Senators Reassign Carter Yakemchuk
The Senators announced this morning that they’ve reassigned defense prospect Carter Yakemchuk to AHL Belleville. His demotion likely means Dennis Gilbert could be an option tomorrow against the Panthers after he returned to practice in a regular jersey earlier in the week.
Ottawa likely wasn’t planning on giving Yakemchuk, the seventh overall pick in 2024, an extended NHL look until next season. He’s had a rocky defensive performance in Belleville this year. Nonetheless, their rash of injuries on the blue line forced their hand. Yakemchuk stepped into four straight contests for the Sens after his late-March recall before landing on the injured list himself because he entered concussion protocol. After missing the last four, his demotion today implies he’d passed the necessary tests and is cleared to return.
Yakemchuk debuted with a bang, recording a goal, assist, and a +2 rating in just 12:46 of ice time in a key regulation win over the Red Wings back on March 24. In the three games following, his performances were considerably more measured. He was held off the scoresheet and logged a -3 rating, three shots on goal, two blocks, and five giveaways with zero takeaways.
The 20-year-old righty’s possession numbers were ghastly, as well. Despite receiving extremely sheltered usage – 81% of his 5-on-5 starts came in the offensive end – the Sens only controlled 43.4% of shot attempts with Yakemchuk on the ice.
It’s clear that, with a playoff berth on the line, the Sens would prefer not to have such an inexperienced, albeit high-ceiling name, in the lineup for their final four games. The club’s top blue line prospect has 10 goals and 36 points in 50 games with Belleville this season to lead the club in scoring among rearguards, but also owns a team-worst -30 rating. As such, they’ll likely look to get him at least one more full year of defensive development in the AHL before trying to work him into a full-time role in 2027-28.
Gilbert, 29, had been out for the last nine games with an upper-body injury. He was summoned from Belleville in early March after Jake Sanderson went down with his injury. While Sanderson’s returned, Thomas Chabot and Tyler Kleven are now sidelined, so the veteran lefty will stay up for now.
Gilbert’s return is of particular importance as the Sens haven’t been able to dress multiple left-shot defenders in a game since Chabot fractured his right forearm back on March 23. Kleven was their only healthy lefty after that, and Sanderson didn’t return until after Kleven went down with an upper-body injury.
Now in his seventh NHL season, Gilbert posted one assist and an even rating across six games last month while averaging 11:22 per night. The 6’2″, 216-lb shutdown threat owns a career 3-18–21 scoring line and a -18 rating in 117 career NHL appearances with the Blackhawks, Avalanche, Flames, Sabres, and Senators.
Senators’ Thomas Chabot Undergoes Surgery, Out Six To Eight Weeks
Bad injury luck has struck at the worst time for the Ottawa Senators. Top defenseman Thomas Chabot will have to miss six-to-eight weeks after undergoing surgery to address a broken arm, per Bruce Garrioch of The Ottawa Citizen. Chabot suffered the injury on a cross-check from New York Rangers captain J.T. Miller in the first period of Monday’s game. A two-month timeline will likely keep Chabot out until at least the Eastern Conference final, if the Senators make it that far.
The Senators are also facing injuries to defensemen Lassi Thomson (day-to-day) and Dennis Gilbert (two to three weeks), per Garrioch. Thomson made his season debut in Monday’s game against New York but only played four minutes. Gilbert served a bottom-pair role through five games in mid-March but hasn’t played since Saturday’s win over the Toronto Maple Leafs.
The Senators will have a slight silver lining. Defenseman Jake Sanderson has returned to skating at practice and will join the Senators on their upcoming two-game road trip to Florida, per Garrioch. Sanderson has been out of the lineup since March 7th, missing nine games since. He routinely plays upwards of 24 or 25 minutes a night when fully healthy, a role that could increase as Ottawa looks to make up for Chabot’s absence. Sanderson leads the Senators’ blue line in scoring with 11 goals and 48 points in 62 games. It has been a career-year for the 23-year-old, who won an Olympic Gold at the 2026 Winter Olympics in addition to scoring at the highest pace of his NHL career.
But even with Sanderson progressing towards a return, the Senators will be losing major firepower with Chabot on the shelf. The alternate captain was a focal point of the lineup after Sanderson was injured, even playing 31 minutes of ice time in Ottawa’s regulation win over the New York Islanders on Saturday. Chabot has nine points in his last 12 games, dating back to the last day of February. His hot streak has brought him to 31 points in 55 games this season, a scoring pace well on par with Chabot’s trend of 45-point seasons.
