Senators Still Looking To Buy At Trade Deadline
An inconsistent season for the Senators hasn’t turned their management group off from positioning themselves as buyers heading into the deadline. While general manager Steve Staios didn’t have anything close lined up before the Olympic roster freeze, he “would still like to add to his roster rather than subtract” when action gets going again, Bruce Garrioch wrote for the Ottawa Citizen last week.
His targets are impact pieces, too, not depth ones. Multiple league executives told Garrioch they’ve received calls from the Sens seeking a top-six winger and a top-four right-shot defenseman.
Of course, that’s most any contending team’s wish list heading into trade season. Contending is the operative word in that sentence, though, and Ottawa has rarely even occupied a playoff position throughout the year.
It’s hard to do much of anything when you’ve had the level of goaltending the Senators have dealt with. Linus Ullmark and Leevi Merilainen have combined to allow a disastrous 34.8 goals above expected, per MoneyPuck. They’ve individually allowed 17.5 and 17.3, respectively, the third and fourth-worst figures in the league ahead of Samuel Ersson (18.1) and Jordan Binnington (24.9).
On the flip side, Staios’ optimism for his team to get back into the playoff race if they can just get a few more saves is palpable. They’re still six games above .500 and six points back of a playoff spot with three teams to leapfrog. That’s far from insurmountable with 25 games left on their schedule.
Goaltending aside, Ottawa’s skater core has largely played well enough to fuel even a potentially deep playoff run under the right circumstances. At 5-on-5, the Sens rank fifth in the league in Corsi share (53.6%), third in scoring chance share (55.0%), and third in high-danger chances (55.0%). In that regard, they’re far closer to powerhouses like the Avalanche than the teams they’re chasing for a wild-card spot like the Blue Jackets, Bruins, and Capitals.
With few goaltending upgrades available and an understandable unwillingness to give up on Ullmark and his $8.25MM cap hit for three more seasons, Ottawa’s only path forward to improve is to try to outscore and outdefend its problems between the pipes. They’ve largely gotten quality depth scoring, but veteran David Perron‘s injury leaves a tangible hole in their top nine. They’d also do well to find a longer-term insurance policy in the 2RD slot alongside Thomas Chabot to succeed pending UFA Nick Jensen, who’s 35 years old and has seen a significant reduction in ice time this season.
Salary Cap Deep Dive: Ottawa Senators
Navigating the salary cap is one of the most important tasks for a front office. Teams that can avoid total cap chaos by walking the tightrope of inking players to deals that match their value (or compensate for future value without breaking the bank) remain successful. Those who don’t often see struggles and front office changes.
PHR will look at every NHL team and give a thorough look at their cap situation for the 2025-26 season. This will focus more on players who are regulars on the roster versus those who may find themselves shuttling between the AHL and NHL. All cap figures are courtesy of PuckPedia. We’re currently covering the Atlantic Division, next up are the Senators.
Ottawa Senators
Current Cap Hit: $92,446,600 (under the $95.5MM Upper Limit)
Entry-Level Contracts
None that are playing on a regular basis.
Signed Through 2025-26, Non-Entry-Level
F Nick Cousins ($825K, UFA)
F Lars Eller ($1.25MM, UFA)
F Claude Giroux ($2MM, UFA)
D Nick Jensen ($4.05MM, UFA)
G Leevi Merilainen ($1.05MM, RFA)
F David Perron ($4MM, UFA)
G James Reimer ($850K, UFA)
D Jordan Spence ($1.5MM, RFA)
Potential Bonuses
Eller: $1MM
Giroux: $2.75MM
Total: $3.75MM
Perron has been hit or miss outside of St. Louis in his career but that didn’t stop the Sens from giving him a two-year deal. The first season didn’t go great due to injuries and while he has been healthier this season, the overall performance hasn’t been great. At this point, it’d be hard to see him beat this on the open market and it wouldn’t be surprising to see his next deal be a one-year, incentive-laden one that keeps the base cost down to allow for more flexibility. Doing that could push the maximum value at least within the vicinity of his current contract. Giroux is someone who signed the type of deal Perron might get. After his initial three-year deal expired, the two sides had a prolonged negotiation but eventually got this deal over the finish line. While $750K of his bonuses are achievable simply through games played (topping out at 60), the remainder have a playoff-related component to them with $1.75MM being tied to series wins. That’s a fair structure and one that will likely be repeated if he sticks around for another year.
