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Thomas Chabot

Atlantic Notes: Chabot, Tuch, Matheson

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It has been a tough year on the injury front for Senators defenseman Thomas Chabot.  He has dealt with a pair of upper-body injuries, the second of which came in his first game back from the first one.  They’ll now hope that the second time is the charm as Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch relayed that the veteran was activated off injured reserve as expected to suit up in their game this afternoon against Chicago.  The 28-year-old has been limited to just 18 games so far this season due to those injuries and has done well when he’s in the lineup, picking up 10 points while averaging nearly 22 minutes per game of ice time.  Chabot has been one of Ottawa’s better two-way threats from the back end for quite some time and if he stays healthy this time around, he’ll give their blueline a big boost.  With his activation, Ottawa’s active roster is now full at 23 players.

More from the Atlantic:

  • While former GM Kevyn Adams held contract talks with pending UFA winger Alex Tuch, it appears they were using Tage Thompson’s deal ($7.14MM AAV) as a benchmark, according to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman in his latest 32 Thoughts podcast (audio link). Considering the escalation that’s coming to the Upper Limit of the salary cap in future years, that number is certainly too low relative to what he could get on the open market.  New Sabres GM Jarmo Kekalainen has said that working out an extension with the 29-year-old will be a top priority but clearly, there’s a big gap to bridge based on where talks left off.  Tuch enters play today with 11 goals and 18 assists in 32 games.
  • The Canadiens will get a boost to their back end tonight as they begin a home-and-home set with Pittsburgh. The team announced that Mike Matheson will return to the lineup after missing the last two games with an upper-body injury, taking the place of Jayden Struble who will be a healthy scratch.  Matheson, who signed a five-year, $30MM extension late last month, has four goals and 12 assists in 32 games this season while averaging nearly 25 minutes per game of ice time.

Ottawa Senators Reassign Dennis Gilbert

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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 Injury Updates: Chabot, Eller, Pinto

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During today’s practice, the Ottawa Senators shared that defenseman Thomas Chabot had been a full participant. Unfortunately, that doesn’t mean he’ll return tomorrow night against the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Speaking with reporters after practice, head coach Travis Green shared that Chabot won’t be in the lineup for tomorrow night’s contest (via TSN’s Bruce Garrioch). Still, given that he took part in today’s practice in a regular jersey, Chabot may be back on Saturday against the Chicago Blackhawks.

Upon his return, Chabot will likely slot in next to Jordan Spence on the Senators’ second defensive pairing. Ottawa hasn’t gotten much production from Chabot’s replacement, Tyler Kleven, who has registered two assists in the last 11 games with a -7 rating while averaging 18:20 of ice time.

Before Chabot suffered an upper-body injury in late November, he had again been enjoying a quality season with the Senators. Despite missing the last 11 games, Chabot remains third on the team in defensive scoring with two goals and 10 points in 18 games, averaging 21:55 of action per game.

The injury outlook isn’t as positive regarding Lars Eller. Missing Ottawa’s last two games with a lower-body injury, Garrioch confirmed that Eller broke his left foot and will miss the next three weeks. Given the longer-term recovery timeline, it would be unsurprising if Eller going on the injured reserve is the corresponding roster move for Chabot’s eventual activation.

Eller, 36, is in his first year with Ottawa after signing a one-year deal last summer. In 28 games this season, Eller has managed a 60.5% success rate in the faceoff dot while beginning 65.1% of his shifts in the offensive zone.

Meanwhile, Shane Pinto is the other player besides Chabot currently on the Senators’ injured reserve. The high-scoring forward has been nursing a lower-body injury and was originally projected to return tomorrow night against the Penguins.

Garrioch shared that although he won’t return tomorrow, Pinto has resumed skating, meaning he should return to the lineup relatively soon. The freshly-extended center has scored 12 goals and 18 points in 27 games for Ottawa this year.

Atlantic Notes: Evans, Chabot, Mermis

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The Montreal Canadiens will be without center Jake Evans for their contest tomorrow night against the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Canadiens shared that Evans is away from the team for personal reasons and that he would rejoin the team this weekend in New York.

There were no additional announcements from the team or subsequent reports indicating why Evans is missing, so it would be unfair to speculate. Still, given that he’s rejoining the team in New York, Evans is expected to re-enter the lineup when the Canadiens take on the Rangers on Saturday.

It also explains, in part, the trio of recalls made earlier today by Montreal. The Canadiens already have several players on the team’s injured reserve, so there was no need for a corresponding roster move. Owen Beck, who was included in today’s recall, will likely slot into Montreal’s third line in place of Evans and appear in his third NHL contest of the season.

Other notes from the Atlantic Division:

  • The Ottawa Senators will have to wait a little bit longer for the return of defenseman Thomas Chabot. According to TSN’s Bruce Garrioch, Chabot won’t travel with the team for their upcoming road trip, indicating that he’s still a week out at best. Chabot, who has two goals and 10 points over 18 games this season, has been nursing an upper-body injury since November 22nd.
  • Staying in Ontario, the Toronto Maple Leafs aren’t expecting depth defenseman Dakota Mermis to return anytime soon. Lance Hornby of The Toronto Sun reported that Mermis, who was placed on injured reserve earlier today, is expected to miss a month with a lower-body injury. The nine-year veteran left Toronto’s game in the third period on Wednesday due to the injury.

Senators Recall Dennis Gilbert, Place Thomas Chabot On IR

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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.

Senators Activate Thomas Chabot, Assign Lassi Thomson To AHL

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The Senators have made a pair of roster moves in advance of their game tonight against San Jose.  First, the team announced that defenseman Lassi Thomson has been sent back to AHL Belleville.  That opened up a roster spot which will be filled by blueliner Thomas Chabot who has been activated off injured reserve, per the NHL’s Media site.

Chabot has missed a week and a half due to an upper-body injury sustained against Dallas.  Before the injury, the 28-year-old was his usual two-way self on the back end, picking up two goals and eight assists in 17 games while blocking 35 shots and averaging a little under 22 minutes per game of playing time, second only to fellow blueliner Jake Sanderson.

Chabot will likely play on the second pairing in his return and it would make sense for Nick Jensen to move back into the other spot on that duo, a pairing that has played a lot together in the early going.  Whose spot Chabot takes in the lineup isn’t as certain though as Nikolas Matinpalo left Thursday’s game due to an injury.  If he can’t play, then Chabot will take his place but if Matinpalo is available, it could be him or Jordan Spence being scratched.

As for Thomson, the 25-year-old was brought up earlier this week as injury insurance for the first leg of Ottawa’s road trip but didn’t see any game action.  He last played in the NHL in the 2022-23 campaign and has five assists in 18 career NHL appearances.  In 15 games with Belleville, he has three goals and an assist.

Senators Recall Stephen Halliday, Lassi Thomson

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Before they embark on a seven-game road trip that will take them into December, the Ottawa Senators have recalled some depth to their active roster. According to a team announcement, the Senators have recalled forward Stephen Halliday and defenseman Lassi Thomson from the AHL’s Belleville Senators.

Unfortunately, the recall was preceded by some negativity. According to multiple reports, Ottawa has placed defenseman Thomas Chabot and forward Olle Lycksell on their injured reserve. Chabot’s upper-body injury is expected to keep him out of the lineup for the next couple of weeks. However, the Senators didn’t entirely rule out that he could return by the end of the upcoming road trip.

Halliday, 23, has the opportunity to make his NHL debut throughout the duration of the recall. The Ohio State University alumnus was drafted with the 104th overall pick by the Senators in the 2022 NHL Draft and transitioned to professional hockey toward the end of the 2023-24 campaign.

Since then, he’s been one of the more productive forwards for the AHL Senators. Starting with a 10-game debut to conclude the 2023-24 campaign, Halliday has scored 20 goals and 72 points in 96 games with Belleville and was leading the team in scoring before the recall. Halliday was also impressive in his one postseason run, scoring two goals and nine points in seven games.

Still, there is some reason for concern due to Halliday’s performance on the defensive side of the puck. Despite leading the team in scoring last season, Halliday finished with a dreadful -20 rating, nine points lower than the next worst. Granted, the AHL Senators didn’t qualify for the 2025 Calder Cup playoffs, but the team as a whole only finished with a -17 goal differential.

Meanwhile, Thomson has had a far different trajectory with the Senators organization as a prospect. Drafted with the 19th overall pick of the 2019 NHL Draft, there’s no question that Thomson has fallen well short of expectations.

He began his professional career in North America at the end of the 2020-21 season, and primarily played with Belleville. Until the 2023-24 campaign, Thomson had scored 26 goals and 93 points in 202 AHL games with the Senators with a -28 rating. The disappointing performance led to Thomson leaving North America altogether last season, signing with the SHL’s Malmö Redhawks to a two-year deal.

