- Senators winger David Perron was a late scratch for tonight’s game against Calgary due to an upper-body injury, relays TSN’s Claire Hanna (Twitter link). The veteran returned to Ottawa’s lineup a little over a week ago after taking time away when his newborn daughter needed to undergo surgery. It has been a rough go on the ice for Perron’s first season with the Sens as he has been held without a point for his first nine games of the season.
Senators Rumors
Senators Looking To Acquire A Defenseman
In congruence with today’s news that defenseman Artem Zub will miss time with a fractured foot, it’s no surprise that the Ottawa Senators are looking to trade for a defenseman. TSN’s Bruce Garrioch reports that general manager Steve Staios is aggressively pursuing the trade market for more defensive depth.
Garrioch didn’t mention in his report what handedness the Senators are hoping for but it’ll likely be a right-handed shot. Ottawa already has a solid 1-2 punch on the left side of the defensive core, as shown by Jake Sanderson and Thomas Chabot. It stands to reason the Senators may have already been looking for an upgrade on the right side with Zub and Nick Jensen being the only serviceable top-four options on the right side.
Ottawa has had difficulty keeping the puck out of their net this season but the entire blame can’t be put on the defense. They’ve only allowed 539 shots against in 20 games this season which is good for sixth in the league but 24th in goals against per game with a 3.25 mark. Former Vezina Trophy-winning goaltender Linus Ullmark has only managed a .881 save percentage over 12 starts which is a far cry away from his .918 SV% career average before the move to Canada.
Still, the team could certainly use an upgrade on defense if they hope to compete for a spot in the 2025 Stanley Cup playoffs in a sturdy Atlantic Division. The Senators own an 8-11-1 record on the year and have 62 games left to build momentum.
Ottawa may have a trade partner in the Columbus Blue Jackets whom Aaron Portzline of The Athletic reported yesterday were listening to offers on right-handed shot defenseman, David Jiříček. The Blue Jackets are reasonably looking for another recent first-round pick on their entry-level contract making the Senators a compatible trade partner.
Ottawa may be unwilling to part with a first-round pick for Jiříček but could build a package around forward Ridly Greig. He’s in the last year of his entry-level contract and was drafted two years before Jiříček with the 28th overall pick of the 2020 NHL Draft. He scored a career-high in points last year with 13 goals and 26 points in 72 games and could provide more for Columbus if he’s bumped into the top six.
Other options for Ottawa include Cody Ceci from the San Jose Sharks, Jacob Trouba from the New York Rangers, or David Savard from the Montreal Canadiens outside of Jiříček. It appears the Senators will land a right-handed shot defenseman sooner rather than later with how aggressive Staios has been in the market since the beginning of the season.
Senators Reassign Zack MacEwen, Recall Cole Reinhardt
Nov. 25, 2:16 p.m.: The Senators confirmed that they’ve reassigned MacEwen to Belleville. They replaced his roster spot by recalling left-winger Cole Reinhardt. The 24-year-old had an assist in a pair of appearances earlier this season and has 14 points (5 G, 9 A) in 11 games with the B-Sens this season, leading the AHL club in scoring.
Nov. 25, 1:03 p.m.: MacEwen cleared waivers, Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia reports. He can now be assigned to Belleville.
Nov. 24: The reason behind Zack MacEwen’s absence from this morning’s practice has now come to light. The Ottawa Senators organization has placed MacEwen on waivers to reassign him to their AHL affiliate, the Belleville Senators.
MacEwen is no stranger to AHL hockey. He spent the first several years of his professional career with the Utica Comets of the Vancouver Canucks organization scoring 37 goals and 96 points in his first 155 AHL contests.
He even spent a few games with the AHL Senators last season scoring two goals and seven points in 10 games. Still, his time with the Senators organization has been mostly spent in Ottawa.
He’s primarily been a mildly-used depth forward for the Senators. Since signing a three-year, $2.33MM contract with the Senators in 2023, he’s scored four goals and six points in 49 games while averaging 6:59 of ice time per game.
It’s unlikely he’ll get claimed over the next 24 hours but could provide value to some teams. He has a league-minimum salary of $775K and has managed 150 hits in a season twice. For a team looking to add physicality to their bottom six for virtually nothing — MacEwen fits the mold.
