Ottawa Senators focus on task at hand as trade deadline approaches

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Ignore the talk.

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While all was quiet at the Canadian Tire Centre on Friday as the Ottawa Senators dispensed with a skate and opted for an off-ice workout, the National Hockey League trade deadline set for March 8 at 3 p.m. EST is only going to increase the volume in the coming days.

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The chatter surrounding the future of some Senators has already been high, but it’s only going to increase with the deadline less than two weeks away and time is running out for the playoff contenders to determine what they want to add before the final buzzer sounds to make trades.

This will be the first deadline for Steve Staios, the club’s president of hockey operations and general manager, and given the fact he and senior VP Dave Poulin have no ties with any of the players on this roster, almost anything is possible.

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There are untouchables, but league executives have told Postmedia that the Senators are “open for business.”

Staios has been aggressive in his pursuit of players who can help this team make the next step while also listening to get an idea of the value of some players.

Most of the discussion surrounds winger Vladimir Tarasenko, an unrestricted free agent on July 1 with a full no-trade clause because the belief is at least four or five teams have expressed some form of interest in bringing him to help with a run in the playoffs.

Captain Brady Tkachuk, who isn’t going anywhere, noted Friday that the focus has to be on preparing to face the Vegas Golden Knights on Saturday at home after the club scored a 4-1 victory over the Dallas Stars Thursday.

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“(The trade deadline) is only a distraction,” Tkachuk said Friday. “We can only control what we can control. That’s out individual work, our commitment and stuff like that.

“All that noise and nonsense is just something that we can’t listen to and we just have to focus on the task at hand. That’s a big game (Saturday) night.”

The management group in Ottawa is under the microscope because since Staios took the reins, he has stated he’d like to make changes to the roster. The Senators are ranked No. 28 overall in the league and need to make upgrades to get back to the post-season.

Staios has made it clear he’d like to add some good pros that can help with the leadership in the dressing room. That doesn’t necessarily have to be a veteran player, but he’d like to help take some of the pressure of the likes of Tkachuk, Thomas Chabot and Claude Giroux to carry the ball.

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If help does arrive then Tkachuk would gladly welcome that aspect.

“Absolutely, I think whenever you can add to the group and, of course, for me that would be huge just to have another voice and stuff like that,” he said. “Whatever happens, happens. At the end of the day, all I can control is my work, practice, games and make sure I’m ready to go when the puck drops.”

The Senators are 14 points behind the Tampa Bay Lightning for the final wild-card spot in the East with 28 games left. The issue is there are six teams between the Senators and the Bolts, so the club would need a miraculous run to make the playoffs.

But this group will play seven games before the deadline. They can give the likes of owner Michael Andlauer, Staios, Poulin, associate general manager Ryan Bowness and the rest of the hockey operations staff pause for thought at making changes by having consistent success.

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For that to happen, it will require more efforts like the one the Senators had against the Stars.

Tkachuk isn’t about to throw in the towel on a playoff spot, either.

“There’s still a lot of time and a lot of runway left,” Tkachuk said. “If we play the way we did (Thursday), keep building and keep improving, then the sky is the limit for us and we have an opportunity to prove a lot of people wrong.”

WOUNDED KNIGHTS

The Knights won’t have captain Mark Stone on Saturday.

He’s listed as week-to-week with an undisclosed upper body injury, but the former Senators winger isn’t about to return anytime soon.

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“I don’t have an update on his return date. The medical team will update us as we go along,” Vegas coach Bruce Cassidy said before the club dropped a 7-3 decision to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday at home. “We’re going to miss (Stone) but we’ve got to focus on the task at hand.”

Tkachuk, who lived with Stone in his rookie season with the Senators, was looking forward to facing his old friend. The rink will be close to full with the club stating Friday there are only limited tickets available.

“Everybody knows how much he means to me. You never like to see that type of injury. I’ve been talking to him and I wish I could have seen him today and spent some time (together) but I just want him to be healthy and ready to go for when it matters most in mid-April,” Tkachuk said.

The Knights are shorthanded at the moment.

The club is without centre Jack Eichel, who hasn’t played since he suffered a lower-body injury on Jan. 11. He’s making the trip with Vegas, but isn’t expected to suit up in this game.

bgarrioch@postmedia.com

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