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Jets’ Dylan Samberg Out 6-To-8 Weeks With Broken Wrist

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Winnipeg Jets head coach Scott Arniel announced that defenseman Dylan Samberg has sustained a broken wrist and will miss the next six-to-eight weeks, per NHL.com’s Mitchell Clinton. Samberg was knocked out of Winnipeg’s Saturday preseason game against the Calgary Flames in the second period, after taking an awkward hit from Flames winger Ryan Lomberg. Arniel referred to the hit as a “freak accident” after the game to Murat Ates of The Athletic.

This will be a dismal start to the three-year, $17.25MM contract that Samberg signed with Winnipeg in late July. The deal makes him Winnipeg’s third-highest paid defenseman, behind Neal Pionk ($7MM) and Josh Morrissey ($6.25MM). Samberg earned that standing with a career-year last season. He set multiple personal highs, including six goals, 20 points, and a plus-34 in 60 games. He led the Jets in plus-minus, blocked shots (120), and takeaways (33) – while standing out as one of the team’s top defensive stalwarts. That role elevated Samberg to an a career-high 21 minutes of ice time each game and a premier role on the team’s top penalty-killing unit.

It was Samberg’s third season of productive defense for the Jets. He’s offered minimal offense to this point in his career – but no Jets defender has blocked more shots, or recorded more takeaways, on a per-game basis than Samberg since his rookie season in 2022-23. His absence will leave a major hole in Winnipeg’s opening night roster. That should mean added minutes for physical defender Logan Stanley, who was limited to a low-end, third-pair role for the bulk of last season. It could also mean a promotion for extra-defenseman Haydn Fleury, who played in only 39 games last season. Stanley could be a reasonable bet to make up for some of Samberg’s defensive impact, though Fleury will be far from a direct replacement. The Jets will need to lean on veterans Morrissey, Pionk, and Luke Schenn to help carry their blue-line pairings until Samberg is ready to be reevaluated in mid-November.

Maple Leafs Sign Anthony Stolarz To Four-Year Extension

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Sep. 29: Stolarz’s contract includes a 16-team no-trade clause that applies not only to the first year of his extension in 2026-27 but will retroactively apply to the last year of his current contract, giving him new protection for the 2025-26 campaign, reports David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period. That list will downgrade to a 10-team NTC from 2027-29 and further to a five-team NTC in 2029-30. PuckPedia has the full cash breakdown of the deal:

2026-27: $850K base salary + $4.225MM signing bonus = $5.075MM total
2027-28: $900K base salary + $2.91MM signing bonus = $3.81MM total
2028-29: $1.07MM base salary + $2MM signing bonus = $3.07MM total
2029-30: $1.045MM base salary + $2MM signing bonus = $3.045MM total

Sep. 28: It was previously reported that Anthony Stolarz and the Toronto Maple Leafs were getting very close to an extension, and now ESPN’s Kevin Weekes and The Athletic’s Chris Johnston have reported that the two parties have come to an agreement on a four-year, $3.75MM AAV contract extension. According to Weekes, the contract is “largely signing bonus money” although no firm breakdown has been reported at this time. The Maple Leafs have now officially announced the contract.

Two days ago, it was reported that Stolarz and his camp, led by RSG Hockey’s Allain Roy, were eyeing recent contracts signed by Karel Vejmelka and Kevin Lankinen as potential comparables – deals that each carry a five-year term and an AAV of at least $4.5MM. The contract reported today isn’t quite as lucrative as those deals, although the fact that it is, per Weekes, heavy in signing bonuses does help bridge the gap.

The path to this contract has been an odd one for Stolarz, who appears to have emerged as a starting-caliber netminder at the age of 31. Five years ago, Stolarz was an AHL starter in the Anaheim Ducks organization, and he established himself as an NHL backup there. He signed with the Florida Panthers for 2023-24 to be Sergei Bobrovsky’s backup, and ended up putting forth a brilliant .925 save percentage and 2.03 goals-against average in 27 games.

