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Ottawa Senators Recall Mads Sogaard, Reassign Leevi Merilainen

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The Ottawa Senators have swapped which goalie will hold the backup’s role on their NHL roster. Per an official team announcement, netminder Leevi Merilainen has been reassigned to their AHL affiliate, the Belleville Senators, while Mads Sogaard has been recalled.

Merilainen won the Senators’ backup goalie job coming out of training camp, a development that was a continuation of the Senators’ goaltending depth chart order from 2024-25. Merilainen, 23, got into 12 NHL games last season, compared to just two for Sogaard.

Sogaard and Merilainen were polar opposites in terms of form last season, as Sogaard struggled mightily in limited AHL action and couldn’t gain momentum to play in the NHL when he was healthy, while Merilainen excelled in his second full season of pro hockey in North America.

Last year, Merilainen posted a .913 save percentage across 37 AHL games and a .925 mark across 12 NHL games. Sogaard, on the other hand, posted an .858 save percentage in just eight AHL games.

Injuries didn’t help matters for Sogaard last season, but the reality is that the towering netminder, a 2019 second-rounder, looked to have been passed by on the team’s goaltending depth chart by Merilainen, a 2020 third-rounder.

Today’s roster move flips things. Outside of the two netminders’ competition in preseason and training camp (one that Merilainen won, as Sogaard was placed on waivers and sent to Belleville earlier this month) neither goalie has had the chance to make an extended impact in the crease.

Sogaard has played in two AHL games for Belleville this year, going 0-1-1 with an .864 save percentage and 2.94 goals-against average.

Merilainen, on the other hand, has played in just one game, and was unfortunate enough to be on the wrong end of what has been, to this point, the worst game of this young Senators campaign. Merilainen was tagged for seven goals against in an 8-4 loss to the Buffalo Sabres, and saving 19 of 26 shots against a team that had, to that point in the season, struggled mightily to score goals, is not a performance that is going to inspire a lot of confidence.

It would be unfair, of course, to lay the blame for that loss entirely on Merilainen’s shoulders. But that performance, combined with today’s move, does throw into question the Senators’ goaltending plans behind entrenched starter Linus Ullmark.

The Athletic’s Julian McKenzie wrote that with neither Merilainen nor Sogaard inspiring much confidence, and Ullmark struggling, “a goalie may be needed” from outside the organization in order to stabilize the position.

While it’s too early to say that the Senators’ decision not to retain veteran backup Anton Forsberg over the summer (he signed a two-year, $2.25MM AAV deal with the Los Angeles Kings) was a mistake, things appear highly unsettled in net for the Senators so far this year. In what is a crucially important season in Ottawa, one where the Senators simply cannot afford to take a step back after finally returning to the playoffs in 2024-25, goaltending appears to be emerging as an early problem area for the team.

External help in the crease could become available at some point. The Carolina Hurricanes and Buffalo Sabres are currently carrying an extra goalie they claimed on waivers due to injuries to their expected NHL goalies, and therefore it’s possible one or both of Colten Ellis and Brandon Bussi find their way back onto the waiver wire at some point.

That is also the case for Cayden Primeau in Toronto, though the fact that Joseph Woll has taken a leave of absence to deal with a family matter (which understandably does not have as concrete of a return timeline as an injury) does complicate things.

Photo courtesy of Matt Blewett-Imagn Images

Shane Pinto Reportedly Offered Eight-Year Extension

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  • Yesterday, we covered reports coming out of Ottawa that Senators center Shane Pinto and the team were set to re-engage in talks over a contract extension for the talented young center. Those reports indicated that there was a notable gap between the Senators’ expectations for a new contract and the expectations of Pinto’s representatives, led by Lewis Gross of Sports Professional Management. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman added to the reporting around Pinto last night, revealing that the Senators had offered Pinto an eight-year contract extension. It’s unclear at this time whether Pinto and the Senators will be able to reach an agreement on such a long-term contract (Pinto’s goal-scoring success so far this season should certainly embolden his camp’s pursuit of a major pay raise) but as of right now, it’s abundantly clear the Senators are hoping to keep Pinto in the fold for as long as possible.

