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Zack MacEwen

Devils Place Zack MacEwen On Injured Reserve, Recall Nico Daws

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The Devils announced they’ve placed winger Zack MacEwen on injured reserve with the previously reported undisclosed injury that has him out indefinitely. New Jersey recalled goaltender Nico Daws from AHL Utica in a corresponding move.

MacEwen is a new addition to the organization, having been acquired from the Senators nearly two weeks ago in exchange for Kurtis MacDermid. He landed on waivers the following day and was not on the Devils’ opening roster submission, but was recalled anyway before their first game of the season. He was scratched for that contest but entered the lineup on Oct. 11 against the Lightning in place of Evgenii Dadonov, who’s now on long-term injured reserve after sustaining a hand injury in the opener. MacEwen skated 7:12 against Tampa, recording a block, a hit, and a pair of shots, until his undisclosed injury forced him out of the game in the third period.

While there’s no firm timeline, head coach Sheldon Keefe’s implication was that MacEwen will miss more than the seven days mandated for an IR placement. His placement is backdated to the date of the injury, so he could be technically eligible to return on Saturday against the Oilers, but he’s likely looking at a multi-week absence. With Dadonov and Stefan Noesen already on LTIR and IR and Juho Lammikko still dealing with an undisclosed injury despite being on the active roster, MacEwen’s injury only further stresses New Jersey’s forward depth. Brian Halonen, who made his season debut on the fourth line against the Blue Jackets on Monday after being the corresponding recall for Dadonov’s LTIR placement, will now continue to fill that role for the foreseeable future.

Meanwhile, there’s no surprise in seeing New Jersey add a goalie to the roster ahead of tomorrow’s game against the Panthers. They’re dealing with question marks for both backup Jake Allen, who started against Columbus but left after two periods due to cramping, and No. 1 option Jacob Markström, who entered in relief for the win but showed signs of discomfort after being collided with late in the game. There’s no final determination on either’s status for tomorrow yet, but giving Daws a start and letting the veterans rest would be a prudent move, even if only a precautionary one.

There was speculation that New Jersey may carry the 24-year-old Daws on the opening night roster to avoid placing him on waivers, but he ended up clearing them without incident early last week. The up-and-coming Canadian is in the back half of a two-year, $1.625MM deal and makes a one-way salary of $850K this season. A 2020 third-round pick, he’s firmly entrenched as the Devils’ third-stringer for now. He made four starts and two relief appearances last year, going 3-1-0 with a .939 SV% and 1.60 GAA for his best stretch of play yet. That makes him one of the more intriguing call-up options around the league despite dwindling minor-league numbers over the past few seasons.

Daws also carries far more experience than his age-group comparables. Injuries to New Jersey’s crease forced him into extended action, recording 20-plus starts in each of the 2021-22 and 2023-24 seasons. He has a 22-23-1 career record with a 2.98 GAA and .898 SV%, just a few ticks below league average. He’s made one start for Utica this season, recording a 1.03 GAA and .963 SV% in a loss.

East Notes: Hurricanes, Samuelsson, MacEwen

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Carolina Hurricanes head coach Rod Brind’Amour issued injury updates to two key players today: Jaccob Slavin and Pyotr Kochetkov. As relayed by team reporter Walt Ruff, Slavin is still “being evaluated” for a lower-body injury, and is currently questionable to travel with the team on its upcoming six-game road trip. Additionally, Kochetkov will not travel due to his own lower-body injury, though they did add the caveat that he may join the team on the road at some point. Finally, Brind’Amour said that waiver addition Brandon Bussi will get to start a game “at some point” on their road trip.

While the full extent of Slavin’s injury is not known at this point, any extended Slavin absence would be a massive loss for Carolina. Slavin is the team’s most important defenseman and is in the eyes of many the league’s premier shutdown defender. He was the team’s number-one defenseman last season and averaged nearly three minutes a night on its penalty kill. Meanwhile the loss of Kochetkov is also notable, though the Hurricanes are more well-equipped to handle his absence. They already have experienced veteran Frederik Andersen on their roster, and Bussi’s resume from the AHL suggests he very well could be able to handle a backup’s workload while Kochetkov recovers.