That performance in Florida, which ended with Stolarz watching from the bench as the Panthers won their first-ever Stanley Cup championship, earned the netminder a two-year, $2.5MM AAV deal to join the Maple Leafs in a tandem with Joseph Woll. Although Woll started more games in 2024-25, Stolarz was the superior of the two netminders, playing to an excellent .926 save percentage and 21-8-3 record across 34 games.

While he hasn’t been tested in a heavy workload just yet, Stolarz has posted some of the league’s best numbers across the last two seasons. While it’s no easy task to sustain such brilliance across a heavier diet of starts, Stolarz certainly has the talent to do it. If he can end up taking a larger role in the crease in Toronto, perhaps playing something closer to a standard starting netminder’s number of games, he could easily provide an immense amount of surplus value to Toronto over the course of this contract.

The last time Stolarz played in more than 40 games was for the 2015-16 Lehigh Valley Phantoms – it’s been a while. So there is some risk to this contract, without question. But that level of risk is likely wholly acceptable to Toronto given Stolarz’s brilliance over the last two years, and the odds he provides them with surplus value appear to greatly outweigh the odds he underperforms this modest cap hit.

The key for the Maple Leafs will, unsurprisingly, be the playoffs: Stolarz led Toronto to a first-round victory over the Ottawa Senators, but an injury cost him the chance to compete in the second round. If he can find a way to be a reliable, go-to starter in playoff situations, this would be a home run of a contract for the Maple Leafs.

Photos courtesy of Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images

Blues, Cam Fowler Agree To Three Year Extension

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A pending free agent, defenseman Cam Fowler has signed a three-year extension with the St. Louis Blues, per team announcement.

Per Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet, the deal is set at a $6.1MM AAV, with Jeremy Rutherford of the Athletic adding that it is a flat contract with no variation year-to-year. It will take Fowler through his age 36 season, and comes in above the projected value of $5.4MM, according to AFP Analytics. 

Fowler, 33, was acquired last December in exchange for fringe prospect Jérémie Biakabutuka and a 2027 second-round pick, in a deal that was not totally expected given the Blues’ stock of veteran left handed defensemen. However, it proved to be fruitful, as Fowler was a great fit wearing the Note, with 36 points in 51 games, and a +19, filling the void left from Torey Krug and his likely career-ending injury. 

After a season in which the Blues exceeded expectations, pushing the President’s Trophy winning Winnipeg Jets to the brink in the first round of the playoffs, change on the blue line has been a point of emphasis. Out went Nick Leddy and Ryan Suter, allowing for a larger role for Philip Broberg, along with the acquisition of promising young defender Logan Mailloux. 

Now with Fowler locked up as well, the Blues have built up a formidable core on both ends, which are all signed for the foreseeable future. The veteran offensive defenseman will continue to lead the Blues powerplay attack, and will be leaned on to mentor Broberg, Mailloux, as well as emerging youngster Matthew Kessel and eventually, top prospect Adam Jiricek. 

Having fallen into their laps at 12th overall during the 2010 NHL Draft, Fowler quickly became a vital member of the Ducks throughout the 2010s. Making the team right out of camp as a rookie, the smooth-skating defenseman notched 40 points, and never looked back, having never played a game in the AHL. Fowler earned an eight-year extension worth $6.5MM per season in 2017. The Windsor, Ontario native continued to produce through thick and thin for Anaheim for fifteen seasons. Finally after 17 games in the black and orange last season, and with the contract nearing an end, Anaheim made the difficult decision to deal their second-longest tenured player, retaining $2.5MM per year in the process. 

Although a slight decrease in annual value, Fowler’s resurgence undoubtedly heightened his value at 33-years-old, and the Blues are surely relieved to reach an agreement on their key defenseman before the season has begun. 

Ducks Sign Mason McTavish To Six-Year Contract

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The Ducks and center Mason McTavish have finally reached the finish line in their prolonged contract negotiations.  The team announced that they’ve signed McTavish to a six-year contract; Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports (Twitter link) it’s worth $7MM per season.  GM Pat Verbeek released the following statement:

Mason is a key part of our team, and we’re excited to reach a long-term agreement that reflects his importance to our future. He’s a highly skilled, physical, and competitive player who plays the game the right way. Mason has already made a significant impact at a young age, and we’re confident he’ll continue to grow into a top player as we build toward sustained success.

