Edited Apr. 14 at 10:59 p.m.
Re-tool for each team if Florida wins the Cup, trade done on July 1st or shortly thereafter, sign-and-trade scenario for Ekblad and Verhaeghe, who relish the chance to take the Sens to the next level (since they just won the Cup they'll be OK with the move - you'll have to assume) around a core of Sanderson, Chabot, Ekblad, Stutzle, Pinto and Greig. The Panthers get a tad younger while the Sens acquire seasoned playoff veterans in Aaron and Carter. They swap goaltenders, Sogaard taking perhaps another year in the AHL or backing up Bobrovsky for 2024-25. Knight, I believe, has a higher ceiling still, perhaps, than Sogaard, and will take over the crease for Ottawa when he is ready. He can still be kept in the AHL without going through waivers, if the Sens feel he needs a bit more time there to round into form after so much time off the last few years.
Italicized names are RFA's or UFA's that need contracts for 2024-25.
Ott:
Korpisalo - Forsberg/Knight
Sanderson - Ekblad
Chabot - Zub
Kleven/
Brannstrom - Bernard-Docker/Hamonic
Verhaeghe - Stutzle - Batherson
Greig - Pinto (RFA) - Giroux
TBD - Norris - Joseph
Kelly (RFA) - Kastelic - MacEwen
Fla:
Bobrovsky -
Stolarz/Sogaard (RFA)
Forsling -
Montour
Mikkola - Chychrun
Ekman-Larsson - Balinskis/Bjornfot
Rodrigues - Barkov -
Reinhart
B. Tkachuk - Bennett - M. Tkachuk
Luostarinen -
Lundell - Samoskevich
TBD - TBD - Sourdif
Florida's "second" line would be an absolute nightmare to play against. Ekblad provides the Sens with the elite right shot D they need.