The Senators Have Some Tough Decisions To Make
The Senators are facing a midseason crossroads. The season has not gone as planned, and they are well out of a playoff spot.
They could stand pat and hope James Reimer provides steady goaltending, push for short-term moves to improve the team, or pivot to a sell-off for this season and hope to reload in the summer. It’s a real dilemma in Ottawa, as the Senators are too flawed to contend but too good to tank.
Even if they wanted to aim for an impact prospect in the 2026 draft, they don’t have their first-round pick this year thanks to the Evgenii Dadonov debacle. The Senators are effectively in the worst possible situation this year, and the next few weeks will be crucial in determining where they go from here.
There will be no easy answers for a club that has dramatically underperformed. Rebuilding is absolutely out of the question, given how much long-term money Ottawa has spent on extensions over the last few years.
However, a quick retool could inject much-needed draft capital or prospects into the Senators’ pipeline and net them a fair amount of assets, given how tight the standings are and how few teams appear set to become sellers before the trade deadline. If Ottawa wanted to dump some of its pending UFAs, it could effectively set the trade market on its own terms rather than responding to what other clubs do.
If the Sens start shipping out veteran talent, they have a decent stockpile of players on expiring deals that could be made available, including several former Stanley Cup champions among the forwards: Lars Eller, David Perron, and Nick Cousins. On top of the trio of former winners, forward Claude Giroux and defenseman Nick Jensen are also pending UFAs, giving Ottawa a healthy list of potential players to move should they slide completely out of playoff contention.
But can the Senators move all of those veterans this year?
Giroux is having another solid season, with 32 points in 46 games. However, at 38 years old and playing close to home, does he really want to serve as a deadline rental?
It’s hard to say. On the surface, it seems unlikely, but Giroux is nearing the end of his career and is missing the one thing every NHL player covets: a Stanley Cup ring.
If Giroux agreed to a trade, he could theoretically make the move for a few months and then return next summer to Canada’s capital, or somewhere else close to home. That has happened in the past, albeit not for a long time.
Mark Recchi did it back in 2006 when he accepted a trade from the Penguins to the Hurricanes, only to return to Pittsburgh the following summer. Keith Tkachuk had a similar sequence when he was traded by the Blues in February 2007 to the Thrashers, only to be returned in a separate trade in June.
Jensen is another interesting case and would have been a highly sought-after trade piece before this year, given that right-shot defensemen are always in demand. But this season has been one to forget for Jensen, who was a healthy scratch just a couple of weeks ago and has been trying to find his game for much of the season.
Ottawa has attempted to manage the 35-year-old’s workload, dropping his playing time from over 20 minutes a night to just north of 16 minutes per game in an effort to keep him fresh, but it hasn’t done much to improve Jensen’s play. The biggest knock on Jensen at the moment is that his once-fluid skating now looks disjointed and robotic, which isn’t surprising given his injury history and the fact that he had offseason hip surgery and missed Ottawa’s training camp in September.
Jensen hasn’t looked like himself this year, and the Senators’ goaltending has been terrible, which has only magnified his struggles and dropped his trade stock and, ultimately, his future contract prospects significantly.
Returning to Eller, he is a low-maintenance, plug-and-play fourth-line center who doesn’t contribute much offensively anymore but can still skate and has reasonable puck-handling ability. The 36-year-old has just two goals and four assists in 32 games this year, but has buried himself in a defensive role, which suits his skill set at this late stage of his career.
Eller is the perfect low-cost veteran for contending teams looking to add depth. He is making just $1.25MM on a one-year deal, and with such a low cost, if the Senators move him before the deadline, they should be able to grab a mid-round draft pick.
As for Cousins, no one should want to acquire him, given that he was voted by the players as the NHL’s most punchable player. That said, he is likely only disliked until he plays on someone’s team.
Cousins is the kind of player that teammates love, and opposing players despise. He has a unique skill set that is often overlooked, but he adds physicality, plays a pest-like game, and brings energy that can spark a team, particularly in the playoffs.