The 22-year-old was the third overall pick in 2021 and is coming off his best statistical season so far, one that saw him score 22 goals and 30 assists in 76 games while primarily playing on the second line.  That was an offensive improvement over his first two NHL campaigns, where he put up 43 and 42 points respectively.  Given his draft pedigree and improvement, McTavish was in line for a significant raise and while it took them a while to agree on the terms of such a deal, they’ve finally worked it out.

Both sides had agreed a while back that a long-term pact was preferred.  For most young impact centers, those deals have fallen within the $7MM to $8MM range, most of which came in a salary cap environment that was more limited than it is now.  On the other hand, it appears that there is a ceiling in place that Verbeek wasn’t willing to go past.  Veteran Troy Terry and newcomer Mikael Granlund both make $7MM per season and with Terry’s track record, it might have been hard for Verbeek to justify giving McTavish more than that.  Accordingly, it’s probably not a coincidence that McTavish’s AAV checks in exactly at that number.

The trade-off to that is that instead of a maximum-term eight-year agreement (that is still legal for one more year), Anaheim had to settle for just a six-year pact.  In doing so, they only pick up an extra two years of team control while McTavish will now be eligible to test unrestricted free agency in the 2031 offseason when he’ll be 28.

Still, even though they didn’t get the maximum commitment, they have someone they feel will be a long-term core piece locked up at what should be a reasonable price tag (assuming he continues to improve) for six years.  That’s a more than long enough timeline for Anaheim to get through what they hope will be the final phase of their rebuild and a return to contention.  Meanwhile, what happened with these discussions could serve as a look ahead to what could happen next summer when Leo Carlsson, another promising young middleman, will be RFA-eligible for the first time.

With the signing, the Ducks have all of their players under contract for the upcoming season and still have over $13.5MM in cap space, per PuckPedia.  If Anaheim under new head coach Joel Quenneville gets off to a hotter start than expected, Verbeek should have plenty of wiggle room to try to add to his roster midseason.

Photo courtesy of Jason Parkhurst-Imagn Images.

Aleksander Barkov Undergoing Knee Surgery, Out Seven To Nine Months

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6:04 PM: The team released an update on Barkov, noting that he sustained injuries to his ACL and MCL.  The surgery has now been performed and carries a typical recovery time between seven and nine months.  The short end of that timeline would potentially give him a chance of returning in the second round of the playoffs while the long end would mean that he would miss the entire postseason as well.

10:39 AM: Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov needs surgery to repair the right knee injury he sustained in his first practice session of training camp yesterday, George Richards of Florida Hockey Now reports. There’s no timeline for his return, and there’s fear he could miss the entire season, according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet.

There is a clear video of yesterday’s incident. Barkov had a low-speed collision with teammate Niko Mikkola, bending as if he were attempting a hip check, which caused Mikkola’s weight to come down on top of him. He landed awkwardly on his right leg under pressure and was unable to get up without assistance (via WPLG Local 10 News).

A gargantuan hole now exists on the Cats’ first line, a position Barkov has held ever since entering the league as an 18-year-old in 2013. The back-to-back Selke Trophy winner is smack-dab in the middle of his prime at age 30 and is widely regarded as the best two-way center in the game, and for good reason. He’s now rattled off five straight seasons above a point per game, averaging a 33-62–95 scoring line per 82 games since the 2020-21 campaign. He’s also logged a cumulative +92 rating during that time and has won 56.1% of his draws. He reached new heights on the possession front last year, logging a career-high 60.8% Corsi share at even strength.

