The Ottawa Senators have gotten some offseason work done early, signing center Stephen Halliday to a two-year extension with a $1.075MM AAV.
Halliday, who is repped by Kevin Magnuson of Magnuson Hockey Agency, was set to become a restricted free agent this summer.
The two-year entry-level contract Halliday signed in March of 2024, one that confirmed his exit from Ohio State University, was set to expire July 1.
Halliday, 23, has been a real draft-and-develop success story for the Senators. He was picked in the fourth round of the 2022 draft in his final year of eligibility, after he scored 35 goals and 95 points in 65 games for the USHL’s Dubuque Fighting Saints. He was an instant-impact contributor for the Buckeyes, leading the team in scoring both seasons he played there. Halliday ended his college career with 77 points in 78 games played.
Since turning pro, Halliday has made real strides in his two seasons in the Senators organization. He signed with the AHL’s Belleville Senators at the conclusion of his sophomore NCAA campaign, and ended up scoring nine points in seven playoff games. That set the stage for his AHL rookie season, where he scored 19 goals and 51 points in 71 games.
That performance as an AHL rookie raised Halliday’s stock in the organization. He entered 2025-26 ranked as the No. 7 prospect in Ottawa’s system by Elite Prospects. The outlet projected him as a potential “top-nine playmaking power forward” at the NHL level if he could improve his “skating, pace, and inside-contact play.”
Halliday showed real flashes of that kind of upside this past season. He continued his strong track record as a scorer in the AHL, putting up a point-per-game scoring pace. But he was limited to just 29 games in Belleville because of NHL call-ups, and he ended up getting into 30 games for Ottawa.
Despite a severely restricted workload, (he averaged just 6:34 per game at even strength and had an additional 1:55 per game on the power play) Halliday managed four goals and 11 points. His performances suggested some promise, that there could be more to come down the line if he can continue to develop. Now, with a two-year extension in hand, Halliday will get the chance to turn that promise into reality.
Photos courtesy of Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images