Senators, Blake Montgomery Agree To Terms On Entry-Level Deal
The Senators announced Wednesday that they’ve agreed to terms with left wing prospect Blake Montgomery on a three-year, entry-level deal starting next season. He’ll join AHL Belleville on an amateur tryout contract to finish out this year. The deal will carry a cap hit of $1.075MM with a qualifying offer of $1.114MM upon expiry, per PuckPedia.
Montgomery, a fourth-round pick by Ottawa in 2024, will opt to be one-and-done in college. The 20-year-old two-way forward will end up playing in four different leagues in the span of two seasons if he manages to suit up for Belleville this year. Selected from the USHL’s Lincoln Stars, he stuck around for just 10 games in his post-draft season before jumping north of the border with the OHL’s London Knights. After rattling off nearly a point per game there, he took advantage of the new avenue for CHL players to make the jump to college hockey and committed to the University of Wisconsin.
Montgomery’s lone season with the Badgers will go down as a successful one. He helped them to their first national championship game appearance since 2010 and put up a 9-8–17 scoring line in 37 games along the way. He averaged two shots on goal per game but did end up with a team-worst -7 rating.
The younger brother of Hurricanes defense prospect Bryce Montgomery, it’ll be interesting to see how much – if any – of Blake’s scoring touch can translate to Belleville still relatively early in his development. He’ll turn 21 next month; he was initially draft-eligible in 2023 before being picked up by Ottawa a year later. He still grades out, improbably, as the Sens’ top forward prospect in a pool that’s been heavily decimated in recent years, sitting #4 overall according to Scott Wheeler of The Athletic. He becomes just the third forward age 22 or younger that Ottawa even has under contract.
Montgomery’s contract brings Ottawa up to 28 registered for next season. He’ll be a restricted free agent upon expiry in 2029 with two years of team control remaining.
Brady Tkachuk Available For Playoffs
The Ottawa Senators have been without their captain, Brady Tkachuk, for the last few games of their regular season. Fortunately, his absence isn’t expected to creep into the playoffs, as TSN’s Bruce Garrioch reported that Tkachuk is “good to go” for the postseason.
Regardless, it’s big news for the Senators who are looking to pull off an upset in their opening-round matchup. The heart and soul of the team, Tkachuk has been irreplaceable for Ottawa, scoring 22 goals and 59 points in 60 games, while leveling 162 hits. Despite missing a decent chunk of the season due to injury, Tkachuk remains third on the team in scoring and is likely to finish there.
Senators Recall Hayden Hodgson
The Ottawa Senators have called up Hayden Hodgson from AHL Belleville, in a team announcement earlier today. Having locked up a spot in the postseason, currently slated for a first round match-up against Buffalo, the forward is a perfect spot-starter on the fourth line before what could be an exciting series against two franchises craving a run.
Brady Tkachuk was shaken up yesterday against the Islanders, not returning after catching a stick in the neck area in a weird sequence. Considering what’s in store, there’s no reason to rush their captain back for an inconsequential contest in Newark tonight, and Hodgson is a beneficiary.
The 30-year-old had to play the long game to this point. Undrafted out of the OHL, he was scarcely on anyone’s radar after bouncing around various ECHL clubs from 2017-2021 as well as a stint in Slovakia. After a sudden breakout with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms in 2021-22, where he recorded 31 points, Hodgson got into seven games with the Flyers, but soon found himself back on the move.
Undeterred, the Windsor, Ontario native caught on with the Senators organization in 2024, fully leaning into an enforcer role with back-to-back campaigns with over 130 penalty minutes. The willingness to drop the mitts has gotten him 11 games with the Sens over the past two years, still looking for his first point with the club, but a metric hardly in his job description.
Hodgson will be eager for his first NHL action since early December, assuming he draws into the lineup against the Devils. Not yet reaching the 9:00 mark with the big club in any of his nine games, there can be less restriction of his ice time in a game against a team firmly out of the playoff picture.
After tonight Ottawa will conclude their regular season Wednesday, hosting the Maple Leafs. Hodgson will be soon to re-join Belleville, who unfortunately won’t qualify for the playoffs, but 2025-26 has been a year to remember with the most NHL playing time in his career so far.
Senators’ Thomas Chabot Returning To Lineup
Senators defenseman Thomas Chabot will dress tonight against the Panthers, just two weeks after having surgery to repair a fracture in his right forearm, he told reporters this morning (including Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia). He practiced in a regular jersey today for the first time since the injury, so it’s obviously a rushed return, one that comes at least two weeks ahead of schedule.