Eller was a valuable third-line center for many years but has slowed down lately, resulting in him needing to take a structure like this as well although only half of his bonuses are playoff-related. He’ll be 37 next season and it stands to reason that he’ll be going year-to-year moving forward, likely with contracts structured like this. Cousins has hovered at or just above the league minimum for several seasons now. A 12-year veteran in what has largely been the same type of role, his next deal should once again land in that area.
While landing Jensen as the centerpiece of the return for Jakob Chychrun might feel underwhelming, the veteran was one of their better blueliners last season although he hasn’t fared quite as well this year. He’ll be 36 when the 2026-27 campaign begins but there might be enough market interest to land him a two-year pact (performance bonuses wouldn’t be an option with that term) at least close to his current price tag. Spence was brought over in a draft day trade with the Kings with the hopes that he could take on a bigger role. That hasn’t happened and instead, he has been scratched several times already. Owed a $1.7MM qualifying offer with arbitration rights this summer, Spence’s point production in recent years could give him a shot at doubling that required offer. If Ottawa doesn’t want to go that high, however, he becomes a potential trade or non-tender candidate.
Merilainen was a big bright spot when pressed into duty as the third-stringer last season and without his efforts, they may not have made the playoffs. That small sample size was enough to get him the full-time backup job this year where things haven’t gone as well and they’ve since shuffled him to the AHL to get him more playing time. He has arbitration eligibility this summer and given how this year has gone, the Sens could ultimately look to a different backup option that’s a little more proven. With his struggles, Ottawa recently turned to Reimer to try to help stabilize the backup position. Given how he has bounced around and had to wait half a season to get signed, it’s safe to say that his next deal will be at or near the minimum, if he gets one at all.
Signed Through 2026-27
F Michael Amadio ($2.6MM, UFA)
F Drake Batherson ($4.975MM, UFA)
D Tyler Kleven ($1.6MM, UFA)
F Kurtis MacDermid ($1.15MM, UFA)
D Nikolas Matinpalo ($875K, UFA)
D Artem Zub ($4.6MM, UFA)
Batherson has been one of Ottawa’s better bargains for quite some time now. He is making second-line money but has put up better than that level of production for the last four years. He was just shy of a point per game in 2021-22 and then followed that up with three straight years of more than 60 points. This season, he’s once again flirting with the point per game threshold. If he stays around that trajectory, pushing past the $9MM per season mark is a very realistic outcome, especially if he were to make it to the open market. The Sens have had several below-market contracts for their young core and his deal is arguably the best one of them all.
Amadio has been quite consistent with three straight seasons of 27 points and is around that mark again this year. That’s not a great return for their money but it’s not a bad one either as he’s consistently in their middle six. But unless he can find another gear offensively, he might not be able to beat this by much in 2027. MacDermid came over in a late preseason trade and has played rather sparingly since then. While there is still a role for the true ‘enforcer’, his limited usage could bring his price tag closer to the minimum salary moving forward.
Zub has had some challenges staying healthy over his time in Ottawa but when he’s healthy, he’s a capable top-four defender who logs some tough defensive minutes. He’ll be entering his age-32 season when his next deal begins, meaning another multi-year pact (three to five years, specifically), is more than reasonable. In a market where the price of top-four blueliners is going to rise, Zub should be able to push past the $6MM mark per season on his next contract.
Kleven’s first full NHL season in 2024-25 was a decent one as he was a regular on the third pairing but his limited track record didn’t give him much earnings upside. Somewhat surprisingly, though, Ottawa signed him to a deal that walked him right to UFA eligibility. He’s playing a bigger role this season and if he can get closer to the 17-18-minute mark, a jump past $3MM per season could be doable. Matinpalo is in his first year as a full-timer on the roster, though not a full-timer in the lineup as he remains more of a depth piece. That will need to change if he’s going to be able to push past the $1MM mark by any sort of meaningful amount.
