Senators Recall Leevi Merilainen
The Senators announced Tuesday they’ve recalled goaltender Leevi Merilainen from AHL Belleville. They’re now carrying three goalies along with Anton Forsberg and Linus Ullmark.
Merilainen’s recall isn’t to replace Forsberg or Ullmark for injury-related reasons, Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia reports. Instead, the young Finn will back up Forsberg tonight against the Flyers while Ullmark gets the night off entirely for load management purposes following seven straight starts coming out of the 4 Nations break.
Moves like this are easier for the Sens after the 23-player roster limit was lifted post-deadline. However, Ottawa does burn one of their four permitted post-deadline standard recalls by summoning Merilainen since the lack of injury to their other netminders means he doesn’t qualify for an emergency recall.
When tasked with NHL minutes this season while Forsberg and Ullmark spent time on the shelf, the 22-year-old Merilainen has been spectacular. The 2020 third-round pick has made 11 starts and one relief appearance for the Sens while pushing Mads Søgaard aside for the No. 3 spot on their depth chart, posting a stellar .925 SV% and 1.99 GAA. Among goalies with 15 or fewer games played, Merilainen’s 6.8 goals saved above expected ranks fourth, per MoneyPuck.
With Merilainen posting far more favorable numbers to the veteran Forsberg (.895 SV%, 2.82 GAA), there’s an argument to be made he should be starting to give Ullmark the night off amid a tight playoff race in the Eastern Conference. While Merilainen hasn’t played an NHL game since Feb. 1, he has a .915 SV% in his last eight starts in Belleville and has a .910 on the year with the B-Sens.
Nonetheless, the pending RFA will likely sit before returning to Belleville in the coming days. With Forsberg slated for unrestricted free agency this summer coming off back-to-back underwhelming years, there’s a case to be made for Merilainen starting next season on the NHL roster as Ullmark’s backup.
Senators Acquire Fabian Zetterlund From Sharks
4:50 p.m.: Ottawa made the deal official, confirming they’ve received San Jose’s 2025 fourth-rounder.
2:16 p.m.: The Senators are acquiring winger Fabian Zetterlund, right-wing prospect Tristen Robins, and a fourth-round pick from the Sharks in exchange for forwards Zack Ostapchuk, Noah Gregor, and Ottawa’s 2025 second-round pick, per Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia was first to report the deal.
Zetterlund broke out in the Sharks lineup last season. He scored a career-high 24 goals and 44 points in what was his first time playing in all 82 games of a single season. The performance was backed by a modest 11.8 shooting percentage, suggesting that Zetterlund could reasonably follow it up this year. He’s done exactly that, with 17 goals and 36 points in 64 games putting him on pace for 22 goals and 46 points across a full season. That’s impressive growth considering the Sharks offense as a whole remains in the bottom-three of goals-per-game average (2.63). Across his four-year NHL career, Zetterlund has totaled 50 goals and 111 points in 227 games.
The Senators will look to bank on Zetterlund’s growing consistency with this move. Ottawa was in need of more wing depth headed into the deadline and manage to boost their depths without giving up the farm. Ostapchuk has served as one of the team’s top prospects in recent years, after Ottawa spent a second-round pick on him in the 2021 NHL Draft. Ostapchuk played his first professional season last year, netting a modest 17 goals and 28 points in 69 AHL games. That scoring wasn’t all too inspiring, but Ostapchuk demanded attention with five points in the first six AHL games of the season this year. That performance earned him a call-up in late October that he vindicated with an assist in his first NHL game of the season.
Ostapchuk has since split time between the top of the AHL lineup and the bottom of the NHL lineup. He’s scored four points in 43 NHL games, but has a far more commendable 11 points in 15 AHL games. Ostapchuk has averaged just 9:20 in ice time at the NHL level this season. That number could be due for a major boost as he heads to the Sharks, who traded away both Luke Kunin and Nico Sturm in advance of the deadline. Those departures leave two holes for bottom-six centerman that could land Ostapchuk north of 15 minutes a night. His six-foot-four, 210-pound frame should take well to the hard-nosed and physical role that Kunin leaves behind.
