Senators ready to make more moves before Trade Deadline

OTTAWA -- A four-player trade with the Los Angeles Kings was just the beginning of what should be a busy time for the Ottawa Senators heading into the NHL Trade Deadline, general manager Pierre Dorion said Wednesday.
The Senators acquired forwards Marian Gaborik and Nicholas Shore from the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday for defenseman Dion Phaneuf and forward Nate Thompson.

"We're going to be doing a lot of things," Dorion said. "We're going to be doing a lot of things to make sure we can field as competitive a team as we can. Whether it's in the near future or whatever future you want to look at, but this is an exciting time, I think for our fans, because we know we're going to do some good things, for the organization we'll do some good things. And we're looking forward to it."
Dorion said he talked with nine general managers Wednesday before meeting with the media. The deadline is Feb. 26 at 3 p.m. ET.
RELATED: [Phaneuf traded to Kings by Senators for Gaborik, Shore]
"We're going to make good hockey deals," said Dorion, who signed a three-year contract extension through the 2021-22 season Friday. "I think we have two players that are pending [unrestricted free agents], (defenseman) Johnny Oduya and (forward) Magnus Paajarvi. We're going to make good hockey deals if we make hockey deals and I think 30 of my counterparts know that."
The plan for Ottawa is to get younger and faster in time for next season, and though the recent trade doesn't drastically alter their average age -- Shore is 25, Gaborik is 36 -- Dorion intends on moving in that direction. The Senators are 16 points behind the Carolina Hurricanes for a wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference.

"We traded a 32- and a 33-year-old, and at the same time, we feel that what I said last week is definitely part of the plan," Dorion said. "But we're not going to talk about all the specifics that apply.
"Obviously, we'd like to compete for the playoffs next year, there's no doubt about that. But at the same time, we want to have a team here that will be able to compete every year for the playoffs."
The Senators retained 25 percent of Phaneuf's salary in the trade, but as a whole, the deal saved them $5.5 million in cash and opened up some NHL salary cap space for next season. This could help when it comes time to sign defenseman Erik Karlsson, whose contract expires after the 2018-19 season.
"Today is not about Erik," Dorion said. "Our first and foremost priority is to sign Erik Karlsson."
Gaborik and Shore will make their debut for Ottawa on Thursday when the Senators host the Buffalo Sabres (7:30 p.m. ET; RDS2, TSN5, MSG-B, NHL.TV). Gaborik had 14 points (seven goals, seven assists) in 30 games for the Kings this season after returning from knee surgery; Shore had 15 points (four goals, 11 assists) in 49 games.
"We scouted [Gaborik] quite a bit this year," Dorion said. "He really had some good times after he came back from his injury. He skated really well. I know he hadn't played as much lately, but all I know is him and Nick are playing tomorrow and I don't think that we should jump to any conclusions."

Gaborik will wear No. 12 and Shore will wear No. 23 for the Senators.
"Our scouts had a lot of good things," Dorion said of Shore. "We've been following L.A. for the last little while. He's a really dependable player. He plays both ends of the rink, decent skater, good hockey sense. He's a good third- or fourth-line player."