- The Senators have placed center Shane Pinto on injured reserve, notes Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch, who adds that Pinto is expected to miss two weeks and likely more, suggesting that a return after the holiday break may be more realistic. The open roster spot was used to recall Hayden Hodgson earlier today. The 25-year-old got off to a strong start to his season and has 12 goals in 27 games along with a four-year, $30MM contract extension that begins in 2026-27.
Senators Rumors
Ottawa Senators Recall Hayden Hodgson
As expected, the Ottawa Senators have recalled a forward for tonight’s contest with the news that Shane Pinto would miss with a lower-body injury. To that end, the Senators announced they have recalled Hayden Hodgson from the AHL’s Belleville Senators.
It’s the second recall of the year for Hodgson. The 29-year-old winger was first recalled on November 8th and spent the rest of the month with the Senators before being reassigned only a few days ago.
He was largely ineffective through his first trip of the season with Ottawa. Despite reaching a career-high of eight games played already, Hodgson went scoreless with a -1 rating, averaging 6:55 of ice time per game.
Additionally, his underlying metrics didn’t paint a better picture. At even strength, Hodgson managed a 48.0% CorsiFor% and 88.9% on-ice save percentage. Still, it isn’t easy nor fair to make too many judgments on a player who garnered such a limited opportunity.
Regardless, Hodgson typically doesn’t make his presence known on the offensive side of the puck, even during his tenure in the AHL. A hyperphysical forward, Hodgson has managed 490 PIMs across 234 AHL contests.
At any rate, it’s somewhat surprising that the Senators didn’t recall a more direct replacement to fill the void made by Pinto’s absence. Arthur Kaliyev, who signed with Ottawa this past summer, has been on a torrid pace with Belleville and will be ineligible for waivers for some time after clearing in early October. In 22 games with the AHL Senators, Kaliyev has scored 15 goals and 24 points, bringing similar skills to the roster as Pinto.
Pinto Out Saturday, Recall From Belleville Being Considered
- The Senators won’t have center Shane Pinto available to them for tomorrow’s game against St. Louis, relays Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch. He suffered a lower-body injury early in Thursday’s game and is still being evaluated at this time. Meanwhile, there is no timeline for fellow middleman Lars Eller’s return to the lineup from an undisclosed injury. Ottawa recently recalled center Stephen Halliday and head coach Travis Green confirmed that they are contemplating another recall. With Ridly Greig being able to move back down the middle, the Sens won’t be restricted to only considering centers; winger Arthur Kaliyev is off to a strong start and could be worthy of a promotion.
Lower-Body Injury For Pinto
- The Senators announced (Twitter link) that center Shane Pinto left tonight’s game with a lower-body injury. The injury was sustained in the opening period on a hit from Mika Zibanejad. Even though his production has tapered off a bit as of late, the 25-year-old still leads Ottawa in goals with 12 in 27 games and came into the night averaging a career-high 19:30 per game of ice time. An absence for him would be a big blow to their center depth.
Senators Recall Stephen Halliday
The Senators announced they’ve elevated center Stephen Halliday from AHL Belleville ahead of tonight’s game against the Rangers. He’s expected to be in the lineup centering the fourth line between Ridly Greig and Nick Cousins, Claire Hanna of TSN reports. Lars Eller wasn’t present after taking just three shifts in the third period of Tuesday’s win over the Canadiens and could be unavailable. Ottawa opened a roster spot earlier in the week by reassigning winger Hayden Hodgson to Belleville.
Even if Halliday is only in tonight’s lineup as an injury replacement for Belleville, the Hodgson demotion suggests he could be in for a lengthier stint on the active roster than his first time around. Ottawa brought the 23-year-old rookie up for a 10-day stretch in November in which he made the first four appearances of his NHL career. Halliday, a 2022 fourth-round pick who spent two years at Ohio State before turning pro in 2024, notched his first assist in the process and logged a -1 rating while averaging 6:27 of ice time per game. His under-the-hood numbers left much to be desired. He went 4-for-11 (36.4%) on faceoffs, and the Sens were outchanced 14-3 with him on the ice at 5-on-5 despite Halliday not receiving a single defensive zone start.
They’re hoping for more offensive juice from Halliday this time around to offset his still-developing defensive game. Considering his minor-league production, that’s a reasonable expectation. The 6’4″ pivot burst onto the scene last year with 19 goals and 51 points in 71 games for the B-Sens, leading the team in scoring, but also posted a team-worst -20 rating. This season has brought more of the same. He’s only lit the lamp once through 17 appearances, but is registering over an assist per game for 19 points with a -10 rating.
Halliday is in the final season of his entry-level contract and will be a restricted free agent next summer with arbitration rights. He will remain waiver-exempt through the 2026-27 season unless he reaches 70 career appearances by then.