Chabot faced injury at multiple points this season, including missing 13 games between November and December. He has found his way back to consistent performance in the new year, netting 10 points in 16 January games, followed by nine points in 16 games since the start of February. It was a difficult season, capped off by a long-term injury at the worst time, but the year will support Chabot’s hold over a starring role on the Senators’ blue line leading into next season. He could also spur the bad luck with a quick recovery and a return to Ottawa’s playoff run, if the team can stay alive until he’s back.
Ottawa rotated its defense pairings with both of its star blue-liners out of Tuesday’s game against Detroit. Artem Zub and Jordan Spence filled the main play-driving roles, each receiving roughly 11 minutes of even-strength ice time in the process. The openings also made room for top defense prospect Carter Yakemchuk to make his NHL debut. He scored two points, a goal and an assist, in the effort. Yakemchuk could become a focal point of the Senators’ blue line until Sanderson is back to full health. He leads all AHL rookie defensemen in per-game scoring this season with 10 goals and 36 points in 50 games. Yakemchuk is well-known for his all-out style, focused on throwing big hits and driving the puck 200 feet.
Morning Notes: Gilbert, Ersson, Reedy
Ottawa Senators defenseman Dennis Gilbert was forced out of last night’s contest with an apparent injury, one he suffered after being on the receiving end of a big hit by Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson. Gilbert ended up down on the ice after Ekman-Larsson’s hit, and left the game shortly afterward without returning.
After the game, Senators head coach Travis Green told the media, including Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch, that Gilbert is set to miss some time as a result of the injury he suffered. His exact return timeline and status are still being evaluated. It’s an undoubtedly unfortunate break for Gilbert, a 29-year-old journeyman depth blueliner. He had played in five consecutive NHL games including last night, representing five of his six total NHL games played this season. As a result of the injury, it’s possible the pending UFA has already played in his final NHL game of the 2025-26 season.
Other notes from around the NHL:
- Late last month, we covered reports coming out of Philadelphia that indicated that Flyers netminder Samuel Ersson was entering a critical stretch of his season where his future in the organization would likely be finalized. While The Athletic’s Kevin Kurz wrote today that it “seems unlikely” Ersson will be back with the Flyers next season, it’s not for a lack of trying. Ersson has won his last three starts and has a .920 save percentage and 1.74 goals-against average in his last four games played. But despite that notable uptick in recent form, it’s worth noting Ersson’s season-long numbers are still weak, including an .864 save percentage across 28 games that remains the league’s worst among goalies with at least 20 starts.
- The New York Islanders’ AHL affiliate, the Bridgeport Islanders, released veteran forward Scott Reedy from his PTO, per Kenny Kaminsky of Isles In The Sound. Reedy, 26, got a tryout from the Islanders back in February but went scoreless in six games played for Bridgeport. It’s been a tough few years for Reedy as he’s tried to work his way back into NHL consideration after a strong 2021-22 campaign that saw him score 18 goals in the AHL and earn 35 NHL games with the San Jose Sharks, where he would score seven goals. Last season, Reedy scored nine points in 25 games for the Milwaukee Admirals.
Senators Recall Dennis Gilbert
The Senators announced that they’ve recalled defenseman Dennis Gilbert from AHL Belleville. He will likely need to dress tonight against the Canucks to give Ottawa six healthy defensemen, meaning he qualifies as an emergency recall and doesn’t take up one of the Sens’ five allotted post-deadline standard recalls.
The Sens had seven defensemen rostered coming out of the trade deadline. Nikolas Matinpalo had already been unavailable for the last five games with an undisclosed injury, and while he’s still listed as day-to-day, there hasn’t been an update on his status in a while. Then, star lefty Jake Sanderson left Saturday’s win over the Kraken in the second period with an apparent right shoulder injury after taking a hit from Brandon Montour. As Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Citizen writes, the Sens haven’t commented on Sanderson’s evaluation or return timeline, as they didn’t practice yesterday.
Gilbert, 29, is in his second stint in the Ottawa organization in as many seasons. The team acquired him via trade twice in the span of nine months. They first picked him up from the Sabres at last year’s trade deadline as part of the Dylan Cozens/Joshua Norris swap. He then left to sign a one-year deal with the Flyers in free agency, but was flipped back to the Sens in November for the signing rights to Max Guenette after clearing waivers.
A third-round pick by the Blackhawks in 2015, Gilbert has now appeared in 112 NHL games in parts of seven seasons in Chicago, Calgary, Colorado, Buffalo, and Ottawa (he never got into regular-season action in Philly). The 6’2′, 216-lb defensive-minded lefty appeared in 20-plus games in three straight seasons from 2022-25 but appears headed back toward being a minor-league fixture as he enters the latter half of his pro career. In 31 games with Belleville this season, he’s managed 12 assists and a -1 rating with 27 penalty minutes.
