On the opening day of free agency last summer, the Senators decided to bring in some veteran depth down the middle when they signed Lars Eller to a one-year deal. However, it appears that they won’t be bringing him back for a second season as Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch reports that Ottawa is expected to move on from the pending unrestricted free agent.
The 37-year-old was a very reliable two-way middle-six center in his prime, having some success in that role during long stints with Montreal and Washington. Even his first year in Pittsburgh in 2023-24 saw him surpass the 30-point mark before becoming more of a fourth liner in the second season of that contract, one that ultimately saw him get moved back to the Caps.
That was the role that Eller ultimately played for Ottawa this season. He suited up in 68 games for the Sens this season, notching five goals and ten assists while logging just 11:27 per game of ice time, his lowest ATOI since his rookie season with Montreal back in 2010-11. That role was further reduced in their first-round sweep at the hands of Carolina, as Eller played under nine minutes per contest in that series.
With Stephen Halliday emerging as a viable fourth-line option in his stints with Ottawa this season, the writing on the wall became a lot clearer for Eller’s future when Halliday inked a two-year deal earlier this week. Halliday will now become a full-timer on that line, taking the spot that was Eller’s at the beginning of the season.
Eller is a veteran of 1,184 career regular season games over parts of 17 years. He should have a chance to extend that to 18 seasons but after playing on a deal that ultimately netted him $2MM after factoring in achieved performance bonuses, he’ll likely need to cut that price tag in half for 2026-27.
Stevie Y is on the case
The Toronto Maple Leafs are kicking the tires on Eller.