Ullmark Skates But Won't Play This Weekend, Jensen Out This Weekend As Well
- While goaltender Linus Ullmark was a full participant in today’s game day skate, he won’t suit up tonight or tomorrow, notes Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch (Twitter link). The 31-year-old has been out for a little more than a month with a back injury and recently landed on LTIR to allow Ottawa to remain cap-compliant in the short term. Ullmark has a 2.38 GAA and a .915 SV% in 23 games so far this season and his eventual return will certainly be welcomed with the Senators squarely in the battle for playoff positioning.
- Still with the Senators, defenseman Nick Jensen won’t play in either game this weekend, relays TSN 1200 (Twitter link). He suffered an undisclosed injury on Thursday versus Boston, leaving the game late and not returning. Jensen has been a nice addition to Ottawa after coming over in an early July trade from Washington, putting up 18 points in 48 games while logging a career-high 20:49 per game of ice time. There’s no word on how much longer he might miss beyond these next two games.
Senators Activate Travis Hamonic, Assign Donovan Sebrango To AHL
The Senators are welcoming back a veteran blueliner for their game against Toronto tonight. Per the NHL’s media site, blueliner Travis Hamonic has been activated off injured reserve. To make room on the roster, the team announced (Twitter link) that defenseman Donovan Sebrango was assigned to AHL Belleville.
Hamonic has missed the last three weeks with a lower-body injury. Before then, he was a fixture on Ottawa’s third pairing, getting into 37 games. Offensively, the 34-year-old has been limited to just three assists although he has 58 blocked shots and 38 hits while averaging 17:25 of playing time per night, up nearly three minutes from his ATOI in 2023-24. Hamonic is in the final season of his contract, one that carries a $1.1MM AAV and a no-movement clause and he’ll once again be an unrestricted free agent this summer.
As for Sebrango, he was recalled last week and got into two games with Ottawa, his first taste of NHL action. The 23-year-old didn’t record a point in those outings while averaging 10:19 of playing time. Sebrango has played in 28 games with Belleville this season, notching three goals and ten assists, both career-highs at that level. He’s in the final season of his entry-level deal and will be a restricted free agent this summer.
Sam Gagner Signs PTO With AHL Belleville
Unrestricted free agent center Sam Gagner will attempt to continue his NHL career in the Senators organization. He’s signed a professional tryout with their AHL affiliate in Belleville, Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia reports Friday.
Gagner, 35, has been on the open market since the Oilers opted not to renew his two-way deal for 2023-24. He’s sat at home for most of the campaign after failing to land a contract from the Hurricanes during a PTO with them during training camp. However, he did travel to Switzerland to captain Team Canada to a semifinal loss at the 2024 Spengler Cup.
The veteran of 1,043 NHL games will suit up for the B-Sens tonight, per Chris Johnston of TSN and The Athletic, marking the first time in his career that he’s seen AHL action in back-to-back seasons. He recorded nine points in 15 games for AHL Bakersfield last season after falling out of Edmonton’s NHL forward rotation and clearing waivers.
While Gagner has been limited by hip surgery and a concussion over the past two seasons, he’s still been a reasonably effective fourth-line producer when dressed. He has 13 goals and 11 assists for 24 points in 76 games since the beginning of the 2022-23 season with the Jets and Oilers.
Whether he still has NHL utility after missing half the campaign remains to be seen, but he’ll at least get the chance to land a two-way deal from the Sens before the trade deadline. He’s a more experienced recall option by far than their current rotation of names like Matthew Highmore, Jan Jeník, and Cole Reinhardt – experience that could come in handy as Ottawa battles to end their eight-year postseason drought down the stretch.
Gagner, the sixth overall pick of the 2007 draft, has 197 goals and 332 assists for 529 career NHL points across three stints in Edmonton plus ones in Arizona, Philadelphia, Columbus, Vancouver, Detroit, and Winnipeg. The Sens would be his fourth Canadian team if he lands a deal and adds to his NHL tallies.
Ottawa Senators To Activate David Perron, Move Linus Ullmark To LTIR
Jan. 23rd: The Senators needed to create additional cap space to activate Perron for tonight’s game. PuckPedia reports that Ottawa has moved goaltender Linus Ullmark and his $5MM to LTIR opening up the necessary room for Perron and another $1MM in space. Unfortunately, PuckPedia added that the organization would need to clear an additional $1.9MM from their books when they eventually activate Ullmark.
Jan. 22nd: Longtime veteran winger David Perron is expected to return for the first time since before American Thanksgiving. Although no official announcement has come from the Ottawa Senators, Matt Porter of The Boston Globe reports Perron will suit up tomorrow night against the Boston Bruins.
The timing couldn’t be better for Perron or the Senators. The former has been limited to nine games this season due to unfortunate complications in the birth of his daughter and a nagging back injury for the last few weeks. Even if Perron stays healthy enough to play in Ottawa’s remaining 35 games, it’ll be the first time since the 2010-11 season he’s failed to play 45 or more regular season contests.
