Pageau, Duclair success clouds picture

This wasn’t supposed to be so complicated.

Rebuild, lose a bunch of games, play the kids and trade any or all of the veteran assets you hold.

That was the intended plan, as far as we know.

But Anthony Duclair and Jean-Gabriel Pageau spoiled it.

Here’s the deal: At the start of the Ottawa Senators’ season the likelihood of veterans Duclair and Pageau getting swapped near or at the NHL’s trade deadline was very likely indeed.

The conundrum now though is, do you really need or want to do it?

In Duclair’s case, he is absolutely sizzling; playing the absolute best hockey of his career. Quite a surprise given he was more or less a throw-in on the Ryan Dzingel-to-Columbus trade last season (The Senators collected a pair of second-round picks as well).

The Blue Jackets – read: coach John Tortorella – didn’t want him. Duclair was tagged as lazy and inconsistent and had zippo hockey sense. The trade to Ottawa meant Duclair was playing for his fifth team in five years. The thought was that Ottawa would hold on to him for the time being then get what it could at this year’s deadline.

Last summer, Ottawa signed the winger to a one-year deal. This coming summer the 24-year-old becomes a restricted free agent with those all-important arbitration rights.

This winter?

Duclair has proven himself to be somewhat indispensable.

“He’s getting a lot more opportunity here,” Ottawa head coach D.J. Smith told Postmedia.

“He’s proven that he continues to score and when you need goals Duke’s the guy you go to. What I’ve liked about him is his work ethic has seriously improved, he’s very responsive, he’s a good teammate, he’s a team-first guy. It’s great when a guy like him has success because other guys pull for him.”

How do you get rid of a guy like that?

Yes, we understand we’re in full rebuild mode here but you’re not going to field a team of Bantam stars and hope to create something positive.

Duclair is still quite young and could be a major part of that reconstruct.

Following Saturday afternoon’s three-goal performance against, gulp, Tortorella’s Blue Jackets, Duclair moved into the team lead in goals (18) and points (25), in 33 games played.

Yup, he passed some other guy for the top.

That other guy?

J-G Pageau.

To say Pageau is having a career year is obvious.

Again, the thinking around these parts was to parcel Pageau off at the deadline and pick up more building blocks. He’s a hot ticket right now and one of the league’s more complete players – speed, scoring, checking, penalty kill and faceoffs, Pageau has it all going for him.

His 16 goals are second to Duclair’s tally total.

This summer, Pageau becomes even more of a challenge (potentially) for Ottawa. He morphs into an unrestricted free agent on July 1.

But we go back to our original argument that ‘some’ veteran presence is required down the road.

Pageau is far from archaic, he’s 27.

He also should be Ottawa’s next captain.

The thinking has changed quite a bit since September and October this past fall. Hanging onto assets like Pageau and Duclair makes a tonne of sense for a team – that yes is in a rebuild – but certainly needs quality seasoned skaters to carve the right path.

NEWS, NOTES AND NOTIONS: Drew Doughty of the LA Kings is one refreshing voice among the robots in the NHL. He doesn’t talk in clichés and he generally holds an opinion. Like this past week when the subject of fighting came up: “It can’t make its way out of the league. We need fighting. I know people don’t like it, some of you, but then you’re just going to have all those meatheads running around, little guys being rats out there, and that’s just the way it’s going to go.” Disagree or agree, it’s nice to hear an opinion for a change . . . Why do I get the feeling that if Lou Lamoriello was still running the Leafs they wouldn’t find themselves three points out of a playoff placing. FYI – Lamoriello’s Islanders sit third in the Eastern Conference . . . Ottawa is now tied with Chicago and Columbus for the fourth worst record in the league. The Senators play lately would suggest they could move even further up the standings by season’s end. This is not necessarily a good thing . . . Detroit has won two straight and the Wings still sit at the bottom, four points back of New Jersey.

The week ahead for the Senators:

Monday, Dec. 16: Ottawa at Florida (7 pm)

Tuesday, Dec. 17: Ottawa at Tampa (7 pm)

Thursday, Dec. 19: Nashville at Ottawa (7:30 pm)

Saturday, Dec. 21: Philadelphia at Ottawa (7 pm)

PHOTO: Courtesy NHLI via Getty Images