Senators Believed To Have Checked In On Rasmus Andersson
While the Senators enter play today in last place in the Atlantic Division and second-last in the Eastern Conference, they’re only three points out of a Wild Card spot and aren’t thinking about selling just yet. To that end, league sources suggested to Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch that Ottawa has circled back and inquired about Flames blueliner Rasmus Andersson.
The 29-year-old is in the final season of his contract and while Calgary hasn’t ruled out the possibility of signing him to an extension themselves, the expectation is that he will likely be dealt before the trade deadline in March.
Andersson is a top-pairing right-shot defender, the type of commodity that is always in short supply and very high demand. In 40 games this season, he has eight goals and 18 assists, putting him on pace for his second career 50-point campaign. Meanwhile, Andersson is also averaging a career-high 24:10 per game of playing time.
With a $4.55MM cap charge, it’s fair to say that Andersson has been quite the bargain for Calgary and it’s a price tag that a lot of teams should be able to afford, including the Sens. However, given his role, production, and overall value, the Flames are well-positioned to command a significant return; a first-round pick and a top prospect could be a realistic ask at this point. If Calgary gave a team permission to discuss an extension beforehand, that price could go even higher.
That potential price could be a challenge for Ottawa to meet. As things stand, they’re set to forfeit their 2026 first-round pick as punishment for not declaring Evgenii Dadonov’s no-trade protection that eventually resulted in a vetoed trade back in 2022. While they can move future first-round picks as well, going multiple years without a top pick isn’t ideal for a team that currently finds itself out of a playoff spot.
Meanwhile, it appears their top prospects aren’t believed to be available. Garrioch reports that the Sens have zero interest in moving defensemen Carter Yakemchuk and Logan Hensler, their two most recent first-round selections. Yakemchuk is currently injured with AHL Belleville while Hensler just suited up at the World Juniors.
With those top assets unavailable, it’s hard to see Ottawa realistically getting involved in trade talks for Andersson. But they can be added to the list of teams keeping tabs on him, a group that includes (but is not limited to) Dallas, Los Angeles, Toronto, and Vegas.
Evening Notes: Yakemchuk, Dorofeyev, Marchment
Earlier today, Senators top prospect Carter Yakemchuk left mid-game in the AHL due to injury, as reported by Alex Adams of Sportsnet, who also provided the video clip. The defenseman, coming around the corner in his own end, made a routine pass to start the breakout when Bridgeport enforcer Hunter Drew finished a hard check. Such an impact sent Yakemchuk spilling awkwardly into the boards, and he did not return.
Drafted by Ottawa seventh overall in 2024, the 6’3” defenseman is the team’s top prospect, posting an impressive 18 points in 27 games for Belleville in his first professional season. On the other hand, Drew, 27, was a sixth round selection by Anaheim in 2018, appearing in two NHL games in 2021-22, but since then has been a full-time AHLer, even switching from a defenseman to a forward as a professional. Drew regularly surpasses the 100+ annual penalty minute mark, and after taking out a young star, naturally, his actions drew the ire of Belleville.
Further details have not been confirmed on Yakemchuk’s status, but the Alberta native figures to be a huge part of Ottawa’s future. It was already noted in late November that he is likely untouchable in trade discussions, and hopefully as long as he is able to avoid serious injury, the 20-year-old could soon earn a call up and provide a needed boost to the Sens’ right side defense.
Elsewhere across the league:
- Vegas forward Pavel Dorofeyev left last night’s win over Columbus, not returning for the third period, as reported by Danny Webster of the Las Vegas Review-Journal (Twitter link). The 25-year-old is one of the game’s more unsung top scorers, since breaking out last season with 35 goals. He has maintained such levels so far this year with 13 in 31 games, doing all of it at an absurd value, $1.8MM, with pending RFA status at season’s end. No additional updates on Dorofeyev have come yet, with the Knights out of action until next Wednesday, but if he is set to miss time, the winger’s elite power play production will especially be missed. Eight of his 13 goals have been buried on the man advantage.