Signed Through 2027-28
D Thomas Chabot ($8MM, UFA)
F Brady Tkachuk ($8.206MM, UFA)
F Fabian Zetterlund ($4.275MM, UFA)
It took quite a while for Tkachuk to sign coming off his entry-level contract but the deal has held up quite nicely. This season aside, he has been quite durable and produced largely at a top-line rate. Between that and his being a power forward, it’s fair to say he’s heading for a considerable jump; a contract in the $12MM range could very well be on the table. Zetterlund did well in San Jose but struggled following a late-season trade to Ottawa. He signed based on his production with the Sharks but his struggles have carried over into this year. As a result, this deal may be close to double what his value is based on his performance with the Sens.
Chabot was the first core Senator to sign a pricey deal coming off an entry-level pact, a well the team has gone to several times since then. While he’s no longer among the most-used defensemen in the league, he’s still a capable all-around defender who can still play at a 40-point pace or more. While his injury history could hurt his market a bit, with the rapid escalation of prices for top-pairing blueliners, he should be in line for a double-digit AAV on his next contract.
Ottawa Senators Reassign Stephen Halliday, Hunter Shepard
The Ottawa Senators announced today that forward Stephen Halliday and goaltender Hunter Shepard have been reassigned to the team’s AHL affiliate, the Belleville Senators.
Over the past two days, NHL clubs have been making various reassignments to get players rostered in the AHL for the Olympic break, since keeping some names on an NHL team set to go several weeks without a game would be less than ideal for some players. These two reassignments fit that mold.
Halliday, 23, has split time between Ottawa and Belleville this season, which is his rookie campaign in the NHL. The 6’4″ center was a 2022 fourth-round pick who was able to instantly translate his scoring success from the NCAA level with Ohio State to the pro level with Belleville. He scored 14 points in 17 combined AHL regular-season and playoff games after signing with the Senators in the spring of 2024, and scored 19 goals and 51 points in his first full year of pro hockey.
So far this season, Halliday has been able to enhance his production level at the AHL level, and has even begun to translate some of that scoring to the NHL. In 22 AHL games, Halliday has scored 26 points. In 25 NHL games, Halliday, who averages just 8:08 time on ice per game, has 11 points. The 1:56 per game he averages on the power play has helped, of course, but his results have been undoubtedly promising for the Senators.
Entering the season, Halliday was ranked as the No. 7 prospect in the Senators’ system by Elite Prospects, who wrote that he “could top out as a top-nine playmaking power forward” if he made improvements to his skating and pace of play.
While it’s too early to tell if Halliday will be able to ultimately fulfill that projection, this year has been a step forward in his development, and he’ll be tasked with sustaining that step forward back at the AHL level over the Olympic break.
As for Shepard, his reassignment is more standard as he’s been mostly an AHL player this season. Shepard has six games of career NHL experience and has played in 36 minutes at the NHL level in 2025-26. Once a star AHL netminder who led the Hershey Bears to back-to-back Calder Cup titles, Shepard’s form in the league has declined over the last two years.
In 2024-25, he posted an .891 save percentage across 39 games in Hershey, and the Washington Capitals pivoted to other goalie options. He signed with the Senators this offseason, but has been unable to get his numbers trending in the right direction. He has an .888 save percentage in just 14 games played for Belleville, and is a pending UFA.
Senators’ Linus Ullmark Out With Illness, Hunter Shepard Recalled
The Ottawa Senators will be without their star goaltender in their final game before the NHL’s break for the Winter Olympics. Linus Ullmark will sit out due to flu-like sympyoms, per TSN’s Bruce Garrioch. The news comes just under an hour before puck drop. James Reimer will assume the starting role in Ullmark’s absence, while Hunter Shepard has been recalled to the NHL to serve as backup.
Reimer is back in the NHL after a mid-season professional try-out turned into a one-year contract with the Senators. He has recorded two wins and a .862 save percentage in six games with Ottawa, while adding another loss and .786 Sv% in his sole AHL game. Both numbers are far south from the 10 wins and .883 Sv% that Reimer recorded in 24 games last season – 22 spent with the Buffalo Sabres and two with the Anaheim Ducks. The 37 year old has continued to offer a presence in the crease, though he’ll still be a shaky hand to rely on as Ottawa looks to continue a 4-1 record over their last five games.