Still, his return can’t be seen as anything other than a positive. Thanks to a 14-8-3 run over their last 25 games, the Senators are hanging on to the top wild-card position in the Eastern Conference. Given that Ottawa is the eighth youngest team in the NHL and Perron is only one of three former Stanley Cup champions on the roster, his experience should prove a boon as they compete for a berth in the Stanley Cup playoffs for the first time since the 2016-17 season.
Perron’s return should also help alleviate some issues in the team’s bottom six. Because the Senators are closer to the salary cap ceiling than they’ve been in seasons past, the bottom six of their forward core is largely composed of spare parts.
The veteran winger should provide more consistency to that group assuming he stays healthy the rest of the way. Ottawa has more pressing needs on the blue line during the trade deadline season which is where much of their focus is expected to go.
Norris To Miss The Next Three Games
While the Senators are set to welcome a forward back to their lineup on Thursday, they’ll be missing another one for at least the next few games. Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch relays that center Josh Norris has been ruled out through the weekend, meaning he’ll miss at least the next three games. The 25-year-old left Tuesday’s game in the first period for what was called precautionary reasons but he has been listed as having an upper-body injury. Norris has 17 goals and 10 assists in 47 games so far this season, numbers that are comparable to the 16 and 14 respectively he had in 50 outings last year. He also ranks second on the Sens in faceoff percentage and hits.
Senators’ Zack MacEwen Takes Indefinite Leave Of Absence
Senators winger Zack MacEwen, currently on assignment to AHL Belleville, is taking an indefinite personal leave of absence from the club, according to a statement from the B-Sens. The 28-year-old said on his Instagram account Tuesday that he’s taking time to heal following the passing of his father.
MacEwen is in the second season of the three-year, $2.33MM contract he inked with Ottawa as a free agent in 2023. He’s split this season between the big club and Belleville, recording two goals and an assist in 21 NHL appearances. He’s been in the minors since last week, posting five goals and four assists for nine points in 15 AHL appearances this season.
The Prince Edward Island-born forward has largely been cast as an enforcer during his NHL career but has been a more offensively inclined power forward when deployed in the minors. He’s produced 0.63 points per game over his 182-game AHL career compared to 0.14 in his 237 big league games.
MacEwen has been a consistent depth presence when called upon for Ottawa this season, averaging less than eight minutes per game but managing the best possession metrics of his career with a 53.4 CF% at even strength.
All of us at Pro Hockey Rumors wish MacEwen the best as he takes a step back.
Senators Reassign Zack MacEwen
The Senators announced that winger Zack MacEwen has been returned to AHL Belleville. After recalling defenseman Donovan Sebrango this morning, they’re back to having an open spot on the active roster. That spot will likely go to IR-bound forward Michael Amadio, who Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia reports will return to the lineup for the first time since sustaining a concussion against the Canucks on Dec. 21.
It’s the second time MacEwen has been demoted this season after clearing waivers and heading to the B-Sens in November. Now in the second season of a three-year, $2.33MM contract, he doesn’t count against the cap when in the minors, but he earns the league minimum of $775K salary no matter where he plays. MacEwen doesn’t need waivers today because he’s only been rostered for six days and played twice since he was recalled on Jan. 10, his first summons since clearing waivers.
MacEwen was scratched for the first game of his recall but got into game action for the last two, posting a minus-one rating with three shots on goal and fighting Islanders veteran enforcer Matt Martin in Tuesday’s win. The 28-year-old hasn’t been a factor outside of his penchant for dropping the gloves since arriving in Ottawa in free agency in 2023, posting six points and 78 PIMs in 51 games since signing that three-year commitment. He’s been a solid offensive contributor in the minors, though, posting 16 points in 24 games for the B-Sens over the past two years.
All signs point toward Amadio replacing MacEwen as the club’s fourth-line right wing as he eases back into action. The 28-year-old has been a decent depth scoring presence for Ottawa this season, posting a pair of goals and eight assists for 10 points in 33 appearances. However, it’s not quite the production they expected after he notched 30 goals and 54 points in 140 games for the Golden Knights over the prior two campaigns, prompting the Sens to sign him to a three-year, $7.8MM deal over the summer.
Senators Recall Donovan Sebrango
The Senators announced they have recalled left-shot defenseman Donovan Sebrango from AHL Belleville. He replaces righty Max Guenette, who was sent to the AHL yesterday in what is now clear was a corresponding move.
Guenette had been scratched for five straight games since being recalled on Jan. 7, not seeing any work in his first recall of the year. The same fate might not befall the 23-year-old Sebrango, who will make his NHL debut tonight against the Capitals if Thomas Chabot can’t play after taking a puck to the face in Tuesday’s shutout win over the Islanders.
A third-round pick for the Red Wings in the 2020 draft, Sebrango appeared in the CHL Top Prospects game in his draft year while a member of the OHL’s Kitchener Rangers and won a silver medal with Canada at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup. The COVID-19 pandemic immediately forced him into the professional ranks in his first post-draft season. He was on loan to Slovakia’s second-tier league and then to Detroit’s AHL affiliate in Grand Rapids. After an additional two seasons where he made negative progress on the Wings’ depth chart, spending a good portion of the 2022-23 campaign down in the ECHL with Toledo, he was shipped to Ottawa in the trade that sent Alex DeBrincat to Hockeytown.
