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Maple Leafs Activate Joseph Woll, Recall Easton Cowan

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The Maple Leafs announced they’ve activated goaltender Joseph Woll from long-term injured reserve and also recalled top prospect Easton Cowan from AHL Toronto. In a pair of corresponding transactions, they returned goaltender Artur Akhtyamov to the AHL and placed captain Auston Matthews on injured reserve. Toronto wasn’t dipping into its LTIR pool, so creating cap space wasn’t an issue regarding Woll’s activation.

While Woll has been activated from LTIR, they haven’t yet specified whether he’s been recalled from the conditioning stint that has had him suiting up in the minors for the last week. If they do summon him, he could be in line for his first start of the season tomorrow against the Blackhawks. The 27-year-old netminder departed the team in the first few days of training camp for personal reasons and was away for over a month before beginning the return-to-play process in late October. He got in a few practices before being assigned to the Marlies on a conditioning stint to get into game action. In his first minor-league showing in two years, he logged a .885 SV% and 3.72 GAA with a 0-1-1 record in two starts.

The Leafs hope Woll can provide better numbers in his return than what he showed in that small AHL sample. Toronto’s crease has been a mess after churning out some of the league’s best goaltending in 2024-25. Starter Anthony Stolarz, who was overworked in Woll’s absence and is now day-to-day with an upper-body injury, has struggled to the tune of an .884 SV% and has allowed 5.3 goals above expected in 13 starts, per MoneyPuck. The team claimed Cayden Primeau off waivers from the Hurricanes at the beginning of the season to serve as Stolarz’s backup in Woll’s absence, but he faltered with an. 838 SV% and allowed a whopping 6.8 goals above expected in just three starts before being waived again and re-claimed by Carolina.

Third-stringer Dennis Hildeby has been forced into action in the past several days with Primeau’s loss and Stolarz’s injury, and he’s been the best of the bunch. Despite a 0-2-1 record in two starts and two relief appearances, he’s logged a highly respectable .904 SV% behind a lapsing defense and has stopped 1.6 goals above expected.

Until Stolarz’s short-term absence comes to an end, it looks to be Hildeby’s and Woll’s crease. While injuries and other long-term absences have been a consistent hindering factor for the once-promising prospect, Woll has performed at a legitimate starter’s level when given the runway. He started a career-high 41 games last year in what was his second season as a full-time NHLer, rattling off a 27-14-1 record with a .909 SV% and 2.73 GAA. He wasn’t on the level of Stolarz’s league-leading .926 SV%, but still ranked 11th in the NHL with 16.8 goals saved above expected.

Getting top-15 play out of Woll again won’t be a permanent fix to the Leafs’ league-worst 3.83 goals against per game, but it should stop the bleeding enough to give them a chance to get themselves back into the playoff conversation. Now on a four-game winless streak, the reigning Atlantic Division champions are second-last in the division with an 8-8-2 record.

As for Akhtyamov, he’d been recalled to serve as Hildeby’s backup for last night’s overtime loss to the Kings. He promptly returns to the minors, where he has a .894 SV% in six games, in place of Woll.

Goaltending isn’t the only position the Leafs are shaking up today, though. Cowan, the team’s first-round pick in 2023, will be getting his second call-up of the season after essentially spending the first month of the campaign on the active roster. The 20-year-old winger got reps in top-line minutes with Matthew Knies and Auston Matthews, but also spent a good chunk of time on the third line with Dakota Joshua and Nicolas Roy. With Matthews out for the time being, it’s unclear where he’ll slot in this time around.

Cowan is in his first pro season after starring in back-to-back OHL title runs for the London Knights. He averaged 12:33 of ice time through his first 10 NHL games and was noticeably involved, rattling off 15 shots on goal on 30 attempts. That only resulted in one goal and three assists, but more production will inevitably come with that kind of chance generation. He’s also managed an assist in two AHL games since being reassigned earlier in the month.

Matthews’ IR placement is simply a formality for roster juggling purposes. He’s already been ruled day-to-day with a lower-body issue and was expected to miss about a week after leaving Tuesday’s loss to the Bruins. The seven-day minimum doesn’t affect his return timeline in a meaningful way, aside from being officially ruled out for another two games. He could return next Thursday against the Blue Jackets.