Chabot last played on March 23 against the Rangers. He took a cross-check from New York captain J.T. Miller that knocked him out of the game late in the first period and, within a couple of days, was expected to end his regular season. At the time, the Senators were two points out of a playoff spot with a game in hand and had won three in a row. Without Chabot and multiple other defenders, they’ve gone 4-3-1 in their last eight.
That’s been enough to keep pace in the race as their competitors have largely cooled off as well. Entering play tonight, they sit two points clear of the ninth-place Blue Jackets for the second wild-card spot, and none of the teams chasing them have games in hand. They’ve also already clinched tiebreakers over the Jackets, Islanders, and Red Wings, so Ottawa is now in full control of its destiny.
There will be no bigger emotional boost over their final four games than a rather shocking return from Chabot, the team’s longest-tenured skater. The 29-year-old is now in his second decade in the organization, initially brought in with the 18th overall pick in 2015. He served as the team’s #1 for several seasons and, although he’s now dropped to the second pairing on the left side behind Jake Sanderson, is still playing at a high level despite a relative lack of power play time. Through 55 games this season, he’s tallied a 7-24–31 scoring line with a +6 rating while averaging 22:34 per night.
Ottawa’s defense, which boasted righties Jordan Spence and Artem Zub as its only two regulars for a brief stretch just last week, is now much closer to full health. After Sanderson returned from his upper-body injury last weekend, their top four is now essentially intact. They’re without Nick Jensen due to a meniscus tear for the rest of the regular season, but Spence had leapfrogged him on the depth chart anyway by the time Jensen went under the knife.
They’re also missing third-pairing lefty Tyler Kleven – a big depth loss, no doubt. However, their makeshift third pairing of Nikolas Matinpalo and Lassi Thomson has produced spectacular results in their small sample, controlling 70.4% of expected goals in 28 minutes together at 5-on-5. With three of Ottawa’s remaining four games against teams already eliminated from the playoffs, their postseason chances have climbed up to nearly 85%, per MoneyPuck.
Image courtesy of Daniel Kucin Jr.-Imagn Images.
Senators Reassign Carter Yakemchuk
The Senators announced this morning that they’ve reassigned defense prospect Carter Yakemchuk to AHL Belleville. His demotion likely means Dennis Gilbert could be an option tomorrow against the Panthers after he returned to practice in a regular jersey earlier in the week.
Ottawa likely wasn’t planning on giving Yakemchuk, the seventh overall pick in 2024, an extended NHL look until next season. He’s had a rocky defensive performance in Belleville this year. Nonetheless, their rash of injuries on the blue line forced their hand. Yakemchuk stepped into four straight contests for the Sens after his late-March recall before landing on the injured list himself because he entered concussion protocol. After missing the last four, his demotion today implies he’d passed the necessary tests and is cleared to return.
Yakemchuk debuted with a bang, recording a goal, assist, and a +2 rating in just 12:46 of ice time in a key regulation win over the Red Wings back on March 24. In the three games following, his performances were considerably more measured. He was held off the scoresheet and logged a -3 rating, three shots on goal, two blocks, and five giveaways with zero takeaways.
The 20-year-old righty’s possession numbers were ghastly, as well. Despite receiving extremely sheltered usage – 81% of his 5-on-5 starts came in the offensive end – the Sens only controlled 43.4% of shot attempts with Yakemchuk on the ice.
It’s clear that, with a playoff berth on the line, the Sens would prefer not to have such an inexperienced, albeit high-ceiling name, in the lineup for their final four games. The club’s top blue line prospect has 10 goals and 36 points in 50 games with Belleville this season to lead the club in scoring among rearguards, but also owns a team-worst -30 rating. As such, they’ll likely look to get him at least one more full year of defensive development in the AHL before trying to work him into a full-time role in 2027-28.
Gilbert, 29, had been out for the last nine games with an upper-body injury. He was summoned from Belleville in early March after Jake Sanderson went down with his injury. While Sanderson’s returned, Thomas Chabot and Tyler Kleven are now sidelined, so the veteran lefty will stay up for now.
Gilbert’s return is of particular importance as the Sens haven’t been able to dress multiple left-shot defenders in a game since Chabot fractured his right forearm back on March 23. Kleven was their only healthy lefty after that, and Sanderson didn’t return until after Kleven went down with an upper-body injury.