The Belleville, Ontario native has historically drawn a lot of penalties and can chip in with offense (six goals and six assists in 45 games this year), although his defensive work leaves a lot to be desired. Cousins is on a one-year deal, making just $825K this season, so, like Eller, there should be demand given that he can fit into almost any team’s salary-cap structure.
Finally, there is Perron, who has been much better this season after posting just 16 points in 43 games last year. The 37-year-old already has nine goals and 14 assists in 46 games this year, and his underlying numbers are much better than they were a year ago.
Perron is no longer a perennial 20-goal, 50-point scorer, but he remains a useful depth scorer and should be in demand if Ottawa makes him available. He’s one of, if not the, slowest players in the NHL, but he hits and is reasonably productive offensively at this late stage of his career.
Perron isn’t going to net Ottawa a first-round pick, but it’s entirely possible they could get a second-rounder should they opt to trade him. He will likely want to stay close to home, but his 15-team no-trade list covers less than half the league and would leave the Senators with plenty of potential suitors for Perron. It’s also possible that he would embrace the move to a team on his no-trade list if Ottawa is out of the playoff picture and a team is appealing enough to him.
Ottawa has rattled off a couple of wins in the last few days, which could be the start of a turnaround. Ironically, the Senators have been deploying Cousins, Eller and Perron as their de facto fourth line in those two games, and they’ve been terrific as a unit.
But even with four points in their pocket, the Senators sit five points back of a playoff spot, with six teams to leapfrog for the final playoff spot. There is also the consideration that those two wins came against the teams sitting at the bottom of both conferences, the Canucks and Rangers.
If Ottawa is going to go on a run, it will need to beat some outstanding teams in the coming weeks. The next two to three weeks will be crucial for the Senators and could ultimately dictate their short-term intentions.
Senators Sign Claude Giroux To One-Year Extension
The Senators and pending UFA Claude Giroux are “putting the finishing touches” on an extension, Chris Johnston of TSN and The Athletic reports. The Senators have since confirmed the deal. It’s a one-year contract with a base salary of $2MM and up to an additional $2.75MM in performance bonuses, while including a no-movement clause. The full bonus structure is as follows, per PuckPedia:
20 games played: $250K
30 games played: $250K
60 games played: $250K
Playoff berth + 50 RS GP: $250K
First round win: $500K
Second round win: $250K
East Final win: $500K
Stanley Cup win (50% of GP): $500K
Giroux, while in the twilight years of his career, still could have likely landed more than a $4.75MM figure in maximum compensation on the open market, especially on a one-year deal. Instead, the 37-year-old will remain in Ottawa’s top nine forward group for another year as he looks to help guide the club to back-to-back postseason appearances for the first time since 2012 and 2013.
While his offense has been in decline for a few years now, the 18-year NHLer remains an effective secondary scoring piece. He finished fifth on the Sens in scoring last year with a 15-35–50 line in 81 games. He still saw over 18 minutes per game, a number that will presumably drop by some next season. Despite spending most of his time on the wing, he was still Ottawa’s primary faceoff taker over frequent linemate Tim Stützle and won a team-leading 600 draws with a career-best 61.5% win rate.
His return, especially at an affordable base price, gives Ottawa one less roster spot to worry about while providing them with a tad more spending flexibility this summer than they previously anticipated. They have $8.2MM in space remaining, according to PuckPedia, and no notable RFAs to re-sign. That money will presumably mostly go toward filling out their forward depth – they addressed their need for a right-shot defender yesterday by acquiring Jordan Spence from the Kings.
If he tested the market, Giroux would have been among the more desirable forward options still available, particularly after Sam Bennett‘s and John Tavares‘ extensions. He was No. 10 on our list of this summer’s unrestricted free agents.
Atlantic Notes: Giroux, Geekie, Tkachuk
Earlier this weekend, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported in his latest 32 Thoughts column that the Senators and Claude Giroux were battling over the bonus structure of his next deal. However, Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch adds that at this point, the base salary is still being worked on as well, with the belief that Giroux’s camp is looking for a salary around teammate David Perron’s $4MM; Ottawa is coming in below that. As long as the 37-year-old signs a one-year contract, Giroux is eligible for performance incentives, including games played, points, and team playoff success. While his days of being a top-line option are long gone, Giroux still projects as one of the better options available in free agency coming off a 50-point season.
