Anton Forsberg seems unlikely to be traded prior to the deadline, Senators general manager Pierre Dorion said Friday.
The goalie, who can become an unrestricted free agent after the season, is 13-10-2 with a 2.70 goals-against average and .921 save percentage in 28 games (26 starts).
Ottawa (21-31-5) is sixth in the Atlantic Division.
"We still have to field a competitive team from now until the end of the year, and to move a player of [Forsberg's] status for whatever the return might be might not be beneficial for us," Dorion said.
The Senators will rely on Forsberg with Matt Murray out with an upper-body injury. Murray hasn't played since a collision in the crease against the Arizona Coyotes on March 5.
"Won't be back for a little while," Dorion said. "We're going to make sure that Matt is at 100 percent when he gets back in the net."
Murray has been sidelined with numerous injuries this season. He is 5-12-2 with a 3.05 goals-against average and .906 save percentage in 20 games.
Forsberg has started the past three games for Ottawa, allowing six goals, and will start against the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday (7 p.m. ET; CITY, SNO, TVA2, NBCSCH, ESPN+, NHL LIVE).
"I'm not going to talk about specifics on players about who attracts attention on the trade market," Dorion said. "The one thing I will tell you is, my phone has not been ringing off the hook. But Anton's play has been great. Any time that he's been asked to fill in since we picked him up on waivers (March 17, 2021), I think he's delivered."
Defenseman Josh Brown, and forwards Tyler Ennis, Nicholas Paul and Zach Sanford also can each become an unrestricted free agent (UFA) after the season.
"On some pending UFAs, we've talked to a couple of those agents," Dorion said. "Those players know that we'd like them to be part of our group if it makes sense, and we're working on possible deals. But we're not going to say much more than that."