The Senators announced they’ve signed defenseman Nikolas Matinpalo to a two-year extension worth $1.75MM. He was set to be a restricted free agent with arbitration rights this summer. He’ll carry a cap hit of $875K for the 2025-26 and 2026-27 seasons.
It’s an important depth signing for Ottawa. Matinpalo emerged as a regular in the lineup down the stretch, playing in 23 of 25 games coming out of the 4 Nations break. Largely replacing struggling veteran Travis Hamonic’s minutes, the 26-year-old Matinpalo was used up and down the lineup but mainly in third-pairing duties with Tyler Kleven. He finished the year with four points and a minus-two rating in 41 regular-season games after making just four NHL appearances the year prior, his first in North America after signing with Ottawa as an undrafted free agent the preceding offseason.
While Matinpalo’s regular-season possession impacts were pedestrian and he averaged a paltry 12:37 per game, his performance took off in the playoffs. He played all six games in Ottawa’s first-round loss to the Maple Leafs, and his unit with Kleven was Ottawa’s best defensively out of their three regular pairings at even strength. In fact, they were the Sens’ only pairing to outscore Toronto at even strength (3-2) and controlled 55.3% of expected goals, per MoneyPuck.
Now on his way to represent Finland at the World Championship, the 6’3″, 212-lb righty will be penciled onto Ottawa’s opening night roster in the fall. Whether he’s in the lineup or the press box out of the gate remains to be seen, but he’s done enough to secure an NHL paycheck for the next couple of years. He’ll be a UFA upon expiry in 2027.
Image courtesy of Russell LaBounty-Imagn Images.