Marco Rossi Expected To Miss Time With Lower-Body Injury

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Wild top-line pivot Marco Rossi will miss at least the team’s next few games – potentially longer – with a lower-body injury, Michael Russo of The Athletic reports Friday. Minnesota will be down to the bare minimum of 12 forwards if he’s not available, and they don’t have an open roster spot. Hence, an injured reserve placement is likely to permit the recall of a forward from AHL Iowa.

It’s unexpected news after Rossi made his last appearance, an overtime loss to the Sharks on Tuesday, in full without incident. He missed one game in October due to a lower-body issue. Russo reports that he’s not fully healed from that injury and will need a more extended break to get back to 100 percent.

The 24-year-old has remained the centerpiece of Minnesota’s top line this season with Kirill Kaprizov after a tumultuous summer. He was involved in a drawn-out round of contract negotiations after reaching restricted free agency, and early in the summer, it seemed likelier than not that he’d be dealt away. No trade materialized, though, and he returned to the Wild on a three-year, $15MM bridge deal in late August to avoid being a training camp holdout.

While the Wild didn’t have the best October, Rossi was on a roll. He took the absence of his other routine wingman, Mats Zuccarello, in stride and rattled off 11 points (two goals, nine assists) through his first 11 games. However, he’s only managed two goals in six games since the calendar turned to November and has just one point in his last five. With Zuccarello now back in the fold and registering two assists through his first three games of the season, he and Kaprizov will be centered by Joel Eriksson Ek for the foreseeable future as Rossi exits the lineup.

There’s no timeline yet for Rossi’s return, but he’s expected to be out long enough to intensify the Wild’s documented pursuit of a middle-six forward. Picking up a depth center if one hits waivers might also be a stopgap possibility to keep veterans Ben Jones and Tyler Pitlick, neither of whom has recorded a point this season in a combined 15 appearances, out of a regular spot in Rossi’s absence.

As Russo writes, it’s 2022 first-rounder Danila Yurov who stands with the most to gain while Rossi rehabs. The 21-year-old rookie has just two goals with a -5 rating through his first 13 NHL games, but that’s to be expected given his fourth-line deployment and lack of special teams usage. Yurov has averaged 9:51 of ice time per game and is starting just 36.2% of his even-strength shifts in the offensive zone. He’s spent most of his time centering Marcus Foligno and Yakov Trenin, who’ve combined for no goals and four assists this season. A promotion to top-nine duties is a far more suitable assignment for Yurov’s capabilities and should result in a significant increase in productivity.

Oilers To Activate Zach Hyman This Weekend

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There is light at the end of the tunnel for Zach Hyman. According to Edmonton Oilers reporter Tony Brar, the Oilers will activate Hyman this weekend, and he’ll make his season debut against the Carolina Hurricanes on Sunday.

It’s been a long time coming for Hyman. The former 54-goal scorer has been recovering from wrist surgery since Game 5 of the 2025 Western Conference Final and hasn’t appeared in an NHL contest since May 27th.

Despite having a relatively disappointing 2024-25 campaign, it’s safe to say that the Oilers have missed him dearly. Edmonton is tied for 22nd in even-strength goals through their first 18 games of the 2025-26 season, which is wholly unacceptable for a team with the ability to have Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl on the ice at the same time. Of the 81 goals that Hyman has scored over the last two years, 60 of them have been while the Oilers are at even strength.

Still, although Hyman will undoubtedly help Edmonton’s offensive struggles, he shouldn’t be considered a cure-all. The Oilers are 29th in goals against at even strength (42), something that Hyman won’t be able to help with too much. Even though Edmonton’s special teams have been solid to start the year, their even-strength play is why they’ve begun on an 8-6-4 record and are barely holding onto postseason positioning as we approach American Thanksgiving.

He’s a gritty winger and has proven to be a more than capable first-line winger, but Hyman doesn’t have the defensive prowess to really turn things around for the Oilers. There’s no questioning that the team is not one first-line winger away from winning the Stanley Cup, and will need to find a way to procure suitable goaltending before the end of the season if they want to have a realistic opportunity.

Avalanche Sign Scott Wedgewood To One-Year Extension

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2:03 p.m.: Wedgewood’s contract extension carries $1.9MM in base salary and a $600,000 signing bonus, PuckPedia reports.

12:22 p.m.: The Avalanche announced they’ve signed goaltender Scott Wedgewood to a one-year extension. The deal is worth $2.5MM, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports. He was ticketed for unrestricted free agency next July, but now delays that by another 12 months.