While the Panthers’ forward depth has been the hallmark of their back-to-back Stanley Cup wins, it’s already getting stretched thin. They’re now down two stars for at least the first few months of the season as Matthew Tkachuk recovers from offseason adductor surgery. Not having Barkov available down the middle also amplifies the impact of relatively minor injuries like Tomas Nosek’s. The natural pivot would have been in line to swallow up expanded bottom-six minutes normally, but he also underwent knee surgery recently and will miss multiple months.

This season’s new rules surrounding long-term injured reserve will now have a significant impact on the Panthers’ approach. If a player is not expected to miss the entire season, a team only unlocks the equivalent of last year’s league average salary – roughly $3.8MM in this case – in relief. That does not change based on the number of players on LTIR. If the Panthers were to make Barkov ineligible to play in the regular season or playoffs, though, they could unlock Barkov’s full $10MM cap hit worth of relief, assuming they optimize their capture correctly.

Florida already entered the season in a precarious position, projecting to exceed the cap by $4.5MM, per PuckPedia. While Barkov’s injury is a significant blow to their lineup, there’s now an easy out for them to achieve cap compliance by the time opening night rosters are due by ruling him ineligible to return this season, even giving them room to add a significant salary via trade to help shoulder his absence.

Until then, all eyes are on Sam Bennett and Anton Lundell to anchor Florida’s top two lines. Bennett has been a stellar second-line pivot for the Cats since his arrival in 2021, and although he’s fresh off signing an eight-year, $64MM extension, he’s never been tested in a top-line role. There’s an argument to be made that Lundell, the 12th overall pick of the 2020 draft, should see the greater increase in minutes. He’s filled in on the top line during short-term absences for Barkov in the past and has been a more effective per-minute producer than Bennett. The soon-to-be 24-year-old is also locked up long-term and had a career-high 45 points in 79 appearances last year, averaging 16:43 per game and winning 53% of his draws.

The Panthers have a few options to fill the domino effect and replace Lundell as the No. 3 center. Evan Rodrigues, frequently a top-six complementary winger, is a natural pivot and has taken over 2,500 draws in his 10-year career. He might be a better fit in the role compared to other potential flex-overs like Eetu Luostarinen, who the Cats would presumably like to keep with Lundell and sustain the chemistry they’ve built in consistent deployment together over the past few years.

There’s also now a clear opening for PTO invites, Noah Gregor and Tyler Motte to land NHL deals. Both now clearly slot in among the Panthers’ top 14 forwards with Barkov, Nosek, and Tkachuk all sidelined.

Image courtesy of Perry Nelson-Imagn Images.

Connor Ingram Clears Waivers

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Sep. 26: Ingram cleared waivers and will be assigned to Tucson, Chris Johnston of TSN and The Athletic reports. A trade can still be worked on – in fact, it might be easier for the Mammoth to swing a deal now that the acquiring team knows they won’t immediately lose him on the wire.

Sep. 25: No trade has materialized up until this point, which has led the Mammoth to officially place Ingram on waivers today, the team said. They’ll now wait for the next 24 hours to see if another club submits a claim or if they’ll need to reassign him to AHL Tucson.

Sep. 17: Goaltender Connor Ingram will not attend the Mammoth’s training camp as the team works to find him a new home, general manager Bill Armstrong told reporters today, including Cole Bagley of KSL Sports. If a trade doesn’t materialize, the team intends to place him on waivers later in the preseason.

Ingram, 28, entered last season as Utah’s No. 1 netminder. He’d broken through as a starter with the Coyotes the year prior, amassing a strong 23-21-3 record, .907 SV%, and 2.91 GAA behind a heavily understaffed defense that finished out of the playoff picture. He also tied for the league lead with six shutouts and saved 8.3 goals above expected, per MoneyPuck, although that didn’t land him any Vezina Trophy consideration.

That momentum did not carry through as the Coyotes’ hockey operations assets were transferred to the new Utah Mammoth (née Hockey Club) franchise. While Ingram played 12 of Utah’s first 15 games and had a 6-3-3 record, that was due to their offense giving him good goal support. He only managed a .879 SV% out of the gate, and the starting job was returned to Karel Vejmelka by mid-November. After being benched for more than a week, he sustained an upper-body injury in his first start back that ended up keeping him out of the lineup for nearly two months.

