Duchene to sign back with Ottawa this summer after getting traded to Columbus?!

The Ottawa Senators didn't want to lose forward Matt Duchene for nothing. It explains why earlier today the Senators traded Duchene and defenseman  Julius Bergman to the Jackets for forward prospects Vitaly Abramov  and Jonathan Davidsson, a 2019 first-round pick and a conditional 2020 first-round pick.

"Our desire was to have Matt be part of this (rebuild) and as such we approached him with a fair and comprehensive contract offer to remain a Senator for the long term," GM Pierre Dorion said in a club-issued statement.

"As soon as it was determined that he did not want to be part of our rebuild, we shifted our focus to see what assets we could acquire in exchange for Matt that would help grow our pipeline of potential," Dorian added. 

However, Elliotte Friedman isn't sure that it is the end of the story of Duchene in Ottawa. Before pulling the trigger on the trade, the Senators first sought to sign Duchene to an extension. Friedman had a Friday afternoon radio hit on Edmonton’s 630 CHED and explained that Duchene could come back to the Senators' offer this summer as a free agent. 

“I think Duchene’s off-season is going to be really interesting,” asserted Friedman. “Because I think a lot of people think he wants to play in Nashville. I don’t think that Nashville was willing to do this unless they knew they could extend him. I think that’s what they really wanted.

“Quietly, I think there’s a belief in the Ottawa area that they are not out of the running for getting him back. He knows what their offer is - it’s around 8x8.

“I think it’s going to be interesting to see what the second half of the Matt Duchene chapter here is going to be.”

Duchene is in the final season of a five-year, $30 million contract, and will be eligible to become an unrestricted free agent July 1. He could cash in on a much bigger deal, however, if he does not find better than what the Sens have offered, he could circle back to Ottawa...