- Ahead of tonight’s game versus Buffalo, the Seattle Kraken announced that forward Mason Marchment will not play, however it is noted as due to illness, rather than injury. The 30-year-old was an intriguing cap-dump addition by Seattle last summer given his production with Dallas, but the scoring touch has fallen off a bit since then. Marchment found the back of the net twice on Friday, but prior to that, he had just two goals in 26 games. The power forward is drawing trade interest as a pending UFA, but with a $4.5MM cap hit and a modified no trade clause, such a move may require creativity. In Marchment’s absence, 22-year-old Jacob Melanson enters the lineup for his second NHL game. Melanson was drafted in the fifth round by Seattle and projects as a future bottom six winger.
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.
Minor Transactions: 10/6/25
The deadline for NHL clubs to ready their opening-night rosters has passed, and as a result there has been quite a bit of roster maneuvering around the NHL today. While some moves are more notable, such as the handful of waiver claims made today, there are a few moves that are more minor, such as expected reassignments or previously reported injuries being made official with IR placements. We’ll keep track of those moves here:
- In preparing their final opening-night roster that can be viewed here, the Utah Mammoth reassigned a pair of first-round picks. 2023 12th overall pick Daniil But was reassigned to the AHL’s Tucson Roadrunners, which is where he will begin his North American professional career. Meanwhile 2024 sixth overall pick Tij Iginla was loaned back to his WHL team, the Kelowna Rockets. But is a big 6’5 winger whose KHL teammate (and fellow 2023 first-rounder) Dmitry Simashev made the Utah roster today, and it’s expected that But won’t be in the AHL for too long. As for Iginla, this season is an opportunity for him to get his development back on track after unfortunate injury luck derailed his 2024-25 campaign.
- The Ottawa Senators reassigned the players they placed on waivers Sunday to their AHL affiliate, the Belleville Senators. Making up the group is Jan Jenik, Hayden Hodgson, Arthur Kaliyev, Mads Sogaard, and Lassi Thomson. 2024 seventh-overall pick Carter Yakemchuk was reassigned to Belleville, his Sept. 29 birthdate making him eligible to play in the AHL despite being a 2024 draft pick. In addition to those reassignments, the Senators placed Drake Batherson and Tyler Kleven on IR to further prepare their final roster. Batherson has been out since Sept. 24 with an upper-body injury on a projected two-week recovery timeline, while Kleven has been out since Sept. 21 with an undisclosed injury.
- The Minnesota Wild reassigned forward Tyler Pitlick and netminder Cal Petersen to their AHL affiliate, the Iowa Wild, today. Both players were placed on waivers yesterday and went unclaimed. Pitlick, 33, is a veteran of over 400 NHL games and scored 46 points in 59 AHL games last season for the Hartford Wolf Pack – he’ll likely be among the first players in line for a call-up in Iowa. Petersen, 30, was once a $5MM-a-year netminder for the Los Angeles Kings but did not play in the NHL in 2024-25. Signed to a one-year, $775K one-way deal, he’ll be the team’s organizational number-three netminder.
- The Calgary Flames placed forwards Jonathan Huberdeau and Martin Pospisil on injured reserve today as part of their roster preparations, and also called up 2023 first-rounder Samuel Honzek. Huberdeau left Calgary’s preseason game at the start of the month with an undisclosed injury, and will miss at least the team’s season opener. Pospisil also exited the Flames’ Oct. 1 preseason game with an undisclosed injury, and will also miss the team’s first game at minimum. As a result, Honzek, 20, gets a spot on the roster in their absence. The 6’5 Slovak forward played his first season of North American pro hockey in 2024-25, scoring 21 points in 52 AHL games and also skating in five NHL contests.
- The New York Rangers reassigned forward Brett Berard to AHL Hartford as part of their season-opening roster moves. Despite a solid training camp and preseason, the 23-year-old lost the battle for a middle-six role in New York to veteran Conor Sheary, a longtime favorite of first-year coach Mike Sullivan. The Rangers signed Sheary to a one-year deal earlier today. It’s a disappointing outcome for Berard, who looked to be making a real push for full-time NHL status last season. He skated in a career-high 35 NHL games, scoring 10 points to go alongside the 23 points he scored in 30 AHL contests.