A career backup, Wedgewood has been forced into the starter’s role for Colorado to begin the year with Mackenzie Blackwood missing most of October with a lower-body injury. The 33-year-old has made it hard to justify giving the lion’s share of starts to Blackwood upon his return, though. He’s put together a league-best 10-1-2 record through 14 starts, accompanying that with a .913 SV% and 2.26 GAA. Even behind Colorado’s top-five defense, that’s good for six goals saved above expected to rank 14th in the league, per MoneyPuck.

It’s all the more impressive that his performance has come amid the most taxing workload of his eight-year NHL career by a significant margin. He’s started 14 of 17 games for the Avs, including five of seven since Blackwood was reinstated. He obviously won’t hit the 68 starts he’s on pace for, but he’ll still undoubtedly pass his previous career high of 32 starts and 37 appearances at this rate.

They aren’t expecting the veteran to be a long-term solution, particularly with Blackwood coming off a career year and him being signed through 2029-30 at a cap hit of $5.25MM. It’s still a worthy reward for one of the league’s more unheralded breakouts through the first several weeks. While Colorado’s elite two-way play so far has done most of the heavy lifting, Wedgewood has still given them significantly above-average netminding that’s likely helped them back a few extra points as they’ve rocketed off to an 11-1-5 start, the best in the league.

Colorado acquired Wedgewood from the Predators early last season in exchange for the promising but struggling Justus Annunen, as the Avs swapped out both of their opening-night goalies in separate deals before Christmas. He only got 18 starts behind Blackwood after the move but was exceptional with a 13-4-1 record, .917 SV%, and 1.99 GAA. The late bloomer is now on pace to post above-average save percentages in four of the last five seasons.

A third-round pick by the Devils back in 2010, Wedgewood debuted for them in the 2015-16 season but didn’t see NHL action again until a 20-game run with the Coyotes in 2017-18. He spent two more full seasons in the minors after that before working his way back into the bigs with New Jersey in 2020-21. He hasn’t seen the minors since, aside from a conditioning stint while he was Jake Oettinger’s backup in Dallas in 2022-23. His career numbers now read as a 72-55-26 record with eight shutouts, a 2.82 GAA, and a .907 SV% in 168 appearances.

It’s a $1MM raise over Wedgewood’s current $1.5MM cap hit, as he’s now in the back half of the two-year deal he signed with Nashville in free agency in 2024. He and Blackwood were already one of the more cost-effective goalie duos in the league this season at a combined price tag of $6.75MM, and $7.75MM for next season isn’t too bad, either. Colorado now has $91.25MM in commitments for 2026-27, affording them $12.75MM in projected cap space assuming a $104MM upper limit with seven roster spots to fill, per MoneyPuck.

Image courtesy of Kirby Lee-Imagn Images.

Avalanche’s Valeri Nichushkin Out Week-To-Week

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Nov. 13: It’s a week-to-week designation for Nichushkin, Bednar said (via Meghan Angley of Guerilla Sports). It’s not as bad as the team initially feared, Bednar said, but it’s looking unlikely he’ll be back in the lineup much before Thanksgiving.

Nov. 12: An oft-injured Colorado Avalanche winger has once again landed on the sidelines. Head coach Jared Bednar shared that Valeri Nichushkin will need to miss “some time” after sustaining a lower-body injury in Tuesday night’s game against the Anaheim Ducks, per DNVR Sports. Bednar added that the team is still evaluating the extent of Nichushkin’s injury and isn’t sure just how long he’ll be out, per the Denver Gazette’s Evan Rawal. The Avalanche expects to know more about Nichushkin’s absence on Thursday.

It wasn’t entirely clear when Nichushkin sustained his injury. He left the team’s bench in the third period, after appearing to be in pain earlier in the period. He managed a primary assist on Colorado’s second goal before exiting the game.

The Avalanche will miss Nichushkin’s presence in the top six. He’s scored five goals and 12 points through 17 games this season, while averaging 18 minutes of ice time. He has also recorded four blocked shots, 16 hits, and 41 shots on goal. Nichushkin has filled roles on the top power-play and penalty-killing unit – though the return of captain Gabriel Landeskog has cut his ice time just a bit. Fittingly, Landeskog scored his first goal of the season – and his first regular-season goal since March 2022 – for Nichushkin’s sole point on Tuesday.