San Jose could fill their other center vacancy with Gregor, who has spent the full season on the NHL lineup. Gregor has six points, 17 penalty minutes, and a minus-two in 40 games with the Senators this year. It’s a slight downtick in scoring after he managed 12 points, split evenly, in 63 games with the Toronto Maple Leafs last year. This will be a reunion tour for the 26-year-old centerman, who was originally drafted in the fourth-round of the 2016 NHL Draft by San Jose. He made his debut with the Sharks three years later and quickly found a rut as a fourth-liner. Gregor totaled 26 goals and 51 points in 178 games with the Sharks across his first tenure with the club. That includes his career-high eight goals and 23 points scored in 63 games of the 2021-22 campaign. San Jose will hope Gregor can return to those numbers this year, as they look to back their young core with a stout veteran presence.
Headed back to Ottawa is speedy winger Robins, who hasn’t quite found his stride in the minor leagues just yet. He has seven goals and 18 points in 41 AHL games this season, the exact same stat line he posted in 42 AHL games last year. Robins was a bit more effective in 2022-23, when he potted 17 goals and 38 points in 64 AHL games and earned the first three NHL games of his career. The five-foot-10, 175-pound forward was once a popular name across the WHL, where he totaled 200 points in 212 games and five seasons with the Saskatoon Blades. He has scoring upside, but needs to find his footing at the AHL level and his physicality at the NHL level. Should Ottawa find a way to tap into that upside, Robins could be a lucrative addition to a deal focused around the swap of Zetterlund and Ostapchuk.
PHR’s Gabriel Foley contributed to this article.
Sabres, Senators Swap Joshua Norris, Dylan Cozens
The Ottawa Senators have confirmed one of the biggest deals of deadline day. Ottawa is trading Joshua Norris and Jacob Bernard-Docker to the Buffalo Sabres for Dylan Cozens, Dennis Gilbert, and a 2026 second-round pick.
In what has quickly become one of the surprise trades of the deadline, the Sabres are taking a major gamble in Norris. His talent is undeniable, as the former 19th overall pick of the 2017 NHL Draft has scored 90 goals and 156 points in 236 games with the Senators. Unfortunately, his battles with injury have defined much of his career.
Norris last completed a full campaign in the COVID-shortened 2020-21 season. The University of Michigan product scored 17 goals and 35 points in 56 games, leading to a fourth-place finish in Calder Trophy voting. He had some maturing to do on the defensive side of the puck, but his 1.28 hits-per-game showed Norris wasn’t afraid to get involved physically.
The 2021-22 campaign became his true breakout season. Norris finished the season with 35 goals and 55 points in 66 games, averaging 18:35 of time on ice. He led the Senators in goal-scoring as a 22-year-old and handled himself well in the faceoff dot with a 51.1% success rate — something quite rare for young centers.
Ottawa was rightfully impressed by Norris’s sophomore season. Upon the expiration of his entry-level contract, the Senators signed Norris to an eight-year, $63.6MM contract, with a 10-team no-trade clause kicking in at the start of the 2026-27 season.
Unfortunately, it’s been mostly downhill for Norris since signing that contract. Due to multiple shoulder injuries, Norris has been limited to 49.3% of Ottawa’s regular-season contests since putting pen to paper on his current deal.
Still, he’s only missed eight games for the Senators this season. He’s scored 20 goals and 13 assists in 53 games, averaging 18:20 of ice time with a 53.8% faceoff rate. Norris has improved his physicality too, registering 133 hits on the year, leading all Senators’ forwards by a significant margin. His possession quality has taken a step back with a 48.8% CorsiFor% at even strength, but much of that can be explained through his 60.0% defensive zone start percentage.
Should he remain healthy, Norris gives Buffalo a grittier option at the second-line center position without sacrificing too much on offense. The Sabres already ranked 11th in the league with a 3.18 GF/G, so moving Cozens for Norris is an acknowledgment from the team about their discrepancies.
Cozens was in a similar situation to Norris, but it wasn’t because of any injury concerns. The Whitehorse, Yukon native broke out in a big way during the 2022-23 season, scoring 31 goals and 68 points in 81 games. Believing that he had become a long-term center option in the team’s top-six, Buffalo extended Cozens to a seven-year, $49.7MM contract later that season. 
He hasn’t been worth that salary since. In 140 games with the Sabres since signing the contract, Cozens has registered 29 goals and 78 points, averaging 17:13 of ice time in a second-line role. His 47.7% success rate in the faceoff dot is nothing to scoff at, and his 51.1% CorsiFor% is on par with Buffalo’s team average of 51.2% this season.
Unfortunately, outside of JJ Peterka, Cozens has arguably become the least responsible forward on the Sabres’ roster on the defensive side of the puck. His 86.6% on-ice save percentage at even strength is the second-worst on the team, just like his -13 rating.