Other notes from the Eastern conference:

  • The Buffalo Sabres announced today that defenseman Mattias Samuelsson did not play in today’s game against the Colorado Avalanche due to an undisclosed injury. Head coach Lindy Ruff said that “the initial prognosis on the injury was positive,” and expressed optimism that Samuelsson would be ready to play in time for the team’s game Wednesday. Samuelsson played alongside Jacob Bryson in the team’s Saturday game against the Boston Bruins, and saw his spot filled by 2019 first-rounder Ryan Johnson for today’s contest.
  • New Jersey Devils head coach Sheldon Keefe told the media today, including The Hockey Writers’ Mark Scheig, that forward Zack MacEwen will miss “an extended period” after leaving the team’s Saturday win over the Tampa Bay Lightning early. Keefe elaborated that MacEwen suffered an injury late in the team’s game, and will be out indefinitely. MacEwen played nine shifts in his lone game with the Devils, registering two shots, a hit, and a blocked shot. The 6’4″ grinder was slotted into the Devils’ fourth line and was recently acquired by the team from the Ottawa Senators.

Devils Recall Zack MacEwen

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The Devils announced today that they have recalled forward Zack MacEwen from AHL Utica. He was acquired from the Senators in exchange for fellow enforcer Kurtis MacDermid last week, but was placed on waivers the following day and subsequently cleared. No corresponding transaction is required; the team opened up two spots by reassigning Lenni Hämeenaho and Shane Lachance to Utica last night, and only filled one of them by signing veteran camp invite Luke Glendening.

MacEwen, 29, is now on his fourth team in the last four years. The undrafted 6’4″ forward can play all forward positions and, while he’s enjoyed some offensive success at the AHL level, has been a fourth-line tough guy type through the entirety of his seven-year NHL career to date. He has a 17-17–34 career scoring line in 237 appearances, including 323 PIMs and 523 hits for averages of 112 and 181 per 82 games, respectively.

While Hämeenaho and Lachance are a pair of intriguing youngsters in New Jersey’s pipeline, it’s clear now they were only included on the opening night roster for salary cap purposes as they aimed to maximize the initial relief from placing defenseman Johnathan Kovacevic on long-term injured reserve. Glendening should be in the opening-night lineup – he spent most of camp centering the fourth line between Paul Cotter and rookie Arseny Gritsyuk – while MacEwen should be ticketed for a press-box role to start.

He could end up back on waivers once winger Stefan Noesen is ready to come off injured reserve, which isn’t expected to be anytime soon. If it’s before Nov. 4, though, MacEwen could head straight back to Utica without clearing waivers since he’s already done so in the last 30 days.

Waivers: 10/4/25

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With a little over 48 hours remaining before season-opening rosters need to be submitted to the league, it’s expected to be a very busy weekend on the waiver wire.  Not surprisingly, it’s another big list of players on waivers today as 17 players have been put there, per PuckPedia.  Meanwhile, all 12 players on waivers yesterday passed through unclaimed, per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman (Twitter link).  Here’s today’s list of players on the wire:

Dallas Stars

F Cameron Hughes
D Vladislav Kolyachonok

Florida Panthers

D Tobias Bjornfot
G Brandon Bussi

New Jersey Devils

F Thomas Bordeleau
F Angus Crookshank
F Brian Halonen
F Zack MacEwen
D Colton White

Philadelphia Flyers

D Dennis Gilbert

Pittsburgh Penguins

D Alexander Alexeyev
D Ryan Graves
F Rafael Harvey-Pinard
F Bokondji Imama
F Samuel Poulin

San Jose Sharks

F Colin White

Utah Hockey Club

F Cameron Hebig

Graves is the headliner in today’s class, primarily due to his contract which has four years left on it.  We covered his situation in more detail earlier today.

Among the rest of the players, Bjornfot is no stranger to being in this situation but he has been claimed twice before.  He spent most of last season in the minors with Florida but did get into 14 games with the Panthers and has 134 games at the top level under his belt.  Alexeyev played sparingly last season with Washington not wanting to risk losing him for nothing on waivers but it appears that Pittsburgh doesn’t have that same level of hesitance.  Meanwhile, Kolyachonok was claimed off waivers by the Penguins back in February before being flipped to Dallas over the summer so it’s possible another team might have their eye on him as well.  Gilbert signed with the Flyers this summer after splitting last season between Ottawa and Buffalo but while the thought was that he’d at least be able to land a seventh role, that isn’t the case.