The Senators have only received marginally better play from de facto starter Ullmark. The former Vezina Trophy winner has posted 16 wins and a .884 save percentage in 30 games this season. It is his first year with a save percentage south of .900 – a feat he has curbed in each of his 10 other seasons in the league. That includes his first year with Ottawa last season, when Ullmark put up 25 wins and a .910 Sv% in 44 games. That was the seventh-highest save percentage from any NHL starter last season.
Shepard, who will serve as backup, has posted six wins and a .888 Sv% in 14 AHL games this season. He managed a .891 Sv% in 39 games with the Hershey Bears last season.
Such a late scratch should indicate that Ullmark will be good-to-go when Ottawa returns on February 26th. The Senators currently sit last in the Atlantic Division, though they’re tied with the Florida Panthers in total points (61). They are the only club in the bototm five of the Eastern Conference with a positive goal-differential (+6).
Senators Interested In MacKenzie Weegar, Blake Coleman
In a recent article, Bruce Garrioch from The Ottawa Citizen analyzed the Ottawa Senators’ approach to the trade deadline. To no surprise, Garrioch indicated that the Senators remain committed to winning this season, and that the team is seeking a top-six forward and top-four defenseman.
That’s a hefty wishlist, especially for a team that’s 10 points back of the final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference. Garrioch reported that the Senators are interested in forward Blake Coleman and defenseman MacKenzie Weegar from the Calgary Flames, which would immediately fulfill both desires.
Still, Weegar has a full no-movement clause in his contract, meaning he would have to sign off on a trade to Ottawa. He is from there, but there’s been no indication that he is one of the players that the Flames are considering moving this season. At any rate, it’s clear that the Senators are trying to fill a pair of higher-level holes, and they’re looking for players with term.
Senators Assign Xavier Bourgault To AHL
Xavier Bourgault’s latest stint with Ottawa was short-lived. After being brought up earlier this week, the Senators announced (Twitter link) that the center has been sent back to AHL Belleville. With the move, Ottawa now has one open roster spot.
Bourgault played in one game on this recall, bringing his season count to two although he’s still looking for his first point at the top level. The 23-year-old has been a strong performer in the minors this season though, notching 14 goals and 23 assists in 43 games with Belleville, already surpassing his previous career-high in points at that level. That hasn’t landed him an extended look with Ottawa just yet, however, or even more than sparing minutes as he’s played less than 12 minutes combined in his two NHL appearances.
Bourgault’s demotion is a good sign for center Stephen Halliday. Sidelined for the past few days with an upper-body injury, the 23-year-old was on the fourth line in the morning skate today and it appears that he will return to the lineup against New Jersey. Halliday has 10 points in 21 games with Ottawa this season, an impressive point total considering that he’s only averaging 8:23 per game of playing time.
Stephen Halliday Skating In Non-Contact Jersey
- Ottawa Senators center Stephen Halliday missed the team’s game against the Colorado Avalanche on Jan. 28 due to an upper-body injury, and was classified as day-to-day. Today, Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch reported that Halliday was at Senators practice, albeit in a non-contact jersey. That would appear to indicate that Halliday is working his way back, but still has some way to go before he’s fully ready to return to head coach Travis Green’s lineup. Halliday, 23, has 10 points in 21 NHL games for the Senators this season, and 26 points in 22 AHL games.
Senators Recall Xavier Bourgault; Reassign Mads Sogaard
According to a team announcement, the Ottawa Senators have recalled forward Xavier Bourgault from the AHL’s Belleville Senators. Additionally, the team has reassigned netminder Mads Søgaard in a corresponding roster move.
Toward the end of Ottawa’s game against the Vegas Golden Knights on Sunday, depth forward Stephen Halliday left with an undisclosed injury. The Senators haven’t elaborated on Halliday’s injury, but the belief is that it isn’t too severe.
Furthermore, since the team activated Linus Ullmark from the non-roster list on the same day, there was little need for three netminders on the roster. For the Senators’ sake, they’ll hope to get better results from the tandem of Ullmark and veteran James Reimer.