Senators Reassign Hayden Hodgson To AHL
The Ottawa Senators announced this afternoon that forward Hayden Hodgson has been sent back to AHL Belleville. The bruising winger was called up to the big club on November 9th, since then appearing in eight contests, with no points, and 11 penalty minutes, playing in a limited capacity.
Hodgson, 29, has three career NHL points in 17 games between Ottawa and the Flyers, not exactly a world-beater, but considering his path to this point, etching himself into a Senators lineup is seriously impressive. The Ontario native was undrafted out of the OHL, and spent the next several seasons grinding away in the ECHL, even making a short stop in Slovakia before coming back to North America. The decision to return paid off, as he eventually earned an opportunity with the Flyers in the 2021-22 season, scoring a goal in a short NHL run, in his debut, no less.
After catching on with Ottawa on a two-way deal, last season Hodgson led the Belleville Senators with 156 penalty minutes, and in 10 games with them so far in 2025-26, he has three goals. In an age where players in his mold are largely phased out of the NHL, impressively Hodgson has managed to make a name for himself, and is signed through 2026-27 with the Senators organization. Although headed back to Belleville for now, the Sens could call upon their bruiser again in the near future as a reliable fourth line option with serious physicality.
Afternoon Notes: Formenton, Merkulov, Penguins
The Ottawa Senators have until Monday to re-sign or trade former winger Alex Formenton. If they wait beyond then, Formenton will become an unrestricted free agent. A few days out, it appears that will be exactly what happens, per Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Citizen. Formenton was one of five players accused in the high-profile sexual assault trial that reached a verdict earlier this year. Formenton briefly retired from professional hockey to work in construction full-time during 2024 and 2025, while awaiting his trial date.
He returned to hockey this season, re-signing with Ambri-Piotta of Switzerland’s National League, where he spent the 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons. Formenton has nine points and a minus-10 in 20 games this season. That mark is far below the 29 points he posted in 46 games in his prior two seasons in Switzerland.
Ottawa will lose Formenton’s rights in the coming days with this update. He will continue to find his footing in Switzerland’s top league, and seems far away from any hope of returning to an NHL contract.
Other notes from around the league:
- The Boston Bruins have reassigned Georgii Merkulov to the AHL’s Providence Bruins per Ty Anderson of Boston’s 98.5 The Sports Hub. He did not appear in the NHL lineup on his latest call-up, which only lasted a few days. Merkulov did play one NHL game earlier this season and posted no scoring and a minus-one. He has been a far larger presence in the minor leagues, where he’s scored 14 points in 17 games. The AHL Bruins are in the midst of a three-game win-streak, during which they’ve outscored opponents 17-8. Now, they’ll get a major piece of their offense back from the NHL club ahead of three games this week.
- The Pittsburgh Penguins could soon be forced to lean on their young rookies per Josh Yohe of The Athletic. Yohe points out the struggles of Pittsburgh’s bottom-six forwards, including Joona Koppanen, who has just one assist in 10 games this season. Pittsburgh could be much better off relying on prospects Rutger McGroarty and Tristan Broz, who have looked sharp for the AHL’s Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. McGroarty leads the team in points-per-game with seven points in five games. Broz has 13 points in 18 games of his own, good for third on the team in total scoring. Now, they could be asked to bring their high-skill offense to a Penguins squad that’s struggled to score with their superstars off of the ice. McGroarty recorded three points in his first eight NHL games last season, while Broz went scoreless in his NHL debut last week.
Evening Notes: Teravainen, Foegele, Greig
The Chicago Blackhawks could be without a top winger in Sunday’s matchup against the Anaheim Ducks. Teuvo Teravainen is questionable due to an undisclosed injury per Scott Powers of The Athletic. Teravainen was not present for the team’s Saturday morning practice.
It is unclear when Teravainen sustained his injury. In any case, he would leave a major lineup hole behind him after playing in more than 20 minutes of ice time in three of his last five games. He has recorded three points and a minus-three in that span, bringing his year-long totals up to 16 points and a plus-four in 24 games. Teravainen has been a core piece of a young Chicago lineup. Should he have to sit, the Blackhawks would be forced to turn towards Landon Slaggert, who has played scant minutes and managed no scoring in his last four appearances. Slaggert has one goal and 12 penalty minutes in 10 games this season.
Other notes from around the league:
- Los Angeles Kings winger Warren Foegele is continuing to progress from a day-to-day, upper-body injury. Head coach Jim Hiller said that Foegele is feeling better but won’t play in Saturday night’s matchup against the Vancouver Canucks, per Kings’ managing editor Zach Dooley. Foegele has four goals, a plus-two-, and eight penalty minutes in 18 games this season. He has served a third-line role, after posting a career-year with the Kings last season. In what was his first year with the club, Foegele managed 24 goals and 46 points in 82 games, both career-highs. He will continue to carry a day-to-day designation and look to find a path back to production when the Kings take on the Washington Capitals on Tuesday.