Senators’ Artem Zub Out “A While” With Foot Fracture
Senators defenseman Artem Zub sustained a foot fracture Saturday against the Canucks and will miss significant time, Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia reports.
Zub may have sustained the fracture while blocking a shot from Vancouver defenseman Carson Soucy, although he didn’t leave the game and ended up logging over 20 minutes of ice time for the third time since returning from a concussion earlier this month. It looks like his second long-term absence of the season after missing nine games due to that concussion, his second in as many seasons, limiting him to 11 of Ottawa’s 20 games this season.
It’s another bit of bad news for the Sens, who have dropped four games in a row in regulation and now sit seventh in the Atlantic Division with 17 points and an 8-11-1 record. Their .425 points percentage is sixth-worst in the league, only ahead of the Predators, Canadiens, Penguins, Blackhawks, and Sharks. At the season’s quarter point, it’s a tough spot to be in for a team that had high hopes of ending their seven-year playoff drought, which has a 67.3% chance of stretching to eight, per MoneyPuck.
Zub has been a minute muncher for the Senators ever since arriving from Russia as a free agent in 2020. The 6’3″, 204-lb righty has consistently played a top-four role and averaged 20:17 per game over his 261-game career, although he’s on pace to average a career-low 18:19 this season.
When in the lineup this season, he’s been far less effective than usual. He has two assists through 11 games and has a -7 rating, the first time he’s trending toward ending the season in the red in his career. He’s also averaging only 1.45 hits per game compared to 2.01 last season and his possession numbers have tanked with a career-worst -7.2% relative Corsi share.
Veteran Travis Hamonic will play a top-pairing role alongside Jake Sanderson in place of Zub, per TSN 1200 Ottawa. The Sens play tonight at home against the Flames as they try to avoid extending their losing skid to five. They’ve gone 3-7-1 in November after starting the season 5-4-0.
Artem Zub, Zack MacEwen Not Skating At Practice
- TSN Ottawa reported this morning that the Ottawa Senators are without defenseman Artem Zub and forward Zack MacEwen at practice. No additional context was provided regarding the availability of either player for Ottawa’s game tomorrow night against the Calgary Flames. Still, it likely explains the Senators’ call-up of forward Zack Ostapchuk a few hours ago.
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Senators Recall Zack Ostapchuk
The Ottawa Senators have recalled forward Zack Ostapchuk. He was assigned to the minor leagues just under two weeks ago, fitting in three games and three points with the AHL’s Belleville Senators before returning to the top lineup. Ostapchuk serves as an alternate captain for Belleville, where he has eight points in nine games this season.
Ostapchuk has also appeared in six NHL games this season. He recorded one assist – his first NHL point in 13 games through this season and last. He spent the bulk of last season in the minors, scoring 17 goals and 28 points in 69 games. He’s in just the second year of his pro career, after a prolific career in the WHL. Ostapchuk played his rookie junior season in 2019-20 and played through his draft year in 2020-21 – combining for 59 points in 66 games, good enough to earn the 39th-overall selection in the 2021 NHL Draft.
Ostapchuk took on the Giants’ captaincy in the proceeding 2021-22 and held onto it until a midseason trade in 2022-23. He scored 72 points in 81 games with the Vancouver ‘C’ on his chest, and looked even better on a dazzling Winnipeg Ice roster where he managed 38 points in 34 games.
The Senators aren’t likely to need Ostapchuk right out of the gates. Instead, the top prospect will likely serve as an extra forward behind red-hot scorer Adam Gaudette on the fourth line. Ostapchuk will again be searching for his first NHL goal if, or when, he slots back into the Senators lineup.
Staios: Senators Players "Need To Step Up"
Paul is now in his fourth season in the Bay after parts of seven years with the Senators. The Ontario native has emerged as a crucial middle-six weapon, posting 105 points in 200 games while averaging north of 16 minutes per game and winning 53.5% of his faceoffs.