Senators Expected To Resume Shane Pinto Extension Talks Soon

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With Senators center Shane Pinto heading into the final year of his contract this season, the team and his representatives held extension talks over the offseason but were too far apart in terms of his value.  As a result, those discussions were put on pause with Pinto’s camp wanting to get through the start of the season without any possible distractions.

It appears that will soon be changing.  Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch reports that there’s an expectation that the two sides will meet again soon to rekindle those talks.

There have been some interesting moments in contract talks with him before.  When he was a restricted free agent back in 2024, there were suggestions that his camp was hoping to solicit an offer sheet in the hopes of landing a contract that was closer to the value they were seeking from the Sens.  Considering he wound up signing a bridge deal soon after, clearly one never materialized.

That bridge agreement was a heavily backloaded two-year, $7.5MM pact.  The deal sees Pinto receiving $5MM in salary this season.  With the qualifying offers being the lower of either his current-season salary or 120% of the AAV ($3.75MM in this case), he’s already set for a raise in his cap charge with his qualifying offer checking in at $4.5MM with salary arbitration rights next summer.

Pinto’s performance and the quickly rising salary cap ensure that he’ll be getting a higher number than that on his next deal.  Last season, he picked up a career-best 21 goals and 37 points in 70 games while largely playing in their top six.

This season, he’s off to an even better start.  The 24-year-old is tied for the league lead in goals with six through five games and while a shooting percentage of 40 is clearly unsustainable, both sides are certainly hoping that another career year offensively is on the horizon.

Garrioch relays word from a league source that suggested that Ottawa’s offer to Pinto’s camp was a longer-term offer in the $5MM to $5.5MM range, one that would lock him in as their third pivot for years to come.  With Tim Stutzle now moved to center and the acquisition of Dylan Cozens at the trade deadline last season, the hope is that those two will lock down the top two center slots for the foreseeable future.

But with that offer coming in not too high above the qualifying offer, it’s understandable that Pinto wouldn’t have wanted to sign that type of deal this early.  Meanwhile, a league executive suggested to Garrioch that Pinto might be looking to land a contract with a price tag between Cozens ($7.1MM) and Stutzle ($8.35MM).  While his offensive production to-date wouldn’t necessarily justify that, it’s also reflective of the expectation that salaries are set to jump quickly in this new cap environment.

There is definitely some risk in restarting discussions while Pinto is in the middle of a hot streak and Ottawa’s offer certainly won’t be pegging Pinto to keep producing at his current level.  But if he has done enough for the Senators to up their original proposal, it might be enough of a step to see if the two sides can get something worked out.

Evening Notes: Lycksell, Cooley, Zamula

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The Ottawa Senators assigned forward Olle Lycksell to the AHL’s Belleville Senators early on Friday. Lycksell appeared in two games with Ottawa this week, but sat out of the team’s most recent game on Thursday. He didn’t manage any scoring in those appearances.

Lycksell is in his first year in the Senators’ organization after signing a one-year, two-way, league-minimum $775K contract with the club on July 1st. He spent the last three seasons bouncing between the Philadelphia Flyers’ major and minor league rosters. He totaled 11 points in 45 NHL games, and 128 points in 134 AHL games with the Flyers. He’ll look to maintain near point-per-game scoring in the minors with Belleville. If he can, he could soon return to a depth role with Ottawa.

Other notes from around the league:

  • The Utah Mammoth have a colossal extension looming when top center Logan Cooley hits free agency next summer. But despite minimal talks of an extension, Cooley’s agent, Brian Bartlett, told the Daily Faceoff that he’s not worried about getting a deal done. Bartlett emphasized that Cooley still has plenty of time to work something out. There’s no doubt Mammoth fan will be watching closely for Cooley’s next contract, after he posted 109 points in 157 games with the club over his first two seasons in the NHL. He’s likely to sign a hardy extension that should cement his spot as Utah’s top center.
  • The Calgary Flames are interested in acquiring a big-bodied, left-shot defenseman per Daily Faceoff’s Anthony Di Marco, who adds that Flyers defender Egor Zamula could be a prime target. Zamula played in 120 games with the WHL’s Calgary Hitmen before beginning his pro career. Now, he’s found himself on the outside of Philadelphia’s daily lineup, despite mixed results. Zamula boasts a career stat line of 40 points in 157 games. He posted a career-high 21 points and plus-three in 66 games of the 2023-24 season, but fell to just 15 points and a minus-14 in 63 games last year. That dip in scoring could make him a relatively cheap acquisition, should Calgary swing a trade.