Elsewhere in the Atlantic:
- Bruins forward Morgan Geekie told Kevin Paul Dupont of the Boston Globe that discussions on a new contract have been “pretty preliminary” so far. The 26-year-old was non-tendered the last time he was a pending restricted free agent, signing a two-year, $4MM deal with Boston that proved to be quite a bargain. Geekie had 39 points in 2023-24 and then followed that up with a 33-goal, 57-point effort this season. That could push his price tag past the $5MM mark on a multi-year deal this time around. He’s arbitration-eligible but with hearings generally running from July 20 to August 4, it’s possible that Boston’s plan is to simply let him file for arbitration late next week and then start to have more substantive discussions on a new agreement at that time.
- After playing through a torn adductor muscle for the entire postseason, Panthers winger Matthew Tkachuk told reporters including Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald that he is 50-50 in terms of whether he’ll need surgery or not. He will take the next few weeks to let the injury heal on its own and then see if he’ll need to go under the knife. If surgery is needed, it could put Tkachuk’s availability for the start of next season in question. Despite the injury, he still managed to produce a point per game in Florida’s 23 playoff contests.
Claude Giroux, Senators Continue Negotiations
The Ottawa Senators and pending unrestricted free agent Claude Giroux have reportedly been in contract talks for several weeks. While the two sides remain at a stalemate, they recently met in an effort to close the gap, per Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Citizen.
Garrioch shares his belief that the Sens would like to bring Giroux back on a one-year deal. While Giroux just put up a solid 50-point campaign (and added five points in six playoff contests), it did represent a 14-point decrease from the prior. A one-year deal could protect Ottawa from the potential of the 37-year-old Giroux completely hitting the wall.
Giroux recently completed a three-year, $19.5MM contract with the Senators in which he scored 71 goals and 193 points in 245 games. With 1,263 games played and 1,116 points to his name, Giroux boasts a resume that warrants consideration for the Hall of Fame. He’s also contributed 86 points in 101 playoff games, giving the young Senators a veteran presence as they aim to take the next step. The team ended its eight-year playoff drought this past season, and with key pieces like Tim Stutzle, Brady Tkachuk, Dylan Cozens, Jake Sanderson, and Thomas Chabot locked in for the foreseeable future, Ottawa appears poised to become a legitimate contender.
For his part, Giroux appears to have an interest in returning to Ottawa. However, with fewer than two weeks remaining until free agency, the Senators have just $15 million in cap space (per PuckPedia), and as Garrioch notes, the team has also held discussions with fellow pending free agent forwards Adam Gaudette, Nick Cousins, and Matthew Highmore. They also face key decisions regarding restricted free agents like forward Fabian Zetterlund and goalie Leevi Merilainen. It remains to be seen where Giroux falls in that list of priorities.
If Giroux does hit the open market, Garrioch believes the Montreal Canadiens would have interest in his services. Like Ottawa, the Canadiens have a young, talented core leading the way. However, with just over $6 million in cap space (per PuckPedia), they’d need to get creative to add Giroux and other assets once free agency begins.
Atlantic Notes: Marchand, Peterka, Giroux
Much has already been made of Brad Marchand‘s upcoming trip through unrestricted free agency, with recent reports indicating he could earn as much as $8MM a year given his durability and impressive postseason performance with the Florida Panthers. Piggybacking off that report, TSN’s Chris Johnston shared today on TSN 1050 that Marchand will prioritize earning maximization on his next contract, rather than term.
According to Johnston, Marchand isn’t limiting his desire to salary, adding that a team like the Toronto Maple Leafs could make up with off-ice endorsements for what they lack in available dollars to spend. If that is the case, it would likely broaden Marchand’s market to include other large-market teams, such as the Vegas Golden Knights, Vancouver Canucks, and New York Rangers, especially since these teams may not have as much financial flexibility as they approach the summer months.