A prolonged absence for Nichushkin would force Colorado to shake up a roster that’s been surprisingly consistent all year long. Landeskog would almost surely move up to Colorado’s top-six and top power-play unit, especially after finding the scoresheet for the first time in three games. Ross Colton, who has earned a third-line role with chippy hockey, could be in line for PK minutes in Nichushkin’s spot. Colton has seven blocked shots and an offense-leading 39 hits in 17 games. An open spot on the penalty-kill could also offer an opportunity for rookies Gavin Brindley or Zakhar Bardakov.

Nichushkin can be considered doubtful for Thursday’s game against the Buffalo Sabres and questionable for Sunday’s game against the New York Islanders, pending a more precise prognosis from the Avalanche.

Maple Leafs Place David Kämpf On Unconditional Waivers

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12:58 p.m.: The Maple Leafs officially announced Kämpf’s waiver placement. They’ll clear $1.25MM in cap space tomorrow as a result of the move, not his full $2.4MM since he’s already carrying a reduced impact in the minors. Kämpf retains this year’s signing bonus as part of the termination, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports.

10:13 p.m.: The Maple Leafs will place center David Kämpf on unconditional waivers this afternoon for the purpose of a mutual contract termination, Darren Dreger of TSN reports. Assuming he clears tomorrow, he’ll be free to sign a new contract with an NHL club at any time.

The 30-year-old Kämpf is in the third season of a four-year, $9.6MM contract. It hasn’t panned out as Toronto general manager Brad Treliving had hoped when he signed it in June 2023. Kämpf has not played for Toronto’s NHL squad this season. His $2.4MM cap hit and the Leafs’ flurry of depth forward additions over the summer left him out of a roster spot when training camp ended, and he landed on standard waivers. After clearing, he was assigned to AHL Toronto for his first minor-league action since the 2017-18 season.

Initially, Kämpf reported to the Marlies. He suited up for their season-opening back-to-back games but didn’t play again until Oct. 26 and 29. After that, Kämpf took a brief leave to mull his options for an NHL return, which the Maple Leafs made clear wouldn’t be in Toronto. The Leafs initially looked to find a trade partner but were unsuccessful. Soon after, they suspended Kämpf without pay as his leave hit the one-week mark. A mutual contract termination became the clear goal, but there was uncertainty over whether Kämpf would need to return a prorated portion of the $1.325MM signing bonus he was given before the season as part of the transaction.

Today’s news indicates the NHL and NHLPA have come to a resolution on that front. Kämpf will now be walking away from the remainder of the $1.075MM base salary he was owed for this season, plus the $2.4MM total compensation he was due in 2026-27.

His four-year contract with the Leafs came on the heels of a career-best season for Kämpf, who’d initially joined the franchise on a two-year, $3MM pact in free agency in 2021. The faceoff and penalty-killing specialist had averaged north of 15 minutes per game in his first two seasons in Toronto, didn’t miss a game, and reached 26 and 27 points, respectively. He’d never hit the 20-point threshold before in his career and hasn’t hit it since.

While still effective on the dot and shorthanded, Kämpf’s offensive liabilities began to contribute to a decreased role. He saw his ice time slashed by nearly two minutes per game in the first year of his extension, and it was further reduced to 12:29 last year, in which injuries and healthy scratches limited him to 59 appearances. Toronto’s trade deadline pickup of Scott Laughton from the Flyers pushed him out of the lineup entirely, and he only played in one out of 13 playoff games for the Leafs, so the writing was on the wall long before this season began.

That said, Kämpf shouldn’t have much trouble finding a new deal. He has 48 goals and 143 points in 536 career NHL games. Considering he’s only started 31.6% of his shifts at even strength in the offensive zone, his relatively tame -16 rating is indicative of his legitimate defensive skill. He’s not overly physical, averaging under one hit per game for his career, but has a 51.4% lifetime average on draws. If he’s willing to take a deal close to league minimum, he should have a multitude of options. Teams plagued with injuries up front – the Canucks and Sabres, in particular – could be among the first to call.

Image courtesy of Alan Poizner-Imagn Images.

Kings To Healthy Scratch Andrei Kuzmenko

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The Kings are making winger Andrei Kuzmenko a healthy scratch for their game against the Maple Leafs tonight, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports. The scoring winger has been benched for significant parts of Los Angeles’ last two games, logging less than eight minutes of ice time in each.