It was a relatively promising season in the SHL, with Thomson scoring 17 goals and 29 points in 50 games, and adding three more goals in eight postseason contests. As things would turn out, the Redhawks released Thomson after one season, allowing him to re-sign with the Senators this past offseason.

Senators Notes: Chabot, Formenton, Guenette

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After sustaining an upper-body injury in Tuesday’s game against Dallas, it appears that Senators defenseman Thomas Chabot will miss at least one more contest.  Sportsnet’s Alex Adams relays (Twitter link) that it’s unlikely that the veteran will suit up on Thursday against Boston; head coach Travis Green indicated that Chabot is still being evaluated and the severity of the injury is not yet known.  While his playing time is down a bit this season, the 28-year-old has still played a big role on Ottawa’s back end in the early going, picking up 10 points in 17 games while logging nearly 22 minutes a night of action.  Assuming that Chabot is ultimately scratched, Nicolas Matinpalo will likely take his place in the lineup.

More from Ottawa:

  • The Senators have received inquiries about RFA winger Alex Formenton but interest has been limited thus far, reports Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch. The 26-year-old last played in the NHL in 2021-22 and is currently in his third season with Ambri-Piotta in Switzerland where he has three goals and two assists in 13 games.  Formenton will be eligible to return to the NHL as of December 1st following the expiration of his suspension which is also the same day that he will have to be signed to be eligible to play this season as he’s an RFA unlike the other players involved in the sexual assault trial that concluded back in July.  It’s possible that the Sens could renounce his rights before then to make him eligible to sign later in the season but they would require special permission from the league to do so.
  • Also from Garrioch’s piece, GM Steve Staios is hoping that there will be a resolution soon when it comes to RFA defenseman Max Guenette. The 24-year-old declined Ottawa’s efforts to re-sign him this summer, instead asking for a trade after Lassi Thomson was brought back.  However, no trade has materialized yet, meaning the December 1st deadline also applies to Guenette.  Garrioch suggests that the Senators are hoping for a draft pick in return but teams are also asking for Ottawa to take a contract back.  Even though the Sens have seven open contract slots per PuckPedia, that doesn’t appear to be something they’re willing to do at the moment.

Evening Notes: Devils, Chabot, Olympics

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Amanda Stein, Devils team reporter, shared updates ahead of the team’s five game road trip. Dougie Hamilton and Connor Brown did not travel. Hamilton was noted over the weekend as out for around a week due to an undisclosed injury, after leaving mid-game against Montreal on November 6th. Brown has yet to appear in November, apparently hampered by an upper-body injury, and has missed the last five games. 

Unfortunately such injuries have become common for Hamilton, 32, at this point in his career. Currently in year five of his seven year deal signed with New Jersey, his unscathed 82-game campaign in 2022-23 was far and away his best as a pro with 74 points, but since then he has not managed to play in more than 64 games in a season. 

Brown, signed last summer to a four-year deal, was off to a start worthy of the eyebrow raising contract, with five goals in 11 games. In his absence, Dawson Mercer has stepped up and provided great secondary scoring, currently just shy of a point-per-game pace, and eight goals in 16 games. 

New Jersey remains third in the league, and the five game road trip will be a test, as they’ve handled business at home, 7-0-1. As noted by Stein, the club will split the trip into two legs, so perhaps Brown or Hamilton could rejoin the team by the end. 

Elsewhere across the league:

  • The Ottawa Senators shared mid-game that defenseman Thomas Chabot will not return tonight versus the Stars, due to an upper-body injury. The skilled defender was seen attempting to return for the second period, but quickly going back down the tunnel before puck drop. Further details have not been provided, but considering that Chabot nearly returned, hopefully the ailment is not serious. The 28-year-old has not missed a game so far this season. 
  • Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet shared earlier today an interesting article: NHL representatives are headed to Milan next week to check progress on the 2026 Olympic Games arena in person, as the main hockey arena is behind schedule. Such a situation is not unheard of in the Olympic Games, considering the scale of such projects, but we may find out if there is real concern shortly, with February rapidly approaching. As mentioned by Friedman, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman has been reassured continuously, however, for representatives of the league to make the trip upon the completion of the Stockholm Series, it is a situation worth monitoring. 

Senators Notes: Tkachuk, Giroux, Jensen, Pinto, Worlds

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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.

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