Initially, it looked like the break was a blessing in disguise for Ingram. He had a .967 SV% and only allowed one goal in a conditioning appearance for AHL Tucson and had a good run in his first few games back in Utah’s lineup. He made eight appearances between his return in January and the 4 Nations break, posting a 4-3-1 record with an improved .905 SV%. He then allowed four goals on 25 shots in his first game after the break, which would be his final game of the season and last for Utah. Two weeks later, he entered the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program after his mother passed due to breast cancer.

Ingram was cleared by the program last month, so he’s legally eligible to play and report to training camp. His lack of presence for the Mammoth isn’t due to his underwhelming on-ice performance last year; rather, he’s simply looking for a fresh start mentally. “Both sides are on the same page and will be working cohesively towards a positive outcome in order to provide Ingram with a fresh start on a new team that better suits his needs,” Bagley wrote.

Utah will still have two experienced NHL netminders on their roster to open the season. With Ingram’s status uncertain at the beginning of free agency, the team signed Vitek Vanecek to a one-year, $1.5MM deal. Today’s news means he’s essentially guaranteed to start the season as the backup to Vejmelka, who managed a .904 SV% and a 26-22-8 record in a career-high 55 starts and 58 appearances last year.

Ingram has one year left on his contract at a $1.95MM cap hit, although it’s worth noting his actual salary is higher than that at $2.15MM and could deter teams from submitting a claim for him on waivers. If he clears and agrees to accept an AHL assignment, Utah would still carry an $800K cap hit while he’s in the minors.

Maple Leafs Sign James Reimer To PTO

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The Maple Leafs have signed veteran netminder James Reimer to a professional tryout, per a club announcement.

If it results in a contract, it could end up being a bookend to the 37-year-old’s NHL career. Reimer was a fourth-round pick by the Leafs back in 2006 and broke into the NHL with them four years later. He spent nearly six full seasons with the Leafs, spending a good chunk of that time in tandem with Jonathan Bernier, before being dealt to the Sharks at the 2016 trade deadline to kick off the journeyman portion of his career. His first go-around with Toronto saw him post an 85-76-23 record, .914 SV%, 2.83 GAA, and 11 shutouts in 207 appearances. He guided the club to its only playoff appearance of the Phil Kessel era and was excellent in a seven-game loss to the Bruins in the first round in 2013, logging a .923 SV% in that series.

He rejoins the organization now as much-needed depth after the club announced earlier this week that Joseph Woll had taken a personal leave and would be out indefinitely. Behind Woll’s tandem partner, Anthony Stolarz, the Leafs had only six games of NHL experience in their goaltending pipeline – all belonging to third-stringer Dennis Hildeby last season. Reimer’s 525 career games are more than twice the combined total of every available Toronto goalie at the moment.

Of course, Reimer is no longer the serviceable 30-to-40-start netminder he was for the Leafs a decade ago. He’s a fine backup option now, but hasn’t posted an above-average save percentage in each of the last three seasons. He made 21 starts and three relief appearances last year between the Ducks and Sabres, spending a good portion of the season as Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen’s No. 2 in Buffalo. He compiled a 10-10-2 record with a .896 SV% and 3.04 GAA with one shutout. While those are below-average numbers on the surface, he ended up with a whopping 8.0 goals saved above expected thanks to some porous Sabres defensive performances in front of him, according to MoneyPuck. That ranked 25th in the league last year.

That latter number means he could be an intriguing stopgap for a Leafs squad that squeezed the best out of Stolarz and Woll last season. If Woll ends up missing extended time, he could be lined up to get more than the 1-in-4 workload he’s seen over the past couple of years with Stolarz untested past the 30-game range in a season.

Jamie Benn Sustained Collapsed Lung, Will Miss Start Of Season

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Stars captain Jamie Benn will undergo surgery to repair a collapsed lung and will miss the start of the regular season, the club announced today. He’ll be reevaluated in four weeks, putting him out through at least Oct. 23. That’s a six-to-seven-game absence at a minimum and will presumably be longer than that while he gets back up to game speed.