- The Toronto Maple Leafs reassigned defenseman Ben Danford to the OHL’s Oshawa Generals as part of their season-opening roster preparations. Danford missed Maple Leafs training camp and preseason with a concussion, but has since been cleared for contact, paving the way for this reassignment. It’s the expected move for the 2024 31st overall pick, who is entering his fourth season of OHL duty. Danford scored 25 points in 61 games in Oshawa last season and will resume his post as one of the OHL’s top shutdown blueliners for 2025-26.
- The Colorado Avalanche announced several roster moves to go alongside their announcement of an initial roster: Keaton Middleton, who cleared waivers today, has been reassigned to AHL Colorado, alongside Matthew Stienburg. Meanwhile Ronnie Attard, Sean Behrens, Jacob MacDonald, Logan O’Connor, and Nikita Prishchepov have been designated injured non-roster. Ilya Solovyov, who the team claimed off of waivers from the Calgary Flames last week, was also designated non-roster but he is not injured. Solovyov’s placement is due to the fact that, per the Denver Post’s Corey Masisiak, his visa to allow him to play in the United States has not yet been finalized. It should be noted that this is not an abnormal scenario for a player involved in a cross-border transaction between NHL clubs.
- As part of their own season-opening roster moves, the Nashville Predators placed defenseman Nic Hague and forward Matthew Wood on injured reserve. Hague is out with an upper-body injury on a week-to-week timeline, while Wood is also considered week-to-week with a lower-body injury.
Senators’ Carter Yakemchuk Working To Make Opening Night Roster
Right-defense was a sore spot for the Ottawa Senators throughout the entire 2024-25 season. They iced five different players on the right-side, and even parted with Jacob Bernard-Docker at the Trade Deadline. For top Senators prospect Carter Yakemchuk, that lineup weakness stands as a golden opportunity. Now in his first year of NHL/AHL eligibility, Yakemchuk told Julian McKenzie of The Athletic that he’s fully geared towards making the NHL roster out of camp.
Yakemchuk shared that he has returned to working with Calgary-based CRASH Conditioning this summer, after joining the program following his draft selection last year. In that regiment, his summer training is overseen by Seattle Kraken assistant coach Dave Lowry – as well as former pro-turned-coach Dan Bakala and David Liffiton, who will move to an assistant coach role with the AHL’s Calgary Wranglers next season. Yakemchuk emphasizes that the coaching staff has him on the right path, telling McKenzie:
I’m looking forward to [training camp]. My goal is to make the opening roster… And I’m looking forward to putting in the work that it takes to make that.
Building out his defensive game has been a key focus of Yakemchuk’s development. Lowry pointed out to McKenzie that Yakemchuk’s offense is already, clearly, at a top level – and it’s the hard-nosed play away from the puck that he’ll need to earn an NHL role. Luckily, that’s the exact point that other coaches praised when reflecting on Yakemchuk’s summer. Liffiton – who coached Yakemchuk at the WHL’s Calgary Hitmen last season – emphasized that Yakemchuk’s defensive game has taken major strides forward, which helps explain his drastic decrease in scoring this season. After netting 30 goals and 71 points in 66 games last year, the former seventh-overall pick scored just 17 goals and 49 points in 56 games this year.
But as pointed out by the CRASH coaches, that decrease was all by design. Even through the spot scoring, Yakemchuk prevailed as one of the best puck-moving defensemen in his age group. He continued to dominate possession and flash exciting stickhandling for a defender of his size – but showed the patience to make smart passes to his forwards, like 2025 11th-overall pick Benjamin Kindel. All the while, Yakemchuk continued to grow in his ability to dominate the corners and low-slot with his heavy frame. Strong skating helped him get chippy with opponents in front, and it was rare that an opposing body-check knocked him off balance.
In the name of growing defense, Yakemchuk’s breakout goal-scoring from 2023-24 can afford to subside a bit. He’s a burly 6-foot-4, 200-pound defender who throws hits just as hard as he shoots – evidenced by his 202 penalty minutes in 122 WHL games over the last two seasons. Those will be the attributes that earn him a full-time role on a Senators’ blue-line already housing the fearless Artem Zub and Nick Jensen on the right-side.
