Senators to acquire Fabian Zetterlund from Sharks

The Senators are acquiring winger Fabian Zetterlund, right-wing prospect Tristen Robins and a fourth-round pick from the Sharks in exchange for forwards Zack Ostapchuk, Noah Gregor and Ottawa’s 2025 second-round pick, per Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia was the first to report the deal.

Zetterlund broke out in the Sharks lineup last season. He scored a career-high 24 goals and 44 points in his first time playing in all 82 games. The performance was backed by a modest 11.8 shooting percentage, suggesting that Zetterlund could reasonably follow it up this year. He’s done that with 17 goals and 36 points in 64 games, putting him on pace for 22 goals and 46 points across a full season. That’s impressive growth, considering the Sharks offense remains in the bottom three of goals-per-game average (2.63). Across his four-year NHL career, Zetterlund has totaled 50 goals and 111 points in 227 games.

The Senators will look to bank on Zetterlund’s growing consistency with this move. Ottawa needed more wing depth headed into the deadline and boosted their depths without giving up the farm. Ostapchuk has recently served as one of the team’s top prospects after Ottawa spent a second-round pick on him in the 2021 NHL Draft. Ostapchuk played his first professional season last year, netting a modest 17 goals and 28 points in 69 AHL games. That scoring wasn’t all inspiring, but Ostapchuk demanded attention with five points in the first six AHL games this year. That performance earned him a call-up in late October, which he vindicated with an assist in his first NHL game.

Ostapchuk has since split time between the top of the AHL lineup and the bottom of the NHL lineup. He’s scored four points in 43 NHL games but has a far more commendable 11 points in 15 AHL games. Ostapchuk has averaged just 9:20 in ice time at the NHL level this season. That number could be due for a significant boost as he heads to the Sharks, who traded away Luke Kunin and Nico Sturm before the deadline. Those departures leave two holes for bottom-six centerman that could land Ostapchuk north of 15 minutes a night. His six-foot-four, 210-pound frame should take well to the hard-nosed and physical role that Kunin leaves behind.

San Jose could fill their other center vacancy with Gregor, who has spent the entire season on the NHL lineup. Gregor has six points, 17 penalty minutes, and a minus-two in 40 games with the Senators this year. It’s a slight downtick in scoring after he managed 12 points, split evenly, in 63 games with the Toronto Maple Leafs last year. This will be a reunion tour for the 26-year-old centerman, who was initially drafted in the fourth round of the 2016 NHL Draft by San Jose. He debuted with the Sharks three years later and quickly found a rut as a fourth-liner. Gregor totaled 26 goals and 51 points in 178 games with the Sharks across his first tenure with the club. That includes his career-high eight goals and 23 points scored in 63 games of the 2021-22 campaign. San Jose will hope Gregor can return to those numbers this year as they look to back their young core with a stout veteran presence.

Headed back to Ottawa is speedy winger Robins, who hasn’t found his stride in the minor leagues yet. He has seven goals and 18 points in 41 AHL games this season, the same stat line he posted in 42 AHL games last year. Robins was more effective in 2022-23 when he potted 17 goals and 38 points in 64 AHL games and earned the first three NHL games of his career. The five-foot-10, 175-pound forward was once a popular name across the WHL, where he totaled 200 points in 212 games and five seasons with the Saskatoon Blades. He has scoring upside but needs to find his footing at the AHL level and his physicality at the NHL level. Should Ottawa find a way to tap into that upside, Robins could be a lucrative addition to a deal focused on the swap of Zetterlund and Ostapchuk.

PHR’s Gabriel Foley contributed to this article.