Still, he’s a physical player like Norris and has similar point production despite the down year. Cozens has been far more available than Norris in the last several years, making this a safer trade for Ottawa. Isolating the deal to Norris and Cozens, the Senators will save $850K between the two centers.
Meanwhile, the swap of Bernard-Docker and Gilbert will only affect the team’s depth options on defense. Despite being a first-round pick in the 2018 NHL Draft, Bernard-Docker has yet to fully break out at the NHL level. He’ll finish his tenure in Ottawa with five goals and 20 points in 129 contests, averaging 15:06 of ice time and carrying a -4 rating.
Gilbert has consistently provided mild value throughout his career as a depth defenseman for the Chicago Blackhawks, Colorado Avalanche, Calgary Flames, and Buffalo Sabres. In 107 career games, he’s scored three goals and recorded 19 points, averaging 12:10 of ice time per game with a -18 rating.
ESPN’s Kevin Weekes was the first to report Norris and Bernard-Docker were being traded to Buffalo.
TSN’s Pierre LeBrun was the first to report that Cozens was headed to Ottawa.
Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman was the first to report the full details of the trade.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports images.
Senators Receiving Trade Interest In Drake Batherson
While the Senators are expected to be looking to add to their roster by Friday’s trade deadline, that hasn’t stopped teams from calling about some of their younger veterans. To that end, Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch reports that Ottawa has been receiving trade interest in winger Drake Batherson.
Notably, Garrioch notes that the Sens aren’t actively shopping him and it’s believed that GM Steve Staios isn’t believed to be in any sort of hurry to move Batherson. But with Ottawa having very limited cap space – around $850K, per PuckPedia – they would need to clear out some money if they want to make any sort of significant change to their roster. While it has been suggested before that they’d be open to moving center Josh Norris, his $7.95MM price tag through the 2029-30 season makes an in-season move a lot less likely.
Batherson’s contract, however, is a much more palatable one. He’s signed through the 2026-27 campaign at a $4.975MM price tag, one that’s generally viewed as a team-friendly cap charge. In theory, moving him would give them some flexibility to try to add a core piece although dealing away Batherson would also obviously open up a hole to fill in their core forward group.
Batherson enters tonight’s game against Chicago in second place in team scoring with 16 goals and 31 assists through 60 appearances while logging 18:30 per night of ice time. However, he has been a bit quiet as of late; since the calendar flipped to 2025, he has notched just three tallies and eight helpers in 24 games despite a small jump in playing time over that stretch.
Despite the dip in production as of late, Batherson’s recent track record is undoubtedly fueling the interest. He came into this season with two straight years of at least 22 goals and 62 points under his belt with his 28 goals and 66 points last season representing new career bests. Even with the slower pace of late, he still has a chance of reaching 20 goals and 60 points for a third straight year. Accordingly, Staios and the Sens could justifiably place a high asking price for his services if they were to consider moving Batherson.
At the moment, Ottawa will be hard-pressed to do much of consequence on the trade front by Friday at 2 PM ET. They can maybe add a lower-cost depth piece and that’s about it. If they do intend to do something bigger, it appears they’ll have at least one option to open up more flexibility with the interest in Batherson.
Senators’ Tyler Kleven Out Week-To-Week With Lower-Body Injury
Senators defenseman Tyler Kleven will miss extended time with his lower-body injury, head coach Travis Green told reporters Monday (via Claire Hanna of TSN). He’s been labeled week-to-week and will not travel with the team on their two-game road swing through Washington and Chicago.
Kleven, 23, left last Wednesday’s game against the Jets after laying a hit on Winnipeg forward Mason Appleton and subsequently fighting Adam Lowry. He was held out of Saturday’s win over the Sharks as a result.
Drafted 44th overall in 2020, the North Dakota product is in his first season of full-time NHL minutes. He’s been as consistent of a bottom-pairing presence as it gets – last weekend marked Kleven’s first absence of the campaign. The 6’5″ lefty has just 2-2–4 through 58 appearances, though, and his possession metrics leave much to be desired. While described as a defensively-skewed talent, Kleven has seen more offensive zone deployment than defensive at even strength. Despite starting 52.8% of his shifts in the offensive end, the Sens have controlled just 46.8% of shot attempts and 41.7% of expected goals with him on the ice. Those numbers aren’t promising, especially considering Ottawa controls 51.8% of shot attempts without Kleven.