Now in his seventh NHL season, Gilbert posted one assist and an even rating across six games last month while averaging 11:22 per night. The 6’2″, 216-lb shutdown threat owns a career 3-18–21 scoring line and a -18 rating in 117 career NHL appearances with the Blackhawks, Avalanche, Flames, Sabres, and Senators.
Senators’ Thomas Chabot Could Return Ahead Of Schedule
The Ottawa Senators’ injury situation turned from bad to worse when Thomas Chabot was sidelined with a broken arm six games before Jake Sanderson returned from his own month-long absence. Chabot underwent surgery to address the injury and was expected to be out six-to-eight weeks, which would have placed his return in the Eastern Conference Finals if the Senators were still playing. Roughly two weeks later, it appears Chabot’s recovery is going better than expected. He has already returned to practice and could return ahead of his original window, head coach Travis Green told TSN’s Bruce Garrioch.
Ottawa’s blue-line has faced a long string of injuries since the start of March. The Senators were forced to lean on their few healthy veterans – Tyler Kleven, Jordan Spence, and Artem Zub – in the few games where both Chabot and Sanderson were out. They didn’t leave that plan unscathed, with Kleven sustaining a potential season-ending injury of his own. Sanderson has averaged over 25 minutes of ice time in his two games since returning to the lineup, similar to the deployment Chabot carried before his injury.
Ottawa has fought a war of attrition in their attempt to seal an Eastern Conference Wild Card. Battling through injuries, the Senators have managed the sixth-most wins in the NHL (11) since March 1st. That comes largely thanks to the offense’s scoring ability, with Ottawa also ranked eighth in total goals in that span (61). Even then, the Senators have totaled a measly 10-11-1 record in games without Chabot this season. His absence leaves a major hole in Ottawa’s top-four. He has 31 points in 55 games, second-most on the Senators’ blue-line behind Sanderson’s 49 points. He has also kept up his strong play away from the puck while usually facing opponents’ top players.
Adding Chabot back into the lineup will reinstill the Senators’ one-two punch on defense, no matter when it happens. While news of a quick recovery is an exciting boost, it seems Ottawa may still have to finish the season down a top defender. The Senators currently hold onto the second Wild Card spot with 90 points and five games left. They sit one point ahead of the New York Islanders, with a game in hand, and two points ahead of the Detroit Red Wings and Columbus Blue Jackets.
Senators Reassign Jorian Donovan
April 6: The Senators loaned Donovan back to Belleville on Sunday night, per a team announcement. His services weren’t needed for this weekend’s back-to-back after Sanderson was indeed able to take warmups and dress against Minnesota on Saturday and again against the Hurricanes on Sunday, recording an assist and a +2 rating in a significant win in the latter outing.
April 4: The Senators are set to recall defenseman Jorian Donovan from AHL Belleville before Saturday’s game against the Wild, Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia reports.
This marks Donovan’s second recall in as many weeks. The 21-year-old lefty was brought up on March 24 to make his NHL debut amid injuries to Thomas Chabot and Lassi Thomson, the latter of whom has since returned.
Donovan suited up twice, averaging just 7:02 of ice time per game with a pair of shot attempts and hits each, before Thomson returned to the lineup. He was then assigned back to Belleville but comes back up now in the wake of yet another injury to Ottawa’s blue line in Tyler Kleven, who left Thursday’s win over the Sabres early with an upper-body injury.
The hope was that Jake Sanderson, who’s been out since March 9 with an upper-body injury, could slot back into the lineup to relieve Kleven. He’s been skating for several days now but has yet to shed his non-contact designation, so that’s looking unlikely. That leaves Donovan and his less than 15 minutes of NHL experience as the Sens’ only left-shot option on the blue line for this afternoon’s game.
Ottawa’s injury count on defense is now up to six. Outside of Chabot, Kleven, and Sanderson, Dennis Gilbert is out for another couple of weeks with an upper-body injury, Nick Jensen‘s regular season is over after meniscus surgery, and Carter Yakemchuk is in concussion protocol.
Despite such a crippling blow, the Sens are in pole position for the second wild-card spot in the East. They enter action today in a four-way tie with the Blue Jackets, Flyers, and Red Wings at 88 points, but Ottawa and Detroit have one fewer game played than the field, and the Sens have 33 regulation wins to the Wings’ 29. If their patchwork defense group can pull out a win today, that would boost their playoff odds from their current coin flip up to 65%, per MoneyPuck.