Senators Reassign Xavier Bourgault And Dennis Gilbert
Dec. 29th: After Ottawa’s loss to the Maple Leafs, the team quietly moved Bourgault and Gilbert back to AHL Belleville, according to the AHL transactions log. Neither player participated in last night’s contest against the Utica Comets, so they won’t be eligible for an additional recall until after the new year.
Dec. 27th: The Senators have made a pair of roster moves coming out of the holiday break to give them some extra depth. The team announced that they’ve recalled forward Xavier Bourgault and defenseman Dennis Gilbert from AHL Belleville. To make room for them on the roster, center Lars Eller was moved to injured reserve.
This is the first regular season recall of Bourgault’s career (though he has been brought up as a Black Ace in the playoffs before). The 23-year-old was a first-round pick by Edmonton back in 2021, going 22nd overall but has played exclusively in the AHL since turning pro in 2022. Ottawa acquired him back in the 2024 offseason.
Bourgault has been quite productive with Belleville to earn this promotion. In 32 games this season, he has nine goals and 18 assists, including ten helpers in his last nine outings. As a result, he has already surpassed his output from last season when he had 26 points in 61 contests. He’s expected to make his NHL debut against Toronto tonight with the team announcing (Twitter link) that Bourgault is expected to slot in on the fourth line.
Gilbert, meanwhile, gets his second recall after being acquired from Philadelphia earlier this season. He got into one game on that first stint, his only taste of action at the top level in 2025-26 though he was injured for most of the season. Between Belleville and AHL Lehigh Valley, the 30-year-old has six assists in 13 games.
Ottawa Senators Reassign Dennis Gilbert
The Ottawa Senators have made a roster move ahead of tomorrow’s game against the Chicago Blackhawks. Ottawa shared that they’ve reassigned depth defenseman Dennis Gilbert to the AHL’s Belleville Senators.
Fortunately, the transaction is for a positive reason. Thomas Chabot, who returned to practice as a full participant on Wednesday, is expected to be activated from the injured reserve and be in the lineup tomorrow afternoon. Chabot has been nursing an upper-body injury for the last month.
Gilbert, 29, is in his second stint with the Senators organization. He was acquired by the team last offseason in the deadline deal that brought Dylan Cozens to Ottawa. He signed with the Philadelphia Flyers last summer as an unrestricted free agent and was later traded back to the Senators in November for Max Guenette.
Despite the pair of trades, Gilbert has only appeared in five games with Ottawa, registering one assist and a -1 rating. He earned far more time with the Buffalo Sabres last season, tallying five assists in 25 contests.
Still, that hasn’t meant more ice time in the AHL. Even though he only appeared in 29 games last season, Gilbert spent the entire year on an NHL roster. This year, he battled some injury concerns earlier on, so he’s only managed nine AHL contests between Belleville and the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. Assuming the Senators’ defensive core can remain healthy, Gilbert will have a consistent home for the next little while.
Senators Recall Dennis Gilbert, Place Thomas Chabot On IR
The Senators have made a pair of roster moves heading into their next game in Dallas on Sunday as the team announced that they’ve recalled Dennis Gilbert from AHL Belleville. While not noted as part of the announcement, Ottawa has shifted defenseman Thomas Chabot to IR to make room for Gilbert on the active roster.
Gilbert will officially begin his second stint with the Senators with this promotion. Acquired at the trade deadline last season from Buffalo, the 29-year-old played a sparing role down the stretch, suiting up just four times, where he had an assist and 11 hits in 13:02 per game of playing time. Over the season between the two teams, Gilbert had six assists in 29 outings but logged just 10:29 per contest.
The Flyers signed Gilbert to a one-year, $875K deal over the summer but he wound up on waivers in training camp, passing through unclaimed resulting in a demotion to AHL Lehigh Valley. He got into six games with the Phantoms where he had one assist before suffering an injury that kept him out for the better part of a month.
During that time, the Sens swung a move to bring him back into the fold, dealing the rights to unsigned RFA defenseman Max Guenette to get him. Gilbert got into three games with Belleville following the swap and was more productive, collecting three helpers.
Chabot’s stint on Ottawa’s active roster didn’t last very long. Activated off injured reserve last weekend, he played just once and has been listed as out with an upper-body injury since then. If they backdate the placement to his last game played (November 22nd), he’ll technically be eligible to be activated at any time. The 28-year-old has two goals and eight assists in 18 games so far this season.
Flyers, Senators Swap Dennis Gilbert, Max Guenette
11/18/25: The Flyers placed Guenette on waivers today, according to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. Since the 24-year-old hasn’t played in the NHL since 2023-24 and has just eight games of NHL experience, that was always the likeliest outcome after yesterday’s trade. Now, all 31 other clubs will have the chance to claim Guenette, and if he goes unclaimed, the Flyers will be able to assign him to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, their AHL affiliate.