Benn sustained the injury late in the third period of the club’s exhibition game against the Wild on Tuesday, the team said. It’s quite the tone shift from yesterday, when head coach Glen Gulutzan told reporters that Benn was being held out of practice with a “little upper-body thing” and that his absence was mainly precautionary, per Robert Tiffin of Stars Thoughts. His last shift of Tuesday’s game ended with 2:04 remaining in regulation. He didn’t take any contact on that shift. Still, general manager Jim Nill confirmed a hit caused the lung collapse and that he spent Tuesday night in a hospital for observation and has remained there until today’s procedure, per the team’s Brien Rea.

While Benn had the opportunity to test unrestricted free agency this summer after spending the first 16 years of his career in Dallas, he opted to stay with the club that he’s captained to three consecutive Western Conference Final appearances. He inked a one-year, $1MM extension in the last week of June that carries up to an additional $3MM in performance bonuses depending on his regular-season appearances total and playoff success. That came on the heels of an underwhelming postseason showing from the 36-year-old, who only managed a goal and two assists with a -11 rating in 18 games and had his ice time slashed to just over 13 minutes per game.

That came on the heels of a still-productive regular season from the vet, although his point pace declined for a second straight year. His 16 goals in 80 games tied for seventh on the team, while his 49 points ranked sixth. That worked out to 0.61 points per game, down from 0.95 in 2022-23 and 0.73 in 2023-24.

While aging, he’s still an undeniable top-nine threat that contributes to the nucleus of one of the league’s deepest offensive attacks. It was looking like he’d slot in on the left side of a veteran-laden third line with Matt Duchene and Tyler Seguin based on early camp line combos, but there will now be open competition for that job over the next week-plus before opening-night rosters are due. Last year’s AHL standout, 24-year-old undrafted free agent Justin Hryckowian, could be the frontrunner after notching 60 points in 67 minor-league games in his first full professional season. He also managed an assist during a five-game NHL call-up. 2024 first-rounder Emil Hemming could be in line for a long look as well, in addition to elevating fourth-line names like Oskar Back, Nathan Bastian, or Colin Blackwell.

If Benn stays close to his initial timeline, he won’t miss enough time to be eligible for long-term injured reserve. That’s crucial information for a Stars club with just over $400K in cap space, leaving them without space to make any corresponding recall if Benn lands on standard IR. They’d be limited to starting the year with two extra skaters instead of three, leaving restricted maneuverability if other short-term injuries pile up.

Nicolas Hague Out Four To Six Weeks With Upper Body Injury

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Predators offseason acquisition Nicolas Hague won’t be available for around the first month of the regular season after sustaining an upper-body injury in Sunday’s preseason split-squad game against the Panthers. The team issued a four-to-six-week recovery timeline for him today, according to Max Herz of 102.5 The Game.

That creates an opening on the Preds’ top pair to begin an important season for the club, looking to shed off the rust from an incredibly disappointing 2024-25 campaign that saw them finish with the third-worst record in the league. Hague, acquired from the Golden Knights for a package including Colton Sissons and Jeremy Lauzon in June, had taken early reps alongside captain Roman Josi in camp. While both lefties, Josi played a good chunk of last year on his off side on a pairing with Brady Skjei.

When Hague returns the lineup, Nashville is banking on a breakthrough season from the 26-year-old. Acquired as an RFA, the Preds promptly signed him to a four-year extension with a $5.5MM cap hit. The 6’6″, 245-lb rearguard had been an impressively staunch depth presence throughout his first six NHL seasons with Vegas, managing a 20-63–83 scoring line with a +20 rating in 364 career appearances while averaging 110 blocks and 129 hits per 82 games. That output came in almost exclusively bottom-pairing duties behind a combination of Brayden McNabb, Alec Martinez, and Noah Hanifin on the left side of a stacked Vegas defense group, though. He’s averaged 17:33 per game for his career – including some significant penalty killing time. That number is likely to jump to the 20:00 range when his season gets underway.