Bourgault, 23, has spent much of the season with AHL Belleville. He’s had an inspired season, placing second on the team in scoring with 14 goals and 37 points in 43 games. He made his NHL debut this past December, going scoreless in 6:43 of action against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Meanwhile, Søgaard will look to get his performance back on track in the AHL. He’s only two years removed from providing a .916 SV% in 32 games with AHL Belleville, but has been wholly disappointing since. He’s managed a 4-8-4 record in 18 games this season with a .889 SV%. If he wants a realistic chance to make Ottawa’s opening night roster next season, he must rediscover his game by the end of the 2025-26 campaign.
Senators Activate Linus Ullmark From Non-Roster List
The Senators have reinstated Linus Ullmark to the active roster for today’s game against the Golden Knights, per Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia. He won’t be getting the start but will serve as the backup to Mads Søgaard.
Tonight will be Ullmark’s first time dressing for a game in nearly a month. After conceding four goals on 14 shots against the Maple Leafs on Dec. 27 and being pulled from the game, he took a personal leave of absence from the team the following day.
He’s been practicing with Ottawa for more than a week to get back into game conditioning, though. He first returned to team skates on Jan. 16 and will likely be ticketed for his first start next Wednesday against the Avalanche without a conditioning stint with AHL Belleville.
Ottawa hasn’t gotten good goaltending out of any personnel they’ve tried this season. It’s toughest to swallow, though, when those numbers are coming from a goalie with the fifth-highest cap hit among active netminders. Even still, Ullmark’s .881 SV% and 2.95 GAA are the best among the five goalies to suit up for the Sens this year, and he’s the only one with a winning record at 14-8-5. Regardless of his struggles, he’s been the Sens’ clear-cut best option this season and will be their best chance to win down the stretch.
While this season looks more and more like a lost one, Ullmark getting his numbers back to last season’s form and retaining his confidence after his reset would bode well for the Sens’ chances of getting back to the playoffs next year. With a .909 SV% and 13.8 goals saved above expected, he was one of the biggest reasons Ottawa ended its eight-year playoff drought in 2024-25.
Image courtesy of John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images.
Senators Recall Mads Sogaard, Reassign Hunter Shepard
Jan. 25: After making it through last night’s game without a goalie injury, the Senators reassigned Shepard to Belleville today, Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch reports. After Reimer allowed four goals on 19 shots for a .789 save percentage in last night’s loss to the Hurricanes, that means Søgaard is the likely starter this evening against the Golden Knights. They’re now back to having an open spot on the active roster.
Jan. 24: The Senators have recalled goaltender Mads Søgaard from AHL Belleville, per a team announcement. To open a roster spot, they placed winger David Perron on injured reserve, per PuckPedia. They announced on Thursday that Perron will miss five to seven weeks after undergoing surgery to repair a sports hernia.
Ottawa has spent much of the season swapping depth goaltending options to serve as backups to Linus Ullmark or, now, to recent free-agent signing James Reimer while Ullmark remains on leave. This isn’t that. The Senators have had Hunter Shepard backing up Reimer for the last two games, and he’s sticking around. Instead, Ottawa plans to carry three goalies amid the winter storm slated to hit the Eastern seaboard during their back-to-back home games tonight and tomorrow, to avoid a situation where weather prevents them from adding a Belleville netminder in case of injury.
It is the 25-year-old Dane’s third recall of the season. He backed up Ullmark in an overtime loss to the Oilers on Oct. 21 and also dressed for a pair of games earlier this month. He entered an 8-2 loss to the Avalanche on Jan. 8 in relief of Leevi Merilainen and allowed five goals on 16 shots for a harsh .688 SV% and 17.22 GAA.
Small sample size aside, it hasn’t been a kind season for Søgaard, nor has it been one for virtually any Sens netminder in the NHL or AHL. In 18 games with Belleville, he’s posted a .889 SV% and 4-8-4 record with a 3.30 GAA and one shutout.
While Søgaard was the third goalie taken in the 2019 draft behind Spencer Knight and Pyotr Kochetkov, it’s becoming abundantly clear that a stable NHL future isn’t in the cards for the 6’7″, 231-lb giant. In 30 appearances for the Sens since debuting five years ago, he’s logged an 11-11-3 record with a .875 SV% and 3.70 GAA.
Nonetheless, he will be heading to Italy next month to serve with teammate Lars Eller on Denmark’s Olympic team. It’s his second time on the men’s national team roster for a non-qualifying tournament, last suiting up as the backup at the 2021 World Championship.