Brady Tkachuk Out 6-7 Weeks Following Hand Surgery

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Oct. 16: Tkachuk underwent surgery to repair a ligament issue in his right hand in New York today, Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia reports. The procedure extends his return timeline to six to seven weeks and, with the clock resetting to today, won’t be back in the lineup until Thanksgiving at the earliest. That’s a 20-game minimum absence, including last night’s loss to the Sabres.

Oct. 14: Senators captain Brady Tkachuk will miss at least four weeks due to the right wrist injury he sustained in yesterday’s game against the Predators, head coach Travis Green said (via Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia). They’ve yet to decide on whether surgery is required. If so, his return timeline will be extended.

Tkachuk sustained the injury early in the game. While on the power play, he took a cross-check from Nashville captain Roman Josi near the goal line that carried enough force to cause Tkachuk to fall forward into the boards, bending his right wrist awkwardly in the process. He didn’t immediately leave the game but ended up taking his last shift midway through the third period. Green said immediately after the match that Tkachuk was going for evaluation and that his absence wasn’t precautionary.

This will stand as Tkachuk’s largest absence to date. While he’s missed games due to injury in four of his seven full NHL seasons, none of them were serious enough to warrant lengthy recovery times. The most time he ever missed was nine games due to a leg injury early in his rookie season. His four-week minimum means his earliest return is Nov. 11 against the Stars, meaning at least a 13-game absence for the star winger.

Thankfully for Ottawa, they have a relatively easy stretch of games ahead. Only three of those 13 contests are against teams that made the playoffs last season. They’ve gotten off to a tough start, though, especially defensively. They’re 1-2-0 through their first three contests and have yet to give up fewer than four goals, averaging a 4.67 GA/GP mark that ranks 31st in the league. While their 26.0 shots against per game figure is sixth-best in the NHL, their 64.3% success rate on the penalty kill – fifth-worst in the league – hasn’t helped matters. Linus Ullmark has also allowed a league-worst 5.4 goals above expected in his three starts, per MoneyPuck. Tkachuk doesn’t factor in shorthanded, so in that sense, his absence won’t mean much as Ottawa looks to address its biggest early-season weaknesses.

His missing offense and intangibles will, though. Tkachuk had three assists and a +1 rating through his first three outings and, although his 29-26–55 scoring line in 72 games last year was underwhelming by his standards, he received Hart Trophy consideration for the first time as he captained Ottawa to its first playoff berth since 2017. Despite missing a good portion of yesterday’s contest, he still ranks third on the team so far with 10 hits, is tied for the team lead with 21 shot attempts, and has controlled possession well with a 56.5 CF% at even strength.

Now, it’ll be mid-November until he’s consistently in the mix this season. The Senators can place him on injured reserve whenever they need a roster spot. That will likely come in conjunction with activating Drake Batherson, who is expected to come off IR before tomorrow’s game, according to Garrioch. Tkachuk is eligible for long-term injured reserve as well and can yield up to $3.82MM in cap relief, but with the Sens already banking over $2.45MM in space, that won’t be necessary, at least for now.

Luckily for the Sens, they don’t have any mounting injuries behind their leader. They have all available options, including Batherson, to elevate into top-line duties alongside Tim Stützle and Fabian Zetterlund in his absence.

Ottawa Senators Recall Arthur Kaliyev

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The Ottawa Senators have recalled forward Arthur Kaliyev from their AHL affiliate, the Belleville Senators, the team announced today. The move comes as the team grapples with the loss of Brady Tkachuk, who will miss at least a month with a wrist injury. He’s landed on injured reserve as the corresponding transaction, per the league’s media site.

The Florida Panthers’ claim of defenseman Donovan Sebrango yesterday cleared a roster spot for Ottawa (something that would have also happened had Sebrango cleared waivers and been reassigned to Belleville, which was likely the team’s preferred outcome) and they’ve filled it with this recall of Kaliyev.