Still, it wouldn’t be difficult for Marchand to find a new employer on the open market. He remains a capable top-six winger heading into his age-38 season, and his nearly point-per-game scoring average in the 2025 Stanley Cup playoffs should make him a priority for teams with a legitimate chance at the Stanley Cup next season.
Other notes from the Atlantic Division:
- After already being named the top player on his trade board, Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff lists Buffalo Sabre JJ Peterka as one of the likeliest candidates for an offer sheet this summer. It’s an interesting proposition to consider, as Seravalli lists Peterka’s potential offer sheet at the higher end of the fifth tier for compensation, which would require the signing team to send Buffalo their 2026 first, second, and third-round pick. Still, Buffalo has the financial flexibility to match nearly any offer sheet signed by Peterka, meaning they’ll have to weigh the hypothetical compensation against Peterka’s current value.
- The Ottawa Senators and veteran Claude Giroux have reportedly been negotiating a new contract for a few weeks, and Bruce Garrioch of The Ottawa Citizen shares that those contract talks have reached a pivotal stage. The two sides met last week during the NHL Combine in Buffalo, and they continue to work toward an agreeable deal. Giroux recently completed a three-year, $19.5MM contract with the Senators in which he scored 71 goals and 193 points in 245 games.
Senators Begin Contract Talks With Claude Giroux
May 30th: A few weeks after this initial report that informal discussions had begun, Garrioch shared today that face-to-face talks between Giroux and the Senators would start next week. The expectation is that if everything goes well, a new contract will be agreed upon then.
May 15th: Forward Claude Giroux highlights Ottawa’s list of pending unrestricted free agents but if they get their way, he won’t make it to the open market altogether. Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch reports that the two sides have started informal discussions on a new contract for the 2025-26 season while GM Steve Staios is expected to meet with Giroux’s agent in the next few weeks to try to hammer out a deal.
Giroux joined the Senators three years ago as an unrestricted free agent, inking a three-year, $19.5MM deal on the opening day of free agency. It’s fair to say the contract worked out quite well for Ottawa as the 37-year-old put up 71 goals and 122 assists in 245 games with the Sens while winning 59.1% of his faceoffs, one of the top rates in the NHL over that time. This past season, he had 15 goals and 35 helpers in 81 outings while logging over 18 minutes a night of ice time.
While his age makes a raise quite unlikely, it wouldn’t be surprising if term is a key element in these negotiations. Garrioch cites league executives who feel a one-year deal between $3MM and $4MM would be palatable for both sides while it’s worth noting that Giroux would be eligible for performance incentives in his deal if it’s a one-year pact. However, given the anticipated demand for centers on the open market this summer, Giroux could have enough leverage to try to get a second year on the deal while also making him ineligible for those performance bonuses.
A veteran of 1,263 NHL games over parts of 18 seasons between Philadelphia, Florida, and Ottawa, Giroux has recorded 365 goals and 751 assists. His 1,116 points put him in 66th place in NHL history in that regard.
Ottawa enters the offseason with around $17.5MM in cap space, per PuckPedia, giving Staios some flexibility to work with. However, with that money, he has to re-sign or replace Giroux, re-sign trade deadline acquisition Fabian Zetterlund, add a second goalie (or promote Leevi Merilainen to the role), and fill out the roster with a handful of other pieces. While that probably won’t leave them a lot of room to go shopping on the open market, they should have enough space to work with to get something done with Giroux in the coming weeks.
Senators Notes: Tkachuk, Giroux, Jensen, Pinto, Worlds
While the Senators are disappointed by a first-round loss in the Battle of Ontario, there are plenty of reasons for optimism in the future after ending a seven-year playoff drought. One is the continued top-end play of captain Brady Tkachuk, who was still dealing with the hip injury he sustained during the 4 Nations Face-Off during the postseason, he told Claire Hanna of TSN.
“The hip happened that Sweden game, took some time coming back to try to get it as good as possible,” Tkachuk said. “Now it’s just, take the time to get that all healed up… it could heal up in the next couple of weeks.”
