The Senators aren’t alone in their pursuit of Calgary defenceman Chris Tanev

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The competition is stiff for defenceman Chris Tanev with the NHL trade deadline approaching.

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While the Ottawa Senators have genuine interest in the 34-year-old Tanev with the deadline set for March 8 at 3 p.m., league sources say as many as 10 teams have reached out to Calgary Flames general manager Craig Conroy, including the Toronto Maple Leafs.

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There aren’t many right-shot defencemen on the market, and that’s why several teams covet Tanev. The Los Angeles Kings and Vancouver Canucks are also looking for help on the back end, and talk is they’ve dipped their toe into the water on the cagey veteran as well.

Steve Staios, the Senators’ president of hockey operations and general manager, told reporters at his midseason availability last Thursday that he wants to bring in more pros who can help.

“The long-term vision is extremely important to keep an eye on here with our group. You can’t have enough leadership and experience. I think that’s certainly an area that I’d like to look at,” Staios said last week.

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We’re led to believe Staios has been aggressive to try to make changes since taking over the full-time GM duties on Jan. 1. Those who aren’t pleased the club hasn’t made any moves with the roster should know that it’s not for a lack of trying on Staios’ part.

This club is built around its core, including Brady Tkachuk, Tim Stutzle, Drake Batherson, Josh Norris, Shane Pinto, Ridly Greig, Thomas Chabot and Jake Sanderson, but needs players like alternate captain Claude Giroux who can help this group get to the next level.

Tanev, an unrestricted free agent on July 1 who is making $4.5 million U.S. this season, has been on the market all season and the only other top-end, right-shot defenceman available is Brett Pesce of the Carolina Hurricanes.

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By all accounts, Tanev is a great pro, a leader in the Calgary room, and he has been able to carve out a 14-year career because he’s strong defensively and he makes the simple plays to get the job done.

Would Tanev be a fit for the Senators and help to take some of the pressure off the young players? Of course he would.

But Tanev’s a coveted player at this year’s deadline with a 10-team no trade list. It’s not known if the Senators are on that list, but if Ottawa wants to acquire him, then the club would have to sign him to an extension.

League executives say the asking price for Tanev is at least a first-round pick, plus a prospect. We’re led to believe Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Brad Treliving, who signed Tanev while with the Flames, had made him the club’s No. 1 target and will pay a higher price in a trade.

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“Treliving loves the player,” a league executive said Tuesday.

It might make sense for the Senators to see if they can get Tanev in free agency if they can’t make a trade now. As they prepare to face the Detroit Red Wings on Wednesday in the final game before a nine-day break, the Senators are 17 points out of the final wild-card spot in the East.

Staios is keeping his options open. He didn’t draft or develop any of these players and neither did senior VP Dave Poulin, so the management here has zero ties to these prospects.

The Senators did make one move by putting centre Rourke Chartier on waivers. If he clears at 2 p.m. Wednesday, he will be sent to the club’s American Hockey League affiliate in Belleville during the break.

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Chartier is on a two-way deal that pays him $300,000 in the minors, and this gets his $775,000 salary off the books. This could be happening to begin clearing cap space so goalie Anton Forsberg can return from his groin injury after the break and Mads Sogaard can be sent down after this game.

An NHL executive said Tuesday he could envision a scenario with the Senators where the likes of Belleville blueliner Lassi Thomson, along with forwards Egor Sokolov and Cole Reinhardt, are dealt before the deadline.

Thomson, 23, a first-round pick in the 2019 NHL draft, has been with the club for four years and has only played 18 NHL games. It may be time for a change of scenery for both sides.

“There comes a point where you just decide you need to move on from a player, and maybe you take a look at a guy that you’ve liked in another organization,” the executive said.

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One player on the Ottawa roster who could be on the move is Mark Kastelic.

He’s been scratched in three of the club’s last five games. If the Senators can’t make a deal involving Kastelic, then it’s possible he gets waived to see if anybody is willing to bring him in for depth.

Kastelic is in the first season of a two-year deal that pays him an average annual salary of $835,000 U.S. He’s averaged only seven minutes and 12 seconds per game in the 29 games he’s suited up this season.

If it sounds like there’s a lot of moving parts, there are, and Staios is leaving no stone unturned in his search to make this roster better.

BGarrioch@postmedia.com

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