With his team out of the playoff picture, Ottawa Senators general manager Pierre Dorion picked up a lottery-protected, first-round draft pick from the New York Islanders for Jean-Gabriel Pageau ahead of Monday’s 3 p.m. ET trade deadline.
The conditional pick would slide to 2021 if it falls in the top 3 of this year’s June draft in Montreal. The Senators also acquired a 2020 second-round pick and 2022 third-rounder, the latter only if the New York Islanders will the Stanley Cup this season.
The 20-30-11 Senators, with the third-worst record in the NHL this season,should have two lottery picks this year — their own and the one acquired from the San Jose Sharks in the Erik Karlsson trade in September 2018 — and could have as many as 14 selections, including eight in the first two rounds.
Pageau, 27, has scored a career-high 24 goals in 60 games this season. The pending unrestricted free agent topped the Senators with 40 points, three shy of his career best of 43 in 2015-16.
The Ottawa native, who is good on the draw — averaging over 50 per cent on faceoffs in each of the past five seasons — and a strong penalty killer, likely will slot in as third-line centre in New York behind Mathew Barzal and Brock Nelson.
In eight NHL regular seasons, Pageau has 87 goals and 182 points in 428 games, all with the Senators.
He has 12 goals and 16 points in 35 playoff games, including 10 in 19 outings, in Ottawa’s run to the Eastern Conference final in 2017.
Also Monday, Dorion moved forward Vladislav Namestnikov, another pending UFA, to Colorado for a 2021 fourth-round draft pick.
Last October, Ottawa sent a fourth-round pick and minor-league defenceman Nick Ebert to the New York Rangers to acquire the 27-year-old Namestnikov.