If a report by the Ottawa Sun’s Bruce Garrioch is accurate, as many as 15 teams could be interested in forward Jean-Gabriel Pageau of the Ottawa Senators.
A center having a career season, Pageau has been mentioned in trade rumors for weeks and Garrioch suggests there’s more than a little interest. Suggesting that if the Senators decide to put the center officially on the market before the NHL Trade Deadline, any and every competitive team is ready to pick up the phone. He writes:
“… a couple of league executives suggested Saturday that “every team” involved in the hunt for a playoff spot will make a call to Ottawa GM Pierre Dorion about the slick 27-year-old who will be a UFA on July 1.”
That’s a huge market for the Senators who are also rumored as interested in retaining Pageau but may find the offers too good to pass up.
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Pageau’s Production vs Market Value
Garrioch noted Pageau’s production is in a place that gives the Senators a variety of options, the most unfortunate of which would be overpaying Pageau to stick in Ottawa. There’s an appetite to keep him, but the Sens would likely only do so if it was at a fair value and didn’t hurt the chances or numbers attached to a player like Brady Thachuk.
Instead, Ottawa will field offers from as many as 15 different clubs, specifically the Pittsburgh Penguins, Calgary Flames, Boston Bruins, Edmonton Oilers, Winnipeg Jets and Colorado Avalanche, all of whom are rumored to be interested. Meanwhile, the Senators will hold contract discussions with Pageau before making a decision on selling him to the highest bidder.
For Ottawa, a team likely to be sellers are this year’s deadline, this is a great scenario to be in. They hold all the cards and have more than just Pageau available. Garrioch says, “There are a lot of teams keeping one eye on Ottawa right now because Dorion has plenty of pieces than can help a contender.”
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