- 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.
Senators Rumors
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.
Senators Activate Brady Tkachuk
The Senators have activated Brady Tkachuk from injured reserve as expected, the team announced. He’ll suit up in this afternoon’s contest against the Blues. Ottawa needs to open a roster spot to activate him, which they’ve done by reassigning forward Stephen Halliday to AHL Belleville.
Tkachuk managed just three appearances this season before a check from Predators captain Roman Josi sent him into the boards. He sustained ligament damage in his right thumb in the collision that required surgery. He was initially expected to miss four weeks, but his return timeline was altered to six to seven weeks after the procedure was complete. That makes today’s return right on schedule.
The Senators’ captain is in year five of the seven-year, $57.56MM extension he signed in 2021 and recorded three assists and a +1 rating through his first three outings before going under the knife. His $8.205MM cap hit stands among the better value deals in the league. He’s coming off a down year offensively, limited to 29 goals and 55 points in 72 games, but he’s a consistent 30-goal threat and one of the league’s premier power forwards. He hasn’t recorded fewer than 200 hits in a season since his rookie year and is a consensus top-10 left-winger in the league, judging by his All-Star voting results over the past three seasons.
Tkachuk has also been remarkably durable since entering the league in 2018, particularly given his style of play. This 20-game absence was the lengthiest of his career by a wide margin and already stands as the most cumulative missed time he’s registered in a single season. To the Sens’ credit, they overcame his absence as well as anyone could have hoped for. Entering play Friday, they sit second in the Atlantic Division with a 12-7-4 record – that’s after starting the year in a 2-4-1 hole. They’ve been a middle-of-the-pack team offensively, but their team defense has come alive to overcompensate for the poor goaltending they’ve received from both Linus Ullmark and Leevi Merilainen. At 5-on-5, the Sens rank fourth in the league in shot attempts against per 60 (51.6), third in shots on goal against per 60 (23.5), and first in expected goals against per 60 (2.15).
While Ottawa sacrificing offense for defense will likely contribute to another underwhelming scoring line from Tkachuk the rest of the way, his return gives their top nine a much more complete look and allows names like Nick Cousins and David Perron, both of whom were overtaxed in top-line duties filling in for Tkachuk alongside Tim Stützle, to return to more comfortable bottom-six minutes.
As for Halliday, his first recall of the season ends after four games. The 23-year-old center was a fourth-round pick back in 2022 and made his NHL debut after a series of strong training camps and minor-league performances. He’d served as the Sens’ fourth-line pivot between Cousins and Hayden Hodgson during his call-up, recording an assist and a -1 rating in just 6:27 of ice time per game. He went 4-for-11 (36.4%) on faceoffs and recorded three hits.
Drew Doughty Returns To, Warren Foegele Leaves Kings’ Practice
Thursday’s practice left the Los Angeles Kings with positives and negatives on the injury front. Star defenseman Drew Doughty return to the ice with individual drills, but isn’t expected back soon, while winger Warren Foegele left practice early with an injury per team reporter Zach Dooley. No update has been provided on Foegele’s injury.
Doughty has missed the last four games with a week-to-week, lower-body injury sustained on a blocked shot in Los Angeles’ November 15th matchup versus the Otttawa Senators. He had returned to his role as Los Angeles’ top defender before going down with injury. Doughty averaged a team-leading 22:33 in ice time through 19 games before going down with injury. He rewarded that top role with eight points, a plus-seven, and 30 blocked shots. The Kings haev been pushed to ice Joel Edmundson, on his off-hand, in a top-pair role with Doughty out of the lineup. That will make this injury update well-anticipated, even if Doughty still has a step to go until he’s back in full.
Meanwhile, Foegele’s absence could leave a glaring hole in the team’s bottom-six. Foegele has four goals, 18 hits, and 22 shots on goal in 18 games this season. He missed a few games with a right-shoulder injury in October, but returned with force on November 9th. He scored two goals in his first three games back, then spurred a four-game scoring drought with a goal in Los Angeles’ Monday matchup versus Ottawa.
The Kings will need to turn towards either Alex Turcotte or Jeff Malott, should Foegele be forced out of the lineup. Turcotte has recorded three assists, a minus-four, and 11 penalty minutes in 22 games this season. He sat out of Los Angeles’ most recent matchup, but could find a quick path back with Foegele’s absence. Malott would bring a much more enforcing style, already boasting two goals and 23 penalty minutes in 16 games this season. He stands at 6-foot-5, 208-pounds and offers a heap of grit, in comparison to Turcotte’s skill.