Kuzmenko, 29, caught lightning in a bottle with the Kings last year after they picked him up from the Flyers at the trade deadline for a third-round pick. He was a seamless fit from the start as the left winger on L.A.’s top line with Anže Kopitar and Adrian Kempe, rattling off five goals and 12 assists for 17 points in 22 games down the stretch. He was lethal on the power play in their first-round loss to the Oilers, clicking at a point-per-game – including three power-play goals – while averaging north of 18 minutes per night.

The Russian winger has always been a streaky option since initially signing with the Canucks back in 2022, though. That prevented him from pursuing a longer-term deal on the free agent market last summer. While the Kings couldn’t retain their top UFA defender, Vladislav Gavrikov, they were able to reach at least a one-year agreement to retain Kuzmenko, paying him $4.3MM per season.

Kuzmenko has, by and large, retained his spot with Kopitar and Kempe this year, at least when Kopitar’s been in the lineup (he missed time in October with a foot injury), but hasn’t been nearly as productive. His ice time has been reduced back to under 15 minutes per game, and he’s only tallied three goals and seven points in 17 contests, a full-season pace of just 14 goals and 34 points. That would be the lowest offensive output of his four-year career.

Joel Armia has been bumped up to the top line with Kuzmenko’s benchings and role reduction and is expected to maintain that position tonight. In less ice time, Armia has produced more than Kuzmenko (a 3-5–8 scoring line in 17 games) with much better defensive impacts and a +4 rating. Jeff Malott will re-enter the lineup in Kuzmenko’s place, presumably in a fourth-line role, after serving as a healthy scratch in four of the Kings’ last nine games.

Auston Matthews Out Roughly One Week, Anthony Stolarz Day-To-Day

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Maple Leafs star Auston Matthews avoided a serious lower-body injury when he left Tuesday’s loss to the Bruins following a heavy hit from Nikita Zadorov. He’s been given a day-to-day designation but has been ruled out for tonight’s contest against the Kings with another absence or two expected after that, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports. Starting goalie Anthony Stolarz also left that contest with an upper-body issue and has also landed a day-to-day designation and won’t play against the Kings, per TSN’s Mark Masters, but hasn’t been ruled out for Saturday against the Blackhawks. With backup Joseph Woll still working his way back to playing shape in the minors on a conditioning stint, Toronto announced they’ve recalled netminder Artur Akhtyamov from AHL Toronto to backup third-stringer Dennis Hildeby tonight. Center Scott Laughton was placed on injured reserve in the corresponding move.

The injury is another speed bump in what’s been another slow start from Matthews. The three-time Rocket Richard Trophy winner has seen his chance generation numbers drop significantly since his generational 69-goal season in 2023-24. In 17 appearances this season, he’s managed nine goals and 14 points. That’s a better pace than last year’s extreme fall-off that only saw him tally 33 markers in 67 appearances, but it’s still well below his career-average pace of 0.63 goals per game.

Luckily for the Leafs, their other stars have more than picked up the slack and helped them stay somewhat afloat at .500 despite faltering defense and goaltending. Matthew Knies and John Tavares are both flirting with 100-point paces early on, while William Nylander sits sixth in league scoring with 24 points despite missing three games with a lower-body issue.

But while Matthews was still one of the league’s most dominant two-way centers during last year’s scoring slump, the same can’t be said in the early going in 2025-26. He’s winning a career-best 59% of his faceoffs, but his possession metrics have faltered. The Leafs are only controlling 47.5% of shot attempts and 48% of expected goals with Matthews on the ice at even strength, the first time in his 10-year career that either number has been below 50%.

Nonetheless, Tavares’ resurgence, Nylander’s dominance, and Knies’ continued breakout should help the Leafs weather the storm for a few days. They’re expected to load up the top line with those three, at least for tonight, per Masters.

As for Stolarz, a reset – injury-related or not – is needed. The career elite backup/tandem option has been overtaxed with Woll unavailable, and his numbers have plummeted as a result. Among goalies with at least 10 appearances this season, Stolarz’s .884 SV% ranks 22nd out of 25 names, and his -5.3 goals saved above expected rank 23rd, per MoneyPuck.

Tonight will thus mark Hildeby’s fourth appearance in the last six days. He entered in relief of Stolarz against Boston twice, first on Nov. 8 and then on Tuesday, while starting in a 5-4 loss to the Hurricanes on Nov. 9. Despite his 0-2-0 record, he’s been the best goalie Toronto’s had to offer this season in his limited sample. He’s logged a .909 SV% and 3.74 GAA on 88 shots faced, good for 2.1 goals saved above expected behind the Leafs’ porous defense. He’s leaps and bounds ahead of what he showed in last year’s limited NHL stint, when he had a .872 mark in six showings with a 3-3-0 record.

If Akhtyamov is forced into action, it would be his NHL debut. The 24-year-old was a fourth-round pick by Toronto back in 2020 and is now in his second season in North America. After a decent rookie showing for the Marlies last year, he’s taken a step back with a .894 SV% and 2.82 GAA in six games to start this year, but still has a 4-2-0 record.

Meanwhile, Laughton is on his second injury-related absence of the season. He missed the first 13 games of the year with a lower-body injury and sustained an upper-body issue in just his second game back against the Bruins. Since his IR placement is retroactive to Nov. 8, he’s been ruled out for tonight’s game plus Saturday’s game against Chicago, but will be eligible to come off IR next Tuesday against the Blues.

Image courtesy of Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images.

Hall Of Fame Journalist Larry Brooks Passes Away At 75

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Longtime New York Post columnist and Hockey Hall Of Fame writer Larry Brooks has passed away at the age of 75 after a battle with cancer. Brooks spent 38 years with the Post, across two tenures, split by his work as the Senior Vice President Of Communications with the New Jersey Devils from 1982 to 1992.

Commonly refered to as “Brooksie”, Brooks’ time with The Post began in 1976. He originally covered the Ne wYork Islanders and the MLB’s New York Yankees, who he followed on a run to the World Series Championship in 1977. He took on covering the Rangers in the following year, and continued on for five years before taking on coverage of the Devils following their relocation from Colorado. That role blossomed into an executive role in New Jersey’s front office, giving Brooks a rare mix of experience on both sides of the mic. He became The Post’s primary Rangers beat writer and principal hockey columnist for their paper soon after his return to journalism in 1992.

Brooks covered the Rangers with great intimacy and consistency, modeling beat coverage for many up-and-coming journalists. That exemplary performance was recognized in 2001, when Brooks was named president of the Professional Hockey Writers’ Association. He carried the title for three years, supporting the group that oversees voting for seven annual awards handed out by the NHL. The PHWA also votes for the Elmer Ferguson Memorial Award, presented by the Hockey Hall of Fame to recognize those who have brought honor to journalism and to hockey.

Fittingly, Brooks won the Elmer Ferguson Memorial Award himself in 2018. The Hockey Hall of Fame honored Brooks alongside longtime Toronto Maple Leafs broadcaster Joe Bowen.

Brooks was impossible to miss over his time covering the Rangers. Not only did his columns often headline The Post, but his words often found their way into the New York fandom zietgeist. He is often credited as being the one to award Henrik Lundqvist with his popular nickname, “The King”. Brooks was also a vocal challenger to longtime Rangers head coach John Tortorella, with the two butting heads more than a few times during Tortorella’s tenure from 2008 to 2013. The Post shares that Tortorella had reached out to check-in on Brooks over the last week, something that Brooks’ son, Jordan, says meant a lot to his father.

Brooks will be rememebered as a titan of hockey journalism, with the demeanor to stand up to hard-headed head coaches and unfair labor disputes. He was vocal and proud in both the small and the big moments. He watched over a 9-8-7 record to start New York’s season – a nice step forward from a dismal season last year. His final column was an analysis of why defender Braden Schneider deserves loftier minutes.

Brooks leaves behind a son, a daughter-in-law, Joanna, and two grandchildren. His work with The Post will be continued by longtime colleague Mollie Walker. Pro Hockey Rumors sends our condolences to Brooks’ family, friends, and the entire New York sports fanbase.

Senators Sign Shane Pinto To Four-Year Extension

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The Ottawa Senators have signed centerman Shane Pinto to a four-year, $30MM contract extension. The deal will run through the 2029-30 season. It was first reported by TSN’s Darren Dreger. This move comes in the wake of speculation that Ottawa was planning to reapproach Pinto about an extension sometime this week.