- A 3-5-1 rut in November has the Senators below .500 yet again and at considerable risk of extending their playoff drought to eight years. Don’t expect general manager Steve Staios to make a blockbuster move to bail his club out, though, saying Wednesday that “each individual in the room needs to step up” in order to get Ottawa back on the right track (per Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch). “For us to figure out as a group why that’s our record is what we’re trying to unlock,” Staios said. “For most games, the team looks and feels not only like a competitive team but a playoff-looking team. We’ve proven against good teams.“
David Perron Returns To Senators
Senators winger David Perron had been away from the team for a better part of a month for a personal reason. Speaking with reporters today including Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch, the veteran revealed that his newborn daughter had to undergo surgery to remove a tumor. However, things have improved enough to allow the 36-year-old to return to the team.
Perron signed with Ottawa on the opening day of free agency back in July, inking a two-year, $8MM contract with a partial no-trade clause. The Sens reshaped part of their forward group over the offseason with Perron being the most notable addition alongside Michael Amadio, Noah Gregor, and Nick Cousins.
Perron got off to a slow start, certainly understandable given the circumstances. He was held off the scoresheet in his first five appearances while averaging just 13:26 per game, his lowest ATOI since his rookie campaign back in 2007-08. Nonetheless, his return will be a welcome one.
While Perron made the trip to Carolina, it’s not a guarantee that he will suit up as the Sens could elect to wait one more game, allowing him to get a couple more practices in before officially returning to the lineup. He remained on Ottawa’s active roster during his absence so the team doesn’t need to make a roster move when he is indeed ready to play.
Senators Reassign Zack Ostapchuk, Shane Pinto To Return
Senators center Shane Pinto will indeed make his return to the lineup tonight against the Maple Leafs, TSN 1200 Ottawa confirmed. While he was never on injured reserve and didn’t need to be activated, the team still announced that Zack Ostapchuk was returned to AHL Belleville this morning after being recalled yesterday for insurance if Pinto couldn’t play.
It’s a lovely birthday present for Pinto, who turns 24 today. The 6’3″ center has been out of action since sustaining an undisclosed injury against Utah on Oct. 22.
Late last month, head coach Travis Green declared to reporters that the team had designated Pinto as week-to-week. He’s been on the verge of returning for the past few days, with TSN 1200 Ottawa also relaying Monday that Pinto would be a likely option in Toronto tonight.
Pinto had one goal and two assists with a -3 rating through the season’s first six games. He recorded 10 shots on goal and averaged 17:31 per game while winning 44.4% of his draws. Pinto also continued his upward trend in the possession department, controlling a career-best 54.7% of shot attempts at even strength. Ottawa fared far worse without Pinto on the ice, only controlling 47.2% of shot attempts.
Pinto, the first pick of the second round in 2019, has only played one entire NHL season. He lost most of what would have been his rookie season in 2021-22, playing only five games before needing season-ending shoulder surgery. A half-season suspension for violating the NHL’s gambling policies also took a significant bite out of his 2023-24 campaign. But he played in all 82 games for the Sens in 2022-23, scoring a career-high 20 goals and winning 52.1% of his draws.
The New York native spent most of his time in the lineup earlier this season centering Ottawa’s third line between Michael Amadio and David Perron. He won’t have Perron as his linemate tonight as the veteran remains on paternity leave. However, he will have Amadio and Noah Gregor flanking him, per Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia.
Ostapchuk, 21, has suited up in six games for the Senators amid a flurry of paper transactions over the past few weeks. He’s mainly replaced Pinto as their third-line center without the additional special teams time, averaging 10:25 per game. He recorded his first NHL point, an assist, back in his first appearance of the season against the Blues on Oct. 29. With Pinto back in the lineup, Ostapchuk is likely ticketed for a lengthier stay with Belleville, where he has one goal and four assists in six games to start 2024-25.
Senators Recall Zack Ostapchuk
- Nearly 250 miles northeast in Ottawa, the Senators are experiencing better luck on the injury front of late. Shane Pinto, who hasn’t played since October 22nd after scoring three points in his first six contests, could be an option for the team tomorrow night (X Link). If Pinto can’t go, the team announced the call-up of Zack Ostapchuk from their AHL affiliate, the Belleville Senators, to fill out the rest of their forward core.
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