While Kaliyev certainly won’t be able to replace, or likely even come close to replacing, the on-ice and off-ice impact brought by Tkachuk, he does nonetheless bring quite a bit of NHL experience. The 24-year-old, who was signed to a one-year, two-way $775K/$425K contract this past summer, has played in over 200 NHL games and scored 38 goals and 75 points. He was originally drafted by the Los Angeles Kings in the second round of the 2019 draft, with most public-facing scouts rating him as a potential high-upside scorer with some very real risk to his projection.

Kaliyev scored goals at an extremely high rate in his junior hockey days in the OHL (where current Senators GM Steve Staios was his team’s president) but has not been able to translate that goal-scoring prowess to the pro ranks.

He started off pretty well, scoring 14 goals and 27 points in 80 games during his 2021-22 rookie season, and followed that up by scoring 13 goals and 28 points in just 56 games in 2022-23, which is a 19-goal, 41-point 82-game scoring pace.

But despite showing some signs of offensive proficiency, Kaliyev struggled to make an all-around impact. He managed just seven goals and 15 points in 2023-24, and got into just 14 NHL games last season, all coming with the New York Rangers after they claimed him off of waivers.

2025-26 has been widely viewed as a make-or-break year for Kaliyev’s hopes of having a long-term future as an NHL player, and while he didn’t make the Senators out of training camp and cleared waivers in the preseason, it appears this Tkachuk injury will give him the opportunity to play in NHL games once more. The Senators elevated forward Michael Amadio to the first-line left wing spot on Tim Stutzle’s line that Tkachuk vacated, but the team had a nightmare game falling 8-4 to the Buffalo Sabres, with Amadio failing to register a point.

While that doesn’t mean the team will give Kaliyev a run in that coveted lineup spot next to Stutzle, it does indicate that the team’s solution for managing Tkachuk’s absence is far from settled. In that, there is opportunity. Kaliyev may begin his NHL tenure with the Senators as a healthy scratch, but even if that’s the case, this recall still presents a major opportunity for Kaliyev.

Even if he fails to make the most of that opportunity, this recall will at the very least give him a nice financial boost, as he’ll make the pro-rated portion of his NHL salary of $775K for as long as he can spend on the Senators’ NHL roster.

Photo courtesy of Jeff Curry-Imagn Images

Panthers Claim Donovan Sebrango

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The Panthers have claimed left-shot defenseman Donovan Sebrango off waivers from the Senators, Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia reports. Their active roster is full, so they must make a corresponding transaction.

Sebrango, 23, has just four games of NHL experience. All of them have come with the Senators this calendar year, making two appearances in 2024-25 and playing in their first two games of this season. He hasn’t been involved on the scoresheet, going pointless with a -2 rating and one hit while averaging 12:46 of ice time per game. Ottawa controlled 51.1% of shot attempts while he was on the ice at even strength despite two-thirds of his shifts starting in the defensive end, which are some promising early results.

This is Sebrango’s first season being waiver-eligible. Florida will be his third organization. He was a third-round pick by the Red Wings in 2020, but only recorded AHL and ECHL time in the Detroit organization before being sent to Ottawa in 2023 in the Alex DeBrincat deal. He’s a pending restricted free agent with arbitration rights after signing a two-way contract to return to the Sens late in the offseason.

The intrigue with Sebrango lies in his minor-league progression. En route to working his way onto Ottawa’s opening night roster for 2025-26, the 6’2″ lefty had a career year on the farm with Belleville last season. He served as an alternate captain for the AHL club with an 8-12–20 scoring line in 50 games. The hard-hitting rearguard also had 79 PIMs and a -4 rating.

There’s no coincidence that Florida’s claim lines up with their announcement earlier today that Dmitry Kulikov will be out through the trade deadline after undergoing shoulder surgery on a torn labrum. Sebrango will now get a crack at competing for Kulikov’s vacant spot on the left side of the Cats’ bottom pairing with Jeff Petry. Uvis Balinskis has that role for now after starting the season in the press box and appearing in all but six regular-season games for Florida last year, though, so he isn’t walking in uncontested.

Senators Place Donovan Sebrango On Waivers

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The Senators have placed defenseman Donovan Sebrango on waivers, according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. That opens a roster spot for winger Drake Batherson, who’s ticketed to come off IR before tomorrow’s game, meaning they don’t necessarily have to place Brady Tkachuk immediately on IR following today’s news that he’ll miss at least a month with an injury to his right wrist.

