Justin Falk saw his professional tryout with the Colorado Eagles terminated today, but he didn’t have to wait long for another opportunity. The veteran defenseman has signed a one-year, two-way contract with the Ottawa Senators that will carry a cap hit of $650K at the NHL level.
Falk, 30, is by no means a savior for the Senators, but does bring a healthy amount of experience to a blue line that lacks it at times. The left-handed defenseman has suited up for 269 regular season NHL games, split between the Minnesota Wild, New York Rangers, Columbus Blue Jackets and most recently the Buffalo Sabres. In that time he’s only registered 33 points, but is a big—6’5″ big—body that can be used on the penalty kill and in the defensive zone.
There’s no guarantee that Falk plays a ton for the Senators, but with Mark Borowiecki on injured reserve and Chris Wideman recently traded, the team is employing six defensemen all 25 or under. Dylan DeMelo, the elder statesman of the group, has only 159 regular season NHