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J.C. Beaudin

Minor Transactions: 01/20/23

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It’s a slow night on the NHL calendar, with just two games set to be played. It’s the second half of a two-game series between the Ottawa Senators and Pittsburgh Penguins. In addition to that contest, the Colorado Avalanche are taking on the Vancouver Canucks. While those four clubs do battle, teams across the hockey world are making tweaks to their rosters. We’ll keep track of those moves here.

  • TJ. Brennan, a two-time Eddie Shore Award winner as the AHL’s best defenseman, has signed a two-year extension with his current club HC Ajoie. This is relatively big news for the Swiss side, as Brennan is an extremely accomplished defenseman in European and minor leagues. He signed in Ajoie over the summer from the ICEHL’s Red Bull Salzburg, after a season where he was an ICEHL All-Star, champion, and leader in defensive scoring. Brennan, 33, has 27 points in 39 games this season.
  • Former Ottawa Senator J.C. Beaudin has signed an extension to remain with his current club, Grizzlys Wolfsburg. Beaudin signed in Wolfsburg, a club in Germany’s DEL, this summer, his first signing away from North America in his professional career. The former Rouyn-Noranda Huskies star has 22 NHL games on his resume, and last played on this side of the Atlantic with the Laval Rocket last year. He scored 17 points in 41 games in Laval and has had real success in Wolfsburg, scoring 12 goals and 20 points in 30 games.
  • Former Kitchener Ranger Matthew Greenfield has stolen the show for the EIHL’s Sheffield Steelers this season, posting a .927 save percentage over the course of 32 games. His red-hot form has now had a ripple effect on the careers of two other netminders, as seen by today’s announcement that the Steelers have released Oskar Ostlund and signed Hayden Lavigne. Ostlund had originally been signed from the DEL to a two-year contract with the intention of him playing a major role. But after what the team called a “freak injury” before the Steelers’ first game sidelined him, Ostlund’s spot as the team’s number-one has been seized by Greenfield. Now, Ostlund will be able to continue his professional career elsewhere.
  • The ECHL’s Fort Wayne Komets have released forward Neil Robinson. Robinson arrived in Fort Wayne from the Utah Grizzlies via trade in December. Robinson had fallen out of favor in Utah, having scored just five points in eleven games. He didn’t have much success in Fort Wayne, scoring just one assist in eleven games, and now will have to look elsewhere to continue his professional career.
  • The ECHL’s Kalamazoo Wings have released forward Brennan Blaszczak today. The 26-year-old had been in the midst of his first extended stint in the ECHL of his career, having spent the prior two seasons in the SPHL with the Pensacola Ice Flyers. Despite being above a point-per-game in the SPHL, Blaszczak couldn’t quite hang on with either the Wings or the Savannah Ghost Pirates, and is handed his release having scored three points in eight total ECHL games.

This page will be updated throughout the day. 

Senators Will Not Extend Qualifying Offers To Six RFA’s

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The deadline to extend qualifying offers to restricted free agents arrives on Monday, but the Ottawa Senators have already made their plans clear. The young team has no shortage of restricted free agents, but that list is about to be trimmed substantially. As relayed by the Ottawa Sun’s Bruce Garrioch, Senators GM Pierre Dorion has confirmed that forwards Michael Amadio, J.C. Beaudin, Jonathan Davidsson, and Jack Kopacka, defenseman Brandon Fortunato, and goaltender Marcus Hogberg will not receive qualifying offers. That group of six is nearly half of Ottawa’s current 14 restricted free agents.

The most notable name on the list is Hogberg, who served as the Senators’ primary backup goalie the past two seasons. However, he is also the least surprising inclusion on the list. The team informed the 26-year-old back in May that they would not qualify him and have stuck to that promise. Hogberg has struggled in the NHL and is expected to return to Sweden.

Perhaps the biggest surprise is Amadio, who would only require the minimum $750K salary to qualify. Acquired this season from the Los Angeles Kings for defenseman Christian Wolanin, Amadio has 173 NHL games on his resume including a 2018-19 campaign in which he scored at a full season pace of 12 goals and 25 points. One would think that this could be a useful player for the Senators to hold on to, at least for a full year, but instead they will move on quickly from the 25-year-old winger.

Kopacka was also new to Ottawa this season, acquired from the San Jose Sharks as part of the package for defenseman Christian Jaros, but has never played in the NHL and did little in the AHL to show he was worthy of a new contract. Beaudin, who saw 22 games with the Senators this season, seemingly did not do enough in his audition to stick with the club. Fortunato, the most expensive player to qualify despite having no NHL experience and unspectacular AHL numbers, and Davidsson, who is signed to a multi-year deal overseas, are not surprising inclusions on this list of soon-to-be former Senators.

If anything, this exodus of RFA’s from Ottawa implies that the Senators see better uses for their maximum 50 contract slots. With a deep pipeline of prospects, the team could be looking to bring younger, more exciting options into the fold this season in place of these aging, uninspiring players.

Senators Re-Sign J.C. Beaudin

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Oct 19: Ottawa has officially announced the contract, signing Beaudin to a one-year, two-way contract worth $700K at the NHL level. Senators GM Pierre Dorion released a statement on the young forward:

J.C. has established himself as a good depth player within the organization. He made a great impression on the coaching staff both here and in Belleville and was deserving of the opportunities he received in Ottawa throughout last season. It’s a trend we hope to see continue.

Oct 18: The Senators have agreed to terms with one of their remaining free agents as CapFriendly reports (Twitter link) that they’ve signed forward J.C. Beaudin to a one-year, two-way deal.  Instead of taking his qualifying offer, he opted for the league minimum salary at the NHL level to get a $10K raise on his AHL pay from $70K to $80K.

After spending the first two seasons of his entry-level deal, the 22-year-old split last season between Ottawa and their AHL affiliate in Belleville.  At the top level, Beaudin got into 22 games, picking up one assist but had 51 hits while winning 52.5% of his faceoffs.  He was more productive offensively in the minors though with four goals and two assists in 13 games.

Beaudin, who the Sens acquired from Colorado in 2019, is now eligible for waivers so he will have to pass through unclaimed to get back to Belleville although Ottawa could opt to keep him up as a 12th or 13th forward as well.

GM Pierre Dorion still has some work to do with his restricted free agents as winger Connor Brown, center Chris Tierney, and defenseman Christian Jaros remain unsigned.  All have filed for arbitration with Brown’s hearing slated for Thursday.

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