The new deal will carry a yearly cap hit of $7.5MM and carry through two years of Pinto’s unrestricted free agent eligibility. That yearly salary is a full $1MM over the number believed to have been offered to Pinto on an eight-year extension before the start of the season. There was reason to believe Pinto wasn’t satisfied with the long-term deal, or slim price tag, of that previous offer per Ottawa Citizen’s Bruce Garrioch. Now, he’ll find the middle ground between those factors, and maintain the chance to sign a heftier deal before he’s too far away from his prime years.

Pinto’s contract will also mark a new baseline for other young, emerging centerman across the league. He has been a true force for the Senators this season, stepping up as a much-needed second-line center and posting 14 points in 17 games, the third-most on the team. The scoring is a major surge forward from the 37 points he scored in 70 games last season, but it doesn’t seem all too unsustainable. Pinto has recorded a career-high 17.4 shooting percentage this year – 0.9 percent more than he managed last year, and 4.2 percent higher than the 13.4 percent he’s averaged since 2023. But he has also performed in-line with his expected-goals (7.0 xG to 8 goals), suggesting that his step in scoring comes from true improvements.

Finding the balance between properly rewarding a young star, without overcommitting, was the challenge that Ottawa faced. In market value, Pinto seemed to land somewhere between the likes of Marco Rossi (Minnesota, three-years, $15MM) and Connor Zary (Calgary ,three-years, $11.325MM); and the likes of Frank Nazar (Chicago, seven-years, $46.13MM) and Mason McTavish (Anaheim, six-years, $42MM). The deal Ottawa has delivered suggests exactly that, placing Pinto closer to the former in term but the latter in yearly and total salary. This move also continues the trend of young centers signing shorter-term deals, potentially setting the NHL up for exciting free agencies in a few years.

More than setting his market price, this deal will cement a deep connection between Ottawa and Pinto. The two sides have seen their fair share of ups-and-downs since Pinto was selected 32nd-overall in the 2019 NHL Draft. After netting 59 points in 56 games of his sole USHL season, Pinto moved to the University of North Dakota for his underclass years. He posted 60 points in 61 games with the Fighting Hawks, and turned pro with Ottawa at the end of the 2020-21 season. Pinto was a quick impact, looking capable of keeping up with NHL speed and physicality, and posting seven points in his first 12 NHL games. He seemed well set up for a breakout campaign in 2021-22, but missed nearly the entire season with a shoulder injury that began in the fourth game of the season. He tried to return from the injury a few games later, but reinjured his shoulder and got knocked out of the season.

Pinto returned for the 2022-23 season with that breakout still top of mind. He got off to a hot start, earning October’s ’Rookie of the Month’ honors following six goals and seven points in eight games to start the year. His scoring petered out over a long November, sparking a hot-and-cold streak that’d span the year. In total, Pinto posted 20 goals and 35 points in 82 games of his rookie season. It was a modest performance, but not neccesarily the breakout many anticipated from the high second-round pick. Hopes remained high for the 2023-24 season.

But Pinto was once again derailed, this time suspended by the NHL for invovlvement with prohibited sports gambling. The League stepped up to make an example of Pinto by suspending him for the first 41 games of the season. He served through that punishment, and still looked promising in the second-half of Ottawa’s season. He scored nine goals and 27 points in 41 games, putting him on pace for 54 points across a full season, had he had the opportunity.

The return to an impact role wasn’t enough to cement Pinto’s presence in Ottawa, though. The Senators faced an uphill battle attempting to sign Pinto to a contract and then an extension amid his return from suspension. At one point, Pinto suggested he was hoping to be offer-sheeted away from the Senators organization, though he never officially requested a trade. Ultimately the two sides came together first on a one-year deal that pushed him through the 2023-24 season, then on a two-year extension that carries him through this season.

Now, Ottawa will finally cement Pinto’s spot in the lineup. He seems to be emerging as the high-octane forward the team was always hoping for, marked by a career-high 19 minutes of average ice time. He’s played over 20 minutes of ice time in three of Ottawa’s last five games, and rewarded them with three points in that stretch. The Senators’ top-end is loaded with promising, young forwards, including Tim Stutzle and Dylan Cozens. Now, they’ll add the 25-year-old Pinto to that mix for the long haul.

Photo courtesy of Nick Turchiaro-USA TODAY Sports.

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