If Yakemchuk’s growing physicality sticks, he could find incredible opportunity in Ottawa’s lineup. Neither Zub nor Jensen offer much scoring upside at all, which seems to limit the ground that star left-defenders Jake Sanderson and Thomas Chabot can gain. Bringing in another burly defender capable of driving the puck all the way down the ice, and creating strong scoring chances, could go a long way towards clearing up more space for Ottawa’s best defenders.
Yakemchuk is no stranger to a tough role. He seemed to be on the ice for every one of the Hitmen’s biggest moments over the last two seasons, and averaged 18 minutes of even-strength ice-time alone in both years. That conditioning could come in handy as he joins a team that’s no stranger to awarding their top defenders with 23 or 24 minutes a night. The lucrative lineup role ahead, and determined focus on making the roster, will make Yakemchuk a pivotal player to watch as training camps roll around.
Senators Recall Twelve Players
With the Senators in the playoffs and their farm team in Belleville not making the playoffs, Ottawa has determined which players will be joining the team as their Black Aces. The team announced (Twitter link) that forwards Zack MacEwen, Angus Crookshank, Stephen Halliday, Cole Reinhardt, Jan Jenik, Tyler Boucher, Garrett Pilon, and Wyatt Bongiovanni, along with defenseman Donovan Sebrango and goaltender Mads Sogaard have all been recalled from Belleville.
In addition, the Sens have also recalled two players from the major junior ranks. Defenseman Carter Yakemchuk was brought up from WHL Calgary while blueliner Tomas Hamara was recalled from OHL Brantford.
Among the recalls, MacEwen saw the most game action with Ottawa this season, playing in 21 games where he had three points and 49 hits in a little under eight minutes a night of action. Reinhardt had two points in 17 outings while Crookshank had an assist in eight contests. Jenik, Sebrango, and Sogaard all got into a pair of games and were held off the scoresheet while Sogaard allowed eight goals on just 40 shots.
Looking at the AHL recalls who didn’t play with Ottawa this season, Halliday and Pilon were Belleville’s top scorers, checking in with 51 and 48 points, respectively. Meanwhile, Bongiovanni tied Crookshank for the team lead in goals with 22. Boucher, meanwhile, had just 10 points in 47 games this season, not a great showing for the tenth overall pick from 2021.
Yakemchuk very briefly made Ottawa’s roster out of training camp before being sent back without playing a game. He was the seventh pick in last year’s draft and had a solid year with the Hitmen, picking up 49 points in 56 games. As for Hamara, he also checked in just below the point-per-game mark with the Bulldogs, notching 55 in 58 appearances.
These recalls could be short-lived, however. Ottawa is down 3-0 in their opening round series against Toronto so the series could be over as soon as tonight. But regardless of how long their postseason push lasts, the Sens now have their extra skaters in place.
Senators Place Matthew Highmore On SOIR, Return Carter Yakemchuk To Juniors
The Senators have placed left winger Matthew Highmore on season-opening injured reserve, according to the NHL’s media portal (via Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch). The team also announced that top defense prospect Carter Yakemchuk is headed back to juniors with the WHL’s Calgary Hitmen after nearly cracking Ottawa’s roster on his first try. The moves indicate that center prospect Zack Ostapchuk and left-shot defender Tyler Kleven will open the season on the NHL roster, although Garrioch adds they’re likely in the market to claim another left-shot defender off waivers today to fill their open roster spot.
Highmore sustained an upper-body injury during Saturday’s exhibition game against the Canadiens. The club hasn’t given him an injury designation, but he will be out at least until the weekend. He was a likely candidate for waivers and subsequent assignment to AHL Belleville, but those moves have to wait until he’s cleared to return to play. Instead, he’ll open the season on SOIR since he’s on a two-way contract and was rostered for fewer than 50 games last year. He’ll carry a cap hit of $238,151 for the Sens in the meantime, per PuckPedia.
Highmore, 28, is no longer the full-time NHLer he was around the pandemic but is a serviceable call-up option and a top-six AHL fixture. He has 12 goals and 29 points in 146 career NHL contests, although he’s played in nine games over the past two seasons. Seven of those came with Ottawa last year, posting two assists while averaging 7:43 per game. He signed a one-year, two-way extension ($775K/$400K) in June to avoid free agency and remain with the Sens after posting 31 points in 43 games for Belleville.
