Senators Trade Duchene to Blue Jackets

The Ottawa Senators have reportedly traded Matt Duchene and Julius Bergman to the Columbus Blue Jackets for Vitali Abramov, Jonathan Davidsson a 2019 first-round draft pick and a conditional 2020 first-round draft pick.

The Senators and Blue Jackets play each other in Ottawa tonight, so Duchene is expected to walk into the other dressing room and make his Blue Jackets debut against the team that traded him seven hours earlier. The condition is contingent on Duchene re-signing with the Blue Jackets. If he does, the Senators will receive two first round picks and the two of the Blue Jackets’ top-3 prospects.

To Columbus:

With 27 goals and 31 assists in 50 games, Duchene was well on his way to a career year with the Senators. Today marks the second time in as many seasons that Duchene has been traded. The former no.3-overall pick from the 2009 NHL Entry Draft produced at an elite rate over parts of two seasons in Ottawa. The Senators were unable to extend Duchene after infamously giving up their 2019 first-round pick to acquire him last season, but it’s been suggested Duchene is open to signing with Columbus long-term. He provides a massive boost offensively to a Blue Jackets team that’s been far too reliant on its first line.

Bergman is a right-handed shooting defenseman with no goals and six assists in 33 games for the Belleville Senators (AHL) this season. He was originally drafted no.46-overall by the San Jose Sharks in 2014 and was acquired as part of the Mike Hoffman trade on June 19. Bergman has 16 goals and 45 assists in 223 career AHL games.

To Ottawa:

Entering the season, Abramov was considered the Blue Jackets’ top prospect after being selected in the third-round (No.65 overall) in 2016. The 20-year-old winger is undersized (5-foot-9, 171 lbs) but makes up for it with fantastic hands and elusiveness. The Russian has tallied 12 goals and 10 assists (22 points) in 52 games in his first full AHL season.

Davidsson was a sixth-round pick in 2017 (No.170 overall) but quickly rose up the Blue Jackets’ prospect list after a great 2017-18 season in Sweden, where he scored 10 goals with 21 assists (31 point) as a 20-year-old. He is having a similar season with Djurgårdens IF this year, scoring 10 goals with 10 assists (20 points) through 35 games. Like Abramov, Davidsson is on the smaller side (5-foot-11, 185 lbs) but plays with a lot of pace and is a quality playmaker.