s impending sale. It will be considerably more difficult to make trades as the trade deadline approaches this season. Zaitsev, 31, has played in 426 NHL games and has 108 points in that time.
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The contract of Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Shea Weber was traded to the Arizona Coyotes on Wednesday, 10 days before the NHL trade deadline. Weber and a fifth-round selection pick in 2023 were traded to Phoenix for AHL defenseman Dysin Mayo, who was assigned to the Golden Knights’ minor league club in Henderson.
Weber has been on long-term injured reserve with the Golden Knights since they acquired him from the Montreal Canadiens in June 2022 in exchange for winger Evgenii Dadonov. Weber’s last NHL game was Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final against the Tampa Bay Lightning in July 2021. After repeated injuries, he missed the whole 2021-22 season, and the Canadiens indicated at the time that his career was likely ended.
Weber signed a 14-year contract with the Nashville Predators in 2012. He earned $7,857,143 against the NHL salary cap but is only entitled to $3 million in real pay for the following three seasons. The move solves the Golden Knights’ probable salary cap difficulties in the summer.
The transaction adds another draught selection to the Coyotes’ already significant stockpile, which includes seven picks in the first five rounds this summer. The move may also be intended to ensure that they remain over the NHL salary cap threshold of $61 million beyond the trade deadline. Arizona has a team cap hit of $66,459,719, according to Cap Friendly. Defensemen Jakob Chychrun ($4.6 million AAV) and Shayne Gostisbehere ($4.5 million AAV) are among those who might be dealt with before the deadline.
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