- Ottawa Senators forward Ridly Greig could make his return from injury in Sunday’s matchup against the Dallas Stars, head coach Travis Green told Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Citizen. Greig missed his fifth-straight game on Friday. He is working back from a day-to-day, undisclosed injury sustained on November 15th. The 23-year-old center has eight points, 20 penalty minutes, and 25 hits in 19 games this season. He seems to be approaching a true breakout, and could continue that hunt as soon as Sunday.
Senators Recall Dennis Gilbert, Place Thomas Chabot On IR
The Senators have made a pair of roster moves heading into their next game in Dallas on Sunday as the team announced that they’ve recalled Dennis Gilbert from AHL Belleville. While not noted as part of the announcement, Ottawa has shifted defenseman Thomas Chabot to IR to make room for Gilbert on the active roster.
Gilbert will officially begin his second stint with the Senators with this promotion. Acquired at the trade deadline last season from Buffalo, the 29-year-old played a sparing role down the stretch, suiting up just four times, where he had an assist and 11 hits in 13:02 per game of playing time. Over the season between the two teams, Gilbert had six assists in 29 outings but logged just 10:29 per contest.
The Flyers signed Gilbert to a one-year, $875K deal over the summer but he wound up on waivers in training camp, passing through unclaimed resulting in a demotion to AHL Lehigh Valley. He got into six games with the Phantoms where he had one assist before suffering an injury that kept him out for the better part of a month.
During that time, the Sens swung a move to bring him back into the fold, dealing the rights to unsigned RFA defenseman Max Guenette to get him. Gilbert got into three games with Belleville following the swap and was more productive, collecting three helpers.
Chabot’s stint on Ottawa’s active roster didn’t last very long. Activated off injured reserve last weekend, he played just once and has been listed as out with an upper-body injury since then. If they backdate the placement to his last game played (November 22nd), he’ll technically be eligible to be activated at any time. The 28-year-old has two goals and eight assists in 18 games so far this season.
Senators Looking To Add But Won’t Go “Big Game Hunting”
The Ottawa Senators have been on a gradual climb since being taken over by owner Michael Andlauer and general manager Steve Staios. That ascension helped justify their acquisition of center Dylan Cozens and winger Fabian Zetterlund at the 2025 Trade Deadline. Those additions helped push the Senators to their first playoff appearance since 2017 – but the team’s rise isn’t over yet. Ottawa ranks second in the Atlantic Division through the early season and is now hoping to land a forward and defenseman on the trade market, per TSN’s Darren Dreger and Jamie Duthie in their intermission segment during Friday’s loss to the St. Louis Blues and captured by Julian McKenzie of The Athletic.
Dreger added that he doesn’t expect the Senators to be “big game hunters” and that top prospect Carter Yakemchuk would be off the table in trade negotiations. Yakemchuk is playing through his first professional season and currently has 14 points and a minus-11 in 20 games with the AHL’s Belleville Senators. He’s a hard-hitting, offensive-defenseman who seems well equipped to bring his flashy offense to Ottawa sooner rather than later.
If Yakemchuk is off the table, Ottawa is likely to exclude any of their top prospects in negotiations. That could include University of Wisconsin defender Logan Hensler who the team acquired after trading back in this year’s draft, and winger Stephen Halliday who scored his first NHL point last week. That could leave Ottawa in a bit of a bind. Their acquisition of Zetterlund revolved around a package of future assets, and the Senators sit in the top-half of oldest rosters in the NHL.
That could make draft capital their shiniest asset headed into the trade season. The Senators are without their first and second round picks in the 2026 draft, but have all of their top picks in the drafts beyond that. They also have Buffalo’s second-round pick in 2026, which could be valuable if the Sabres stay near the bottom of the league. A couple of high-value draft picks should be enough to land Ottawa a few difference-makers on the open market, especially if they’re willing to package them with a prospect like Blake Montgomery or Gabriel Eliasson.
Who Ottawa could go after will be a tough question. Calgary Flames assets Nazem Kadri and Rasmus Andersson are both #1’s at their position, and likely represent that big game hunting Dreger mentioned. Instead, Ottawa could find a match pursuing St. Louis Blues veterans Brayden Schenn and Justin Faulk. Or maybe they could benefit from the Nashville Predators continued struggles and acquire winger Jonathan Marchessault or Michael Bunting. Ottawa could even find a package deal from the San Jose Sharks, who are bound to be offering center Alexander Wennberg and defender Mario Ferraro on the open market.
The range of price could vary widely, and change significantly before the Trade Deadline in March. But there’s no doubt that Ottawa will be a welcome addition to a buyer’s market. There are plenty of former Stanley Cup champions and hopefuls available for trade, and landing one or two could go far in boosting Ottawa’s offense to Conference Final aspirations. The Senators are projected to have $13.68MM in cap space at the Trade Deadline and $22.57MM by next off-season, per PuckPedia. That should be more than enough room to squeeze one or two more players into the top of the Senators lineup. As proven last year, those mid-season additions could take Ottawa far.