Sebrango, 23, is in his third season with the Sens organization. He was acquired from the Red Wings in 2023’s Alex DeBrincat trade. He split his first year between the AHL and ECHL before rocketing up Ottawa’s depth chart in 2024-25, serving as an alternate captain for AHL Belleville while even securing a handful of recalls and his NHL debut.

He had a strong enough training camp to work his way onto Ottawa’s opening roster submission and was even in their opening night lineup over offseason trade pickup Jordan Spence. The Sens have been carrying eight defensemen this year, and Sebrango, a lefty, earned a spot with most of his organizational depth competitors being righties. In his four NHL appearances over the last several months, though, he hasn’t shown much. He’s got no points, a -2 rating, no blocks, and one hit while averaging 12:46 per game. For someone who doesn’t provide much offense and has had poor relative possession impacts in his pair of outings this year, that lack of physicality is a sinker. The Sens ended up scratching Sebrango for yesterday’s loss, allowing Spence to make his season debut.

Sebrango was a fine point producer in juniors. The pandemic forced him to make an early jump to pro hockey in Detroit’s system, likely stunting his development. He seemed to get things on track in the minors last year after a few years of bouncing between leagues, managing a career-best 8-12–20 scoring line in 50 games.

He’ll now be available for anyone to claim over the next 24 hours. He sat as a restricted free agent for most of the offseason before signing a two-way deal in September. He costs $775K against the cap, makes $140K in the minors, and will be an RFA next summer with arbitration eligibility. That latter part could serve as a claim deterrent.

Brady Tkachuk Leaves Game With Injury

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  • Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch reported today that Ottawa Senators captain Brady Tkachuk was forced out of the team’s loss to the Nashville Predators today, stating that he is currently being evaluated for an injury after being on the other end of a Roman Josi cross-checking minor penalty. Tkachuk only managed to skate in 13:53 in today’s game, and although there is no further information other than Tkachuk being under evaluation, any injury he could suffer would be a serious blow to the Senators. He is among the team’s most important wingers and has started off the season with three assists in three games.

Afternoon Notes: Kleven, Player Fines, Devils

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This afternoon TSN’s Bruce Garrioch updated that Tyler Kleven expects to play tomorrow, as the Sens host Nashville in an afternoon tilt. Garrioch also mentioned Drake Batherson, who remains sidelined, but is still expected to return sometime this week, as noted yesterday. Having both been injured in training camp, last week it was speculated that the pair of Senators could possibly have appeared for the team’s season opener. While that was not the case, it appears Batherson and Kleven are on the cusp of a return, joining the one-win, one-loss club with high expectations this season. 

Elsewhere across the league:

  • This afternoon, the NHL Department of Player Safety announced a pair of $2,500 fines from infractions during Saturday’s games; the recipients being Ian Cole and Tyler Myers. Cole caught discipline for what was noted as a “dangerous trip” on Steven Stamkos. Next, fellow veteran Myers was fined for slashing Connor McDavid. Cole was caught up in a bizarre play with Stamkos, where both players ended up in the box as the Nashville forward’s stick struck Cole as he came down from the trip. Meanwhile, Myers was looking to box out attackers around Thatcher Demko, business as usual for the 6’8” defenseman, when he swung his stick upward, catching McDavid in the groin area, leading to a minor penalty.
  • With newcomer Evgenii Dadonov likely to miss multiple weeks with a fractured hand, James Nichols of New Jersey Hockey Now speculated earlier today on how the lineup should adjust. Nichols pointed out prospect Shane Lachance as deserving of an opportunity to be called up for his NHL debut. Acquired from Edmonton by New Jersey in the three-team deal headlined by Trent Frederic last season, Lachance, a former 6th-round pick has become a standout prospect for the Devils. After two respectable seasons with Boston University, the 6’5” forward turned pro last season, appearing in two games with AHL Utica, netting a goal and an assist. Although he has yet to find the scoresheet early on this season with the Comets, Lachance has the frame to slot into any lineup. Nichols also mentioned exciting rookie Arseny Gritsyuk as a candidate to move up to a top-line role, perhaps holding down the fort for his mentor, Dadonov. Regardless, it is a tough blow for a Devils’ club which is all too familiar with injuries to key players.

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