Entering a pivotal 2025-26 campaign for the Sens as they look to establish themselves in the upper echelon of the Atlantic Division, it’s good news that their leading goal-scorer doesn’t expect any lingering effects and should head into training camp at full health. Signed through 2027-28 at an $8.2MM cap hit, he still led the Sens in playoff scoring with a 4-3–7 line and a plus-two rating through six games. While his 0.76 points per game in the regular season were his lowest in four years, he still topped Ottawa’s roster with 29 goals and would have registered his fourth straight 30-goal campaign if not for missing 10 games.
Here’s more on the Senators:
- Veteran pending unrestricted free agent winger Claude Giroux wants to continue his career in his hometown of Ottawa. He hasn’t talked to Sens general manager Steve Staios about a contract extension yet, but still feels that he can be an impact player, he told Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia. He’s been extremely durable since signing a three-year, $19.5MM contract with Ottawa in 2022, only missing one game. His point totals have steadily tailed off, though, and the 37-year-old scored 50 points in 81 games in 2024-25 for the second-lowest per-game output of his career over a full season. AFP Analytics projects a two-year extension for Giroux just north of his current cap hit, but it stands to reason he’ll be happy to re-up for the same number or slightly less. He only made $5.5MM in salary this year, so a marginal decrease wouldn’t even be a pay cut compared to the final season of his expiring contract.
- Defenseman Nick Jensen may need offseason surgery for the undisclosed injury that plagued him down the stretch, he told Garrioch. Ottawa sat Jensen for two of its last four regular-season games, and he missed a couple of multi-game stretches earlier in the campaign. The 34-year-old was still an effective shutdown presence in his first season with the Sens, posting 21 points and a +18 rating in 71 regular-season games. He averaged nearly 21 minutes per game in the playoffs and controlled 57.6% of shot attempts when he was on the ice at 5-on-5 despite not recording a point.
- Young center Shane Pinto is entering the back half of his two-year, $7.5MM contract and is interested in discussing a long-term extension after he becomes eligible to sign one on July 1, he told TSN 1200 Ottawa. After sitting out half of the 2023-24 campaign due to a suspension for violating the league’s sports wagering policy, he posted a career-best 21 goals and 37 points in 70 games in 2024-25 while shouldering top-six minutes.
- Defensemen Jake Sanderson and Thomas Chabot declined invites from USA Hockey and Hockey Canada, respectively, to join their national teams for the 2025 World Championship in Denmark and Sweden, with the former citing rest as his reasoning (per Hanna and TSN 1200). Germany hasn’t yet approached star center Tim Stützle, he said, but will say yes once they reach out in the coming days (according to Garrioch). Dylan Cozens also said he’d welcome being added to Canada’s roster if asked, per TSN 1200.
Afternoon Notes: Hyland, Giroux, Grzelcyk
The Hershey Bears have signed Washington Capitals draft pick Brett Hyland to an AHL contract for the upcoming season (Twitter link). The 21-year-old was drafted in the seventh round of the 2023 NHL entry draft (200th overall) and joined the Bears on an amateur tryout this past April.
The Edmonton Alberta native spent parts of five seasons in the WHL with the Brandon Wheat Kings after being taken 24th overall in the 2018 WHL draft. He tallied decent offensive numbers in his final few seasons with the Wheat Kings and found his goal-scoring in his final year, netting 32 goals in 66 games.
Hyland will be joining a Bears team that has won back-to-back Calder Cup championships.
In other afternoon notes:
- Newly acquired Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Matt Grzelcyk believes he will be in the mix to play in the Penguins top four defensive group next season (as per Seth Rorabaugh of Pittsburgh Tribune-Review). Grzelcyk told the media that injuries severely limited his play last season as evidenced by his dramatic drop in offensive production and being a healthy scratch for the final stretch of Boston Bruins playoff games. The 30-year-old had just two goals and nine assists in 63 games last season after posting four consecutive seasons with 20 or more points. The Penguins signed the Charlestown, Massachusetts native to a one-year $2.75MM contract on July 1st and given the struggles of Ryan Graves, it is very possible that Grzelcyk could be playing on one of the Penguins’ top two defensive pairings with either Kris Letang or Erik Karlsson.
