Report: Senators likely to trade Connor Brown to Oilers

Brown was Connor McDavid’s teammate on the Erie Otters of the OHL back in 2012-13 and 2013-14. The Toronto Maple Leafs selected Brown in the sixth round of the 2012 NHL Draft, and he made his NHL debut with the club three years later.

Brown established himself as a quality middle-six forward while in Toronto and got traded to Ottawa in July of 2019 as part of a deal that sent Nikita Zaitsev to the Senators and Cody Ceci to the Maple Leafs.

In three seasons with the Senators, Brown scored 47 goals and 117 points over the course of 191 games. He’s entering the final season of a three-year contract worth $3.6 million annually signed back in October of 2020.

The addition of Brown will further fuel the speculation that the Oilers will be moving on from Jesse Puljujarvi this summer. The No. 4 overall pick from the 2016 NHL Draft reportedly asked for a change of scenery earlier this summer and Brown can replace him on the team’s right side.

For Ottawa, this deal opens up wiggle room for them to make a splash in free agency. The word is that veteran Claude Giroux will be signing with the Senators on Wednesday.