Meanwhile, the 19-year-old Yakemchuk is ticketed for a big season with the Hitmen after an impressive preseason performance. The seventh overall pick in this year’s draft erupted for seven points (2 G, 5 A) in four preseason contests with Ottawa. A WHL All-Star last season, he led the league in goals from a defenseman with 30 in 66 games for Calgary. The 6’3″, 203-lb defender already has pro-ready size at 6’3″ and 203 lbs and is no stranger to laying the body, leading the Hitmen with 120 PIMs last year. He’s likely penciled in for the Sens’ opening night roster next season. This year, though, his entry-level contract will slide to 2025-26 and leave the Sens with an extra spot under their 50-contract limit.
Evening Notes: Yakemchuk, Lizotte, Ponomarev
Ottawa Senators 2024 first-round pick (seventh overall) Carter Yakemchuk is making a bid to make the team this season (as per Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia). The Fort McMurray, Alberta native was expected to be shuttled back to the Calgary Hitmen of the WHL but has made things interesting with his terrific play in the preseason, leading the Senators with five points.
The 19-year-old has shown good offensive instincts and could earn himself a nine-game NHL audition if his strong play continues. The one issue he might face is that his defensive game needs work, and the Senators have been a team that has struggled defensively in recent seasons which might give management, and the coaching staff pause as they try to assemble the best possible lineup for opening night.
In other evening notes:
- Rob Rossi of The Athletic is reporting that Pittsburgh Penguins forward Blake Lizotte has a concussion and will be sidelined indefinitely. Lizotte took a puck to the face in a game on Sunday and may miss the Penguins season opener next Wednesday against the New York Rangers. Lizotte signed a two-year $3.7MM deal with the Penguins on July 1st and remains likely to start the season as the Penguins fourth line center. Lizotte had seven goals and eight assists in 62 games last season with the Kings but is just a year removed from posting 34 points in 81 games.
- Rossi is also reporting that Penguins forward Vasily Ponomarev will be out of the lineup for the next few days with an upper-body injury. The 22-year-old likely won’t play tomorrow night against the Blue Jackets and might miss Friday’s game as well. Ponomarev has been good in the preseason but remains a long shot to make the NHL roster. His injury likely squashes his opportunity to make the opening night roster, but it shouldn’t hinder him from being called up later in the regular season. The former second-round pick was acquired by the Penguins back in March as part of the package Pittsburgh received from the Hurricanes for Jake Guentzel.
Carter Yakemchuk Signs Entry-Level Deal With Senators
The Senators have signed top 2024 draft choice Carter Yakemchuk to his three-year entry-level contract, the team announced today. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Yakemchuk, 18, was the second defenseman taken in the class, going to Ottawa at No. 7 after the Blackhawks selected Artyom Levshunov second overall. Given his early birthday (Sep. 29), Yakemchuk has already accumulated three seasons of junior hockey with the Western Hockey League’s Calgary Hitmen. Last season, he was named to the WHL’s Central Division First All-Star Team and led all defensemen in goals with 30. He added 41 assists for 71 points in 66 games, adding a whopping 120 PIMs and a -6 rating.
Seventh overall was a tad earlier than most expected the 6’3″, 203-lb right-shot defender to go. He checked in at No. 13 in TSN’s Bob McKenzie’s season-end polling of NHL scouts and was the sixth defenseman in his composite rankings. He went ahead of Zeev Buium (Wild, No. 12), Sam Dickinson (Sharks, No. 11), Zayne Parekh (Flames, No. 9), and Anton Silayev (Devils, No. 10), all of whom were consensus top-10 picks heading into draft day.
Yakemchuk will be a name to watch in training camp, but it’s likely that the Sens return him to the Hitmen for his final season of junior hockey. Doing so would slide the beginning of his ELC to 2025-26. Since he’s a 2005-born player, Yakemchuk will be eligible for a full-time AHL assignment the season after, whereas most Canadian Hockey League players have to return to their junior team for two seasons following their draft-eligible campaign. Regardless, he’ll be an RFA upon expiry.