As expected, Kleven has been a factor physically, tying for third on the team with 76 blocks and tying for ninth with 70 hits. Those numbers are certainly a product of his lack of possession time, though, and his cumulative -8.9 expected rating is the worst on the Sens.
Ottawa’s win against San Jose stopped a five-game streak of regulation losses, plunging their playoff chances back below 50%, per MoneyPuck. They’ve gotten healthier up front, seeing core forwards Brady Tkachuk, Shane Pinto, and Joshua Norris all recently return from multi-game absences. Outside of Kleven’s injury and a knee injury to Nick Cousins that’s expected to keep him out through the trade deadline, they’re fully healthy. Adding a forward this week will be the priority for the Senators’ 24th-ranked offense. Still, Kleven’s injury will likely motivate them to target a depth defenseman if their limited salary cap flexibility allows as well.
Pinto To Play Tonight, Bernard-Docker Being Made Available
- Senators center Shane Pinto told reporters including Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch (Twitter link) that he will return to the lineup tonight against San Jose. He had missed the last four weeks due to an upper-body injury. The 24-year-old has had a bit of an up-and-down season but has still managed to put up 11 goals and 11 assists through 46 games, numbers that are a bit off last year’s pace when he had 27 points in 41 contests.
- Still with the Senators, Garrioch reported earlier this week that the team has made defenseman Jacob Bernard-Docker available and they are hoping to add a prospect in return. The 24-year-old has been limited to only 25 games this season between injuries and being scratched while he’s logging just over 13 minutes a night. He’s waiver-eligible and it seems unlikely he’d pass through unclaimed so Ottawa’s intention appears to be to try to flip Bernard-Docker for some sort of tangible value beyond clearing up $805K in cap room. Garrioch suggests that the Predators might be one of the teams interested in the blueliner’s services.
Ottawa Senators Assign Angus Crookshank To AHL
11:45 AM: Crookshank’s recall was short-lived as the team announced that he has already been returned to Belleville.
9:29 AM: The Ottawa Senators may have to wait another game for the complete trio of Brady Tkachuk, Joshua Norris, and Shane Pinto to return. The Senators announced they’ve recalled forward Angus Crookshank from their AHL affiliate, the Belleville Senators, indicating they’ll use him as a replacement again tonight.
It’s a quick turnaround for Crookshank after being recalled and reassigned a few days ago. He skated in 14:04 of action in Ottawa’s loss to the Winnipeg Jets on February 26, putting three shots on net and adding one hit and one blocked shot.
That is the only NHL contest of the year for the North Vancouver native. Crookshank has spent the entire season in Belleville, scoring 18 goals and 33 points in 45 games. His offensive production is good for fourth on the AHL Senators in scoring, although it’s a slight decline from his 24-goal, 22-assist output from a year ago.
Crookshank’s status for tonight’s contest against the San Jose Sharks may ultimately be decided in warm-ups. There’s a strong expectation that Tkachuk will return tonight, with the latter being game-time decisions. Travis Green and the rest of Ottawa’s coaching staff will likely have all four players skate before the game and announce the completed lineup shortly before puck drop.
Senators’ Brady Tkachuk, Joshua Norris, Shane Pinto Nearing Return
Friday’s practice brought plenty of positive injury updates to the Ottawa Senators, captured by the Ottawa Citizen’s Bruce Garrioch. Captain Brady Tkachuk has confirmed he’ll return on Saturday after missing Ottawa’s last two games with a lower-body injury sustained at the 4-Nations Face-Off. Centers Joshua Norris and Shane Pinto were also full participants at Friday’s practice and seem close to a return of their own, though they haven’t been confirmed just yet. Both centermen are recovering from upper-body injuries. Pinto has been out for Ottawa’s last four games, while Norris has missed the last six.
The Senators are in desperate need for this wave of replacement. They’ve dropped their last five games, dating back to before the 4-Nations break, while getting outscored eight-to-23. That imbalance is largely thanks to the absence of Tkachuk and Norris, the team’s top two goal scorers. Tkachuk has 21 goals and 44 points through 56 games, while Norris has 19 goals and 31 points in 50 games. They’re closely followed by Shane Pinto, who has managed 11 goals and 22 points in 46 games and grown to a second-line role. Tkachuk leads the Senators in shots-per-game, while Pinto and Norris rank third and sixth among the team’s forwards. Their return should instantly spur a Senators team that’s managed just 26.8 shots-per-game over their losing streak.