- Ottawa Senators forward Claude Giroux joined the Coming In Hot Podcast and talked about his future with the Senators beyond the upcoming season. Giroux noted that he hasn’t spoken with the team or his family about a contract extension in Ottawa and hasn’t thought about it at this time. Giroux has one year left on the three-year deal he signed in 2022 and added that his focus is on having a strong season next year and helping Ottawa reach the playoffs for the first time since 2017. Giroux isn’t saying much but given the Senators’ lack of success, it makes sense for him to wait and see how the next year plays out before deciding to commit to the team long-term. Giroux is 36 years old and has yet to win a Stanley Cup, and while Ottawa is his home city, the chase for a championship could be something he considers with his next contract.
Nominees Announced For 2024 Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy
The Bill Masterton Trophy is awarded annually to the player who best exemplifies perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to hockey. Nominees are selected by members of the Professional Hockey Writer’s Association, with finalists being named near the end of the regular season. Previous winners include Kris Letang (2023), Carey Price (2022), and Oskar Lindblom (2021). Today, a new list of 32 nominees has been named.
Below are the nominees from each team:
Anaheim Ducks – Urho Vaakanainen
Arizona Coyotes – Connor Ingram
Boston Bruins – Danton Heinen
Buffalo Sabres – Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen
Calgary Flames – Oliver Kylington
Carolina Hurricanes – Frederik Andersen
Chicago Blackhawks – Colin Blackwell
Colorado Avalanche – Jonathan Drouin
Columbus Blue Jackets – Zach Werenski
Dallas Stars – Matt Duchene
Detroit Red Wings – Alex Lyon
Edmonton Oilers – Vincent Desharnais
Florida Panthers – Oliver Ekman-Larsson
Los Angeles Kings – Viktor Arvidsson
Minnesota Wild – Marco Rossi
Montreal Canadiens – Joel Armia
Nashville Predators – Michael McCarron
New Jersey Devils – Curtis Lazar
New York Islanders – Cal Clutterbuck
New York Rangers – Jonathan Quick
Ottawa Senators – Claude Giroux
Philadelphia Flyers – Sean Couturier
Pittsburgh Penguins – Sidney Crosby
San Jose Sharks – Justin Bailey
Seattle Kraken – Joey Daccord
St. Louis Blues – Nathan Walker
Tampa Bay Lightning – Michael Eyssimont
Toronto Maple Leafs – Ilya Samsonov
Vancouver Canucks – Noah Juulsen
Vegas Golden Knights – Alex Pietrangelo
Washington Capitals – T.J. Oshie
Winnipeg Jets – Laurent Brossoit
Snapshots: Three Stars, Schenn, Thompson
The NHL released its Three Stars for last week, with Ottawa Senators forward Claude Giroux taking home the top spot. The veteran scored four goals and seven points in three games, taking him to 19 and 47 on the year. Giroux is now 30 points shy of 1,000 for his career, and is scoring at nearly a point-per-game rate with the Senators, even at age 35.
It was an Atlantic Division sweep this week, as William Nylander of the Toronto Maple Leafs and Andrei Vasilevskiy of the Tampa Bay Lightning took home second and third place respectively. Nylander continues to play at a different level for Toronto this year, scoring 28 goals and 59 points in 51 games. Vasilevskiy allowed just six goals on 102 shots across three games, winning them all. After leading the league in wins for five-straight seasons, Vasilevskiy has now closed the gap and trails Linus Ullmark by just two.
- Luke Schenn has emerged as one of the most talked-about trade deadline chips, thanks to his low salary, Stanley Cup experience, and physicality. Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff takes a deep dive into Schenn’s market, suggesting clubs like Boston, Minnesota, Calgary, Dallas, Tampa Bay, and Vegas could all benefit from adding the veteran defenseman.
- Tage Thompson is listed as day-to-day for the Buffalo Sabres, with head coach Don Granato telling reporters including Mike Harrington of the Buffalo News that the star forward has been dealing with some nagging injuries. Granato does expect Thompson to be on the ice tomorrow and isn’t ruling him out for Wednesday’s game. What that means for his All-Star appearance isn’t clear, as it would provide a good chance for him to recover, if still bothered by injury later this week.