I don't think the Senators will want to move Thomson because he has moved ahead of JBD, and outside of Sanderson who will be in the NHL this season, they have no real defensive prospects coming up on their ELCs (especially right handed) other than Thomson. It wouldn't be a value thing, but a positional need thing.

I also think Zaitsev needs to be part of the deal, because the Senators need to get out of his contract if they add another player. Given his bonus was paid for, he only makes 2.5M this year, but makes 4.5M next year. He is a good fit for Arizona, since he can take top pairing minutes and shelter their younger defenseman. If he is bad at it, it is almost a plus for them, since they are tanking after all.

I think the divide in opinion is that the Senators are going to look at the star players moved this off season, and come to the conclusion that a higher or mid 1st and a few other B/C pieces is where the market is at (Fiala and Debrincat returns). Arizona will likely look at the Seth Jones trade last year, where Jones got a ridiculous return, and base it off that. It wouldn't surprise me if Arizona's ask at the draft was something like 7th overall, 2023 1st, and a prospect of their choice not named Sanderson like Pinto or Greig.

While there has been no real noise about Chychrun being unhappy, I can't imagine he will be down for staying in Arizona while his name is in trade rumors for 2 years straight. At some point, teams need to take the best offer and move on. It is rare that we see something like Sakic did with Duchene, where the player is shopped for a year and a half before something finally happens.

Maybe it could be a protected 2023 1st, 2024 2nd, Brannstrom, Formenton, Zaitsev for Chychrun. Marino isn't Chychrun, but he just went for Ty Smith and a 3rd. Given how much Smith struggled last year, Brannstrom is a fair equivalent. They both have high pedigrees as recent first round picks, but outside of having strong first years as pros, they have failed to become good everyday NHL defenseman at this point. So is Formenton and a 2023 1st enough of a difference between Marino and Chychrun?