Donovan, son of former Sens winger Shean Donovan, checks in at 6’2″ and 201 lbs. A fifth-round pick in 2022, the two-way lefty is up to 17 assists, 21 points, and a -12 rating in 59 games in his second season for Belleville.
Senators’ Tyler Kleven Out Indefinitely
The Ottawa Senators added top defenseman Jake Sanderson back to the lineup on Saturday – but their luck with injuries isn’t on the upswing yet. Sanderson’s return filled in for Tyler Kleven, who is out indefinitely with an upper-body injury per Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Citizen. This is the sixth injury that Ottawa’s blue-line has faced in the last month.
Kleven sustained the injury while blocking a shot just seven minutes into Thursday’s win over the Buffalo Sabres. The puck appeared to hit him in the face. Kleven will be re-evaluated on a week-to-week basis, a designation that could end his season with only six games left on Ottawa’s schedule.
Kleven stepped into a major role while Ottawa looked to make up for injuries to Sanderson and Thomas Chabot. He has averaged nearly 24 minutes of ice time over the last eight games, supporting Ottawa to a 4-3-1 record in that stretch. Kleven has contributed five assists, four penalty minutes, and a plus-three across that stretch. It has been a clutch performance from the usual third-pair defenseman as Ottawa fights to hang onto an Eastern Conference wild card. Kleven is up to 18 points, 53 penalty minutes, and a plus-two in 70 games this season. All three of those stats are new career-highs after Kleven posted 10 points, 27 penalty minutes, and a minus-11 in 79 games as a rookie last season.
Cameron Crotty stuck in the lineup in Kleven’s absence. Saturday marked the fifth NHL game of his career, and the second of his season. He has failed to score at the top level yet. Crotty has found a bit more production with the AHL’s Belleville Senators, where he has recorded 10 points, 29 penalty minutes, and a minus-four in 49 games this season. The 26 year old is in his sixth season in North American pros and could hang onto a bottom-pair role for the rest of the season if he can stick in Kleven’s spot.
Senators Notes: Yakemchuk, Sanderson, Tkachuk, Eller
It has been a rocky few weeks for Ottawa’s back end with the team having to use a dozen different blueliners since the Olympic break. At times, the injury recalls have turned around and gotten injured themselves. The latest was youngster Carter Yakemchuk who was injured on Tuesday against Florida.
Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch reports that the previously undisclosed injury for the 20-year-old is one that saw him enter concussion protocol. Accordingly, there is no timetable for his return. Yakemchuk is in his first professional season and has spent the majority of it with AHL Belleville, notching 10 goals and 26 assists in 50 games. Injuries necessitated a promotion earlier this month and he has an assist in four appearances with Ottawa while logging a little under 14 minutes per night of playing time.
There could be some good news on the horizon, however. Garrioch adds that Jake Sanderson took part in today’s optional skate in a regular (contact) jersey after having a non-contact sweater the day before. Sanderson is working his way back from a shoulder injury and could be cleared to return this weekend; they play Minnesota on Saturday and Carolina on Sunday. Sanderson is Ottawa’s top blueliner and has 48 points in 64 games this season while averaging just under 25 minutes per night of action.
Moving away from the back end, the league announced today that forward Brady Tkachuk was fined $2.5K for unsportsmanlike conduct in Thursday’s game against Buffalo. He slashed Beck Malenstyn from the bench, earning himself a two-minute minor on the play. The fine money goes to the Players’ Emergency Assistance Fund.
Lastly, center Lars Eller achieved his final games played performance bonus earlier this week when he played in his 60th game, earning him another $250K. He received that at the 40-game mark as well. Eller has two more bonuses in his deal (which carries a $1.25MM base salary) but those are playoff-dependent. He’ll receive one if Ottawa can hold onto a playoff spot – they moved into the second Wild Card spot yesterday – while the other wouldn’t be earned unless the Sens make it to the Eastern Conference Final.
Tyler Kleven Leaves Game With Upper-Body Injury
- Staying in the Atlantic Division, the Ottawa Senators are dealing with yet another injury to their defensive corps. The team is already without Thomas Chabot, Dennis Gilbert, Nick Jensen, Jake Sanderson, and Carter Yakemchuk. In last night’s game against the Buffalo Sabres, after taking a puck to the face, the Senators shared that Tyler Kleven left the game with an injury, and the team isn’t expecting good news regarding his near-future availability. For their next contest, unless a call-up is made, the only left-handed player who can play defense for Ottawa is Kurtis MacDermid.
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