11/17/25: The Philadelphia Flyers announced that they’ve traded defenseman Dennis Gilbert to the Ottawa Senators in exchange for defenseman Max Guenette. Philadelphia also announced that they’ve signed Guenette, who was an RFA, to a one-year, two-way deal.
It becomes the second trade in as many seasons to the Senators for Gilbert. The 29-year-old native of Buffalo, NY, was traded to Ottawa during the 2024-25 season as part of the Dylan Cozens and Joshua Norris swap with the Buffalo Sabres.
Still, Gilbert didn’t earn much runway with the Senators after the trade. Despite the trade taking place in early March, Gilbert only appeared in four games for Ottawa down the stretch, registering one assist while averaging 13:02 of ice time. In Buffalo, he tallied five assists in 25 games while averaging 10:04 of ice time.
Gilbert has spent the entire season up to this point with the Flyers’ AHL affiliate, the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. He’s added one assist in six games with a +1 rating and is expected to join the AHL’s Belleville Senators.
Unlike Gilbert, Guenette will play for his first professional team outside the Senators organization. The former 187th overall pick of the 2019 NHL Draft has spent the last five years within the Senators organization, scoring 27 goals and 116 points in 236 AHL games, with zero points in eight NHL contests.
Despite the freshly signed two-way contract for Guenette, there’s no indication he’ll join the Flyers’ active roster immediately. Whenever he suits up, whether with the Flyers or the Phantoms, it’ll be his first appearance of the 2025-26 campaign.
Flyers Recall Emil Andrae, Loan Dennis Gilbert To AHL
The Philadelphia Flyers have announced that they have called up defenseman Emil Andrae, while loaning fellow defender Dennis Gilbert to Lehigh Valley in a corresponding move.
It was speculated earlier in the month that Philadelphia could look to deal Andrae, as he bounces around roles in the organization. Yet now, after two games outside the win column, the Flyers have made a move likely popular with fans, bringing up an intriguing younger player for the journeyman 28-year-old Gilbert, who has 111 NHL games under his belt, but does not quite jump out as much more than organizational depth.
Apparently one game in the AHL was enough for Andrae, at least for now, as he notched two assists for the Phantoms. Now, the Swedish defenseman will look to take a step forward after 42 games with the Flyers last season with 7 points and a -5.
Meanwhile, Gilbert has not appeared in the AHL since the 2022-23 season, skating in 26 games for the Calgary Wranglers. The veteran will be an immediate standout for the Phantoms, especially as they have a younger defense corps overall, and the Buffalo native will have his sights on earning another call-up to the NHL at some point.
Snapshots: York, Chara, Warf
The Philadelphia Flyers will be without Cam York to open their season, as the team announced he will begin the season on injured reserve. PHLY’s Charlie O’Connor reports York “has a lower-body issue” and while the Flyers see it as a day-to-day injury, York’s ailment has kept defenseman Dennis Gilbert on their season-opening roster. Gilbert was placed on waivers on Oct. 4 and cleared, but will now avoid reassignment back to the AHL while York recovers.
Remaining on the NHL roster despite clearing waivers has a negligible effect on Gilbert’s earnings. As he’s signed to a one-way contract, he’s owed his $850K salary regardless of which level he plays at. With that said, NHL players’ earnings are subject to escrow, while AHL players’ are not, meaning staying on the roster may actually (technically) cost Gilbert a marginal amount of money compared to what he would pocket if he was reassigned to the AHL. There are other factors to consider, such as pension credit received for every 20 games spent on an NHL roster and the additional practice time he’ll have to impress NHL coaches, that make this a valuable opportunity for Gilbert, even if it does come at the unfortunate cost of a day-to-day injury to York.
Some other notes from around the NHL:
- The Boston Bruins announced today that former captain and Hockey Hall of Fame defenseman Zdeno Chara will see his number retired and raised to the rafters of TD Garden this season. Chara ranks third all-time in scoring by a Bruins defenseman, behind only legendary blueliners Bobby Orr and Ray Bourque. “Big Z” won the Norris Trophy in 2008-09 and also played for the New York Islanders, Ottawa Senators, and Washington Capitals across his 1,680-game NHL career.
- The Carolina Hurricanes announced today that team president Doug Warf has resigned after a little over one year in his position. Warf, who oversaw all business operations for the Hurricanes and their arena, Lenovo Center, was officially announced as the team’s president in July of last year. Warf re-joined the Hurricanes in that post after previously working for the team from 2000-2017, according to the team’s press release. Regarding the news, The Fourth Period’s David Pagnotta reported that Warf’s resignation can be traced to “a difference in alignment” between himself and team owner Tom Dundon.