As for the forwards, San Jose’s White is by far the most experienced with 323 NHL appearances.  However, he has primarily been an AHL player in recent years and it’s likely that he will clear and be assigned to the Barracuda.  Poulin was a 2019 first-round pick but hasn’t seen much time with the Penguins, including just seven games last season.  But at 24, he’s young enough to potentially be of interest to a team that wants to take a longer look at him.  Bordeleau held his own in 27 games with the Sharks in 2023-24 but only played once for them last season before being moved in July in a swap of AHL players.  But like Poulin, he’s young enough (23) to potentially draw attention.

These players will be on waivers until 1:00 PM CT on Sunday.

Devils Trade Kurtis MacDermid To Senators For Zack MacEwen

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The New Jersey Devils have acquired winger Zack MacEwen from the Ottawa Senators in exchange for Kurtis MacDermid, per a team announcement.

This trade is a swap of two highly physical, down-the-lineup players. MacEwen, 29, is a 6’4 227-pound winger set to play out the final season of a three-year, $775K AAV one-way contract. He was signed by the Senators before the 2023-24 season and has played in 51 games in Ottawa across the last two seasons. During his stint in Ottawa, MacEwen managed four goals and six points to go alongside 78 penalty minutes and 104 hits.

MacEwen was in a battle to earn an NHL roster spot in Ottawa to start the 2025-26 season, but was not considered to be a favorite to win a fourth-line role. Now, rather than potentially hit the waiver wire and be sent to the AHL’s Belleville Senators, MacEwen has received a new opportunity with the New Jersey Devils.

At face value, it appears the Devils’ primary motivation behind this trade was financial. While both players are highly physical talents, MacDermid is generally considered to be a marginally more imposing player than MacEwen. But MacEwen is making $775k this season, while MacDermid is set to make $1.15MM against the cap and carries an additional year of term. So in swapping the two players, the Devils have managed to save some cap space while replacing MacDermid with a player who is likely to fill a similar (if not identical) on-ice role.

Having just committed $9MM in cap space to Luke Hughes, this move allows the Devils to gain a marginal amount of additional financial flexibility moving forward.

From the Senators’ perspective there are valid reasons as to why they’d agree to pay the higher price for MacDermid compared to MacEwen. Beyond being just a little bit bigger than MacEwen, MacDermid has been a full-time NHL player since the 2019-20 season – he hasn’t played in the AHL over that entire span. (Meanwhile MacEwen played 30 games in the AHL last season.)

As a result, while the Senators have taken on a greater financial commitment, MacDermid very well could prove to be an upgrade over MacEwen. The Senators recent preseason game against their division rivals, the Montreal Canadiens, was a rambunctious, highly physical affair – and it led to some in Ottawa questioning the team’s level of toughness and ability to endure some of the game’s more physical players. (such as Canadiens defenseman Arber Xhekaj) With this trade, it appears the Senators have made an attempt to reinforce their team’s toughness in advance of what is likely to be a set of bitterly-fought divisional matchups over the course of 2025-26.

Senators Recall Twelve Players

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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’ Zack MacEwen Takes Indefinite Leave Of Absence

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Senators winger Zack MacEwen, currently on assignment to AHL Belleville, is taking an indefinite personal leave of absence from the club, according to a statement from the B-Sens. The 28-year-old said on his Instagram account Tuesday that he’s taking time to heal following the passing of his father.

MacEwen is in the second season of the three-year, $2.33MM contract he inked with Ottawa as a free agent in 2023. He’s split this season between the big club and Belleville, recording two goals and an assist in 21 NHL appearances. He’s been in the minors since last week, posting five goals and four assists for nine points in 15 AHL appearances this season.

The Prince Edward Island-born forward has largely been cast as an enforcer during his NHL career but has been a more offensively inclined power forward when deployed in the minors. He’s produced 0.63 points per game over his 182-game AHL career compared to 0.14 in his 237 big league games.

MacEwen has been a consistent depth presence when called upon for Ottawa this season, averaging less than eight minutes per game but managing the best possession metrics of his career with a 53.4 CF% at even strength.

All of us at Pro Hockey Rumors wish MacEwen the best as he takes a step back.

Senators Reassign Zack MacEwen

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The Senators announced that winger Zack MacEwen has been returned to AHL Belleville. After recalling defenseman Donovan Sebrango this morning, they’re back to having an open spot on the active roster. That spot will likely go to IR-bound forward Michael Amadio, who Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia reports will return to the lineup for the first time since sustaining a concussion against the Canucks on Dec. 21.