A strong skater with a 6’1″, 220-lb frame, things have finally clicked for Sebrango this season. He’s already recorded three career-best goals, 10 assists, and 13 points in 38 games with Belleville, adding 42 PIMs and a plus-three rating while serving as an alternate captain. That’s a significant improvement over last year with the B-Sens, where the Ottawa native was limited to seven assists in 35 games and had a brief stint in the ECHL again.
Sebrango’s recall won’t result in much playing time, and it likely won’t give him any if Chabot can play. He joins Guenette and Nikolas Matinpalo in the group that’s seen recalls from the minors with injuries to Chabot, Jacob Bernard-Docker, Travis Hamonic, and Artem Zub over the last couple of months. He was already summoned once earlier this season but sat in the press box for a trio of games in November and December before being returned to the minors.
Sebrango is the son of Eduardo Sebrango, a retired Cuban soccer player who is now an MLS coach with CF Montreal. If he debuts, the Canadian national would be only the second player in NHL history with Cuban ethnicity, joining longtime backup netminder Al Montoya.
Senators Reassign Max Guenette
The Senators loaned defenseman Max Guenette to AHL Belleville on Wednesday, per a team announcement. The club’s active roster is now at 22.
With Ottawa back in action tomorrow against the Capitals, Guenette could be summoned again after delaying the expiry of his temporary waiver exemption by one day. Injured reserve-bound Jacob Bernard-Docker and Travis Hamonic aren’t close to a return, so demoting Guenette leaves them without an extra healthy defenseman.
His presence is primarily contingent on the health of fellow blue-liner Thomas Chabot, who left Tuesday’s shutout win over the Islanders after taking an Adam Pelech shot to the face in the first period. He didn’t return to the contest, and head coach Travis Green said postgame that they would have an update on his status today.
Ottawa recalled Guenette, 23, from Belleville last week after Hamonic landed on IR the day before. He’s purely been up as injury insurance, though, and has been a healthy scratch in five straight since the elevation.
Selected 187th overall in the 2019 draft, Guenette has eight NHL games to his name, all coming with the Sens in the last two campaigns. His recall this month was his first this season after clearing waivers during training camp.
While in Belleville, the defensively responsible Guenette has excelled with nine points and a team-leading +16 rating in 27 games. The 6’2″, 209-lb righty serves as an alternate captain for the AHL club in what’s now his fourth professional season.
Senators Trending Toward Buying At Deadline
The Senators are commencing discussions about trade acquisition targets with over seven weeks to go until the March 7 trade deadline, general manager Steve Staios told Bruce Garrioch for the Ottawa Citizen yesterday.
“We still have some runway leading into the trade deadline so we have some time, but it’s nice to be having these conversations with how the group has performed,” Staios said. The Sens are one point out of a wild card spot in the Eastern Conference but have games in hand on both clubs ahead of them in the race, putting them in a good position to keep their seven-year playoff drought from extending to eight.
The most significant change from years past is the increased stability between the pipes and making injuries a blip on the radar instead of an insurmountable obstacle. Goaltending is no longer an imminent concern in the absence of starter Linus Ullmark due to a back injury after Leevi Merilainen has impressed in his six appearances over the past month, going 4-2-0 with a .913 SV% and a 2.34 GAA.
Ottawa’s skater depth will be where Staios looks to make some conservative additions over the next several weeks, but as he told Garrioch, they’ll be getting some in-house help. Personal leave and a back injury have limited veteran winger David Perron to no points in nine games after he inked a two-year, $8MM deal over the summer.
He’s looking to return to the lineup in the next week or so after resuming skating earlier this month. The 36-year-old is coming off a 47-point campaign in 76 games with the Red Wings last year, a point pace that would aid a Senators offense that’s only clicked at 2.88 goals per game, 21st in the league.
While Perron will be essentially a free pre-deadline pickup, and many other of their injured forwards are expected back in the next couple of weeks, adding some forward depth was always going to be this team’s focus at the deadline if they were in a position to add. They’re likely to look for a winger with more upward mobility than Perron, Michael Amadio, or Adam Gaudette, who’s struggled with just one assist in his last 11 games after a scorching start to the campaign.
Amadio and Perron are nicely suited as third-line pieces, and they’re full-up on bottom-six grinders in the form of Nick Cousins, Ridly Greig, and Zack MacEwen. Another right-shot defenseman as an insurance policy behind the injury-prone Travis Hamonic and Artem Zub is also likely on the table. They’ve already been linked to unrestricted free agent John Klingberg, who is attempting an NHL comeback after undergoing hip resurfacing surgery in December 2023.
The Sens are in a cap crunch as things stand – only $80K in deadline cap space before their LTIR pool of $3.715MM, per PuckPedia. Those financials will change drastically between now and deadline day with Perron coming off LTIR and at least Amadio and Hamonic coming off IR, though.