For a Preds team looking to get off to a strong start, there are suddenly renewed concerns about their defensive depth. Hague being a big piece of the puzzle on the back end was a huge part of general manager Barry Trotz’s offseason strategy, allowing the club to move Skjei down to a more comfortable second-pairing role and spread the wealth in their top four. That’s still an option, but not a particularly appealing one. With Hague gone, that could mean forcing someone like Adam Wilsby into top-pairing minutes for a small stretch if they decide to keep Josi on the right side. Aside from Skjei, there aren’t any NHL-experienced options that have proven capable of shouldering top-pair minutes for any length of time.

Thus, his absence could provide a break for 2023 first-rounder Tanner Molendyk to break camp with the NHL club. The 20-year-old lefty was the 24th overall selection two years ago and will be transitioning to the pros this fall, whether in Nashville or AHL Milwaukee, after five years of major junior play. He split last season between WHL Saskatoon and Medicine Hat, continuing his strong offensive output with 47 points in 49 regular-season games and a 4-16–20 scoring line in 18 playoff contests as he guided the Tigers to a league championship.

Since Molendyk is two years post-draft, burning a year of his entry-level contract isn’t a concern – it’ll go into effect this season regardless of how much NHL action he sees. Unfortunately, the Preds haven’t gotten a look at him in preseason yet. He’s been dealing with a minor lower-body injury since the beginning of camp, although he did skate today for the first time, per Herz. He’ll have all the more motivation now to kick things into high gear with a clear path to his NHL debut on the line.

Shane Pinto’s Extension Could Reach More Than $7MM AAV

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Throughout the summer months, there’s been mild speculation regarding a contract extension between the Ottawa Senators and forward Shane Pinto. To this point, General Manager Steve Staios and Pinto have gone as far as to say that both sides have had positive conversations, though nothing has materialized yet. Still, if an extension is agreed upon throughout the 2025-26 season, many could be surprised by the price.

In a recent segment on TSN 1200 Ottawa, insider Frankie Corrado suggested that Pinto’s price tag begins at $7MM per season and may increase from there. That undoubtedly indicates that the two sides are prioritizing a long-term commitment, although it’s well above projections. According to AFP Analytics, Pinto is expected to command a $5.9MM salary on a long-term deal and $4.5MM if they pivot toward a bridge deal.

The minimum salary of $7MM, as Corrado suggests, would nearly double Pinto’s current salary of $3.75MM and would make Pinto the fourth-highest paid forward on the team. This may come as a surprise, considering Pinto has yet to register more than 40 points in a given season, though this could become the new norm as the upper ceiling of the salary cap increases.

Before the start of the 2023-24 season, when Pinto first signed his two-year, $7.5MM contract with the Senators, his cap hit represented 4.26% of Ottawa’s salary cap availability. Assuming Pinto signs a long-term extension at $7MM per season, his cap hit would only represent 6.16% of the Senators’ available cap total by the second year of the deal, and continue to decrease from there.

Still, it’s an objectively high dollar amount for a player whose earning power will hinge greatly on his performance this season. Outside of missing half of the 2023-24 campaign for violating the NHL’s Sports Wagering rules, Pinto has been a relatively productive secondary scorer for Ottawa, registering 50 goals and 99 points in his last 193 contests. In his lone playoff run with the Senators last season, he recorded one goal and two points in six games, averaging 19:53 of ice time.

Pinto possesses a defensive quality in his game that is often overlooked because of his goal-scoring ability. Throughout the past two years, he’s achieved a success rate in the faceoff dot higher than 50.0% in more than 1,300 draws, and an on-ice save percentage at even strength higher than 91.0%.

Regardless, although he’s eligible for arbitration next summer, Pinto isn’t eligible for unrestricted free agency until after the 2027-28 season, giving him and the Senators plenty of time to work something out. Still, given that it’s the last year a team can sign a rostered player to an eight-year extension, time is running out for Ottawa to potentially retain Pinto through his age-33 season, the prime years of his career.

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