It’s the second time MacEwen has been demoted this season after clearing waivers and heading to the B-Sens in November. Now in the second season of a three-year, $2.33MM contract, he doesn’t count against the cap when in the minors, but he earns the league minimum of $775K salary no matter where he plays. MacEwen doesn’t need waivers today because he’s only been rostered for six days and played twice since he was recalled on Jan. 10, his first summons since clearing waivers.

MacEwen was scratched for the first game of his recall but got into game action for the last two, posting a minus-one rating with three shots on goal and fighting Islanders veteran enforcer Matt Martin in Tuesday’s win. The 28-year-old hasn’t been a factor outside of his penchant for dropping the gloves since arriving in Ottawa in free agency in 2023, posting six points and 78 PIMs in 51 games since signing that three-year commitment. He’s been a solid offensive contributor in the minors, though, posting 16 points in 24 games for the B-Sens over the past two years.

All signs point toward Amadio replacing MacEwen as the club’s fourth-line right wing as he eases back into action. The 28-year-old has been a decent depth scoring presence for Ottawa this season, posting a pair of goals and eight assists for 10 points in 33 appearances. However, it’s not quite the production they expected after he notched 30 goals and 54 points in 140 games for the Golden Knights over the prior two campaigns, prompting the Sens to sign him to a three-year, $7.8MM deal over the summer.

Senators Recall Matthew Highmore And Zack MacEwen

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The Ottawa Senators have recalled forwards Matthew Highmore and Zack MacEwen from the Belleville Senators of the American Hockey League (Twitter link). The recalls come on the heels of the Senators getting booed off the ice last night at home after suffering a 4-0 defeat at the hands of the Buffalo Sabres.

Highmore has yet to see NHL action this season but did dress in seven NHL games last season for the Senators, posting two assists. The Halifax, Nova Scotia native has played 146 career NHL games in parts of six seasons with four NHL franchises. The undrafted 28-year-old has put up some productive AHL seasons with his best coming in 2022-23 while he was part of the St. Louis Blues organization. Highmore posted 19 goals and 42 assists with their AHL affiliate the Springfield Thunderbirds but could not carry any of that momentum into the NHL as he went scoreless in two games with the Blues that season.

The 28-year-old MacEwen cleared waivers over a month ago and has split this season between Belleville and Ottawa. While he hasn’t produced much offense for the Senators with two goals and an assist in 19 games.  However, those numbers already match last year’s totals, which took MacEwen 30 games to reach. MacEwen’s underlying numbers have also been much better this season, but he has benefitted from more favorable deployment (63.4% offensive zone starts) and a PDO that is 3.6 points higher than last year’s number.

Senators Reassign Zack MacEwen, Recall Cole Reinhardt

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Nov. 25, 2:16 p.m.: The Senators confirmed that they’ve reassigned MacEwen to Belleville. They replaced his roster spot by recalling left-winger Cole Reinhardt. The 24-year-old had an assist in a pair of appearances earlier this season and has 14 points (5 G, 9 A) in 11 games with the B-Sens this season, leading the AHL club in scoring.

Nov. 25, 1:03 p.m.: MacEwen cleared waivers, Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia reports. He can now be assigned to Belleville.

Nov. 24: The reason behind Zack MacEwen’s absence from this morning’s practice has now come to light. The Ottawa Senators organization has placed MacEwen on waivers to reassign him to their AHL affiliate, the Belleville Senators.

MacEwen is no stranger to AHL hockey. He spent the first several years of his professional career with the Utica Comets of the Vancouver Canucks organization scoring 37 goals and 96 points in his first 155 AHL contests.

He even spent a few games with the AHL Senators last season scoring two goals and seven points in 10 games. Still, his time with the Senators organization has been mostly spent in Ottawa.

He’s primarily been a mildly-used depth forward for the Senators. Since signing a three-year, $2.33MM contract with the Senators in 2023, he’s scored four goals and six points in 49 games while averaging 6:59 of ice time per game.

It’s unlikely he’ll get claimed over the next 24 hours but could provide value to some teams. He has a league-minimum salary of $775K and has managed 150 hits in a season twice. For a team looking to add physicality to their bottom six for virtually nothing — MacEwen fits the mold.

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