The wave of returnees will force the Senators to shake up their lineup once again. Forwards Angus Crookshank and Jan Jenik are likely the first on the chopping block, after making their first and second NHL appearances of the season in Ottawa’s last game. Neither has managed any scoring.
Ottawa will also need to shelve a defender after icing seven in their last effort – but deciding who could be a challenge. Top-four defender Nick Jensen left Ottawa’s Friday practice early nursing a limp, per Garrioch. No update on Jensen’s pain was provided, but Garrioch adds the defender was already playing through an injury. Tyler Kleven was also absent from practice with what head coach Travis Green referred to as a “strain”. Green did not rule out Kleven for Saturday’s matchup. Both defenders have found a routine groove on Ottawa’s right-side. Jensen has 18 points in 53 games this season. He also ranks second on the team with a plus-11. Kleven hasn’t been as lucky, with just four points and a minus-five in 58 games.
Ottawa Senators Reassign Angus Crookshank, Jan Jeník
Feb. 27: The Senators announced they’ve reassigned both forwards to AHL Belleville. The move indicates Ottawa will have Tkachuk and/or Pinto back by Saturday. Neither Crookshank nor Jeník scored in last night’s loss to the Winnipeg Jets.
Feb. 26: Despite a mild three-day break since their first game back from the 4 Nations Face-Off, the Ottawa Senators still required a few extra forwards for tonight’s game. Ottawa announced they’ve recalled Angus Crookshank and Jan Jeník from their AHL affiliate, the Belleville Senators.
The two will replace Brady Tkachuk and Shane Pinto in the lineup against the Winnipeg Jets. Fortunately, it doesn’t sound like they’ll be needed for long, as multiple reports out of Ottawa indicate Tkachuk and Pinto fully participated in the Senators’ optional skate this morning.
Jeník is the only one of the duo who’s suited up for Ottawa this season. The former high-end prospect for the Arizona Coyotes is in his first year with the Senators organization after being acquired via trade this past offseason. Unfortunately, Jeník’s scoring production has noticeably declined this year. He’s scored seven goals and 13 points in 30 games with AHL Belleville after averaging 0.72 points per game over five years with the AHL’s Tucson Roadrunners.
Meanwhile, Crookshank has spent the entire 2024-25 campaign with AHL Belleville after making his NHL debut last season. The former 126th overall pick has scored 18 goals and 33 points in 48 AHL contests this year, ranking first on the team in goal-scoring. It will be his first NHL contest since April 2, 2024, should he suit up tonight against the Jets.
Ryan Hartman’s Suspension Reduced Upon Appeal
NHL commissioner Gary Bettman has reduced Wild forward Ryan Hartman‘s suspension for roughing Senators center Tim Stützle from 10 to eight games, the league announced. He will now be eligible to return to the Minnesota lineup on March 4 against the Kraken instead of March 9 against the Penguins.
The break in the schedule for the 4 Nations Face-Off initially meant Hartman was due to miss more than a month of action after he drove Stützle’s head into the ice immediately following a faceoff, which got him tossed from the game – a 6-0 loss – for intent to injure. As a result, he earned an in-person hearing with the Department of Player Safety. The NHLPA filed an appeal on Hartman’s behalf two days after their decision, which Bettman heard over the break. Hartman can again appeal to an independent arbitrator since the reduced length is still at least six games. That process will take longer than the remainder of the suspension, so doing so would only result in him getting some money back in his pocket.
Bettman rarely reduces a suspension. He’s only done it twice in the past nine times they’ve come across his desk, most recently decreasing a suspension to then-Maple Leafs forward Jason Spezza from six to four games in December 2021. Bettman notes the reduction to eight games came at the request of the NHLPA, saying neither Hartman nor the NHLPA contested the fact that a suspension was appropriate for his actions.
The full ruling, available here, is incredibly detailed. While Bettman calls Hartman’s recent track record of suspensions (four within the last 22 months) “an unenviable record and a pattern of malfeasance,” he did agree with the NHLPA’s assertion that an increase of seven games from Hartman’s most recent discipline “is excessive in this case and that the quantum of increase should be reduced.”
Hartman, 30, has struggled this season with 7-10–17 through 48 games. He missed a significant chunk of games in October with an upper-body injury. His 0.35 points-per-game pace is his lowest since his first campaign in Minnesota in 2019-20, although a career-worst 6.5% shooting rate has a lot to do with that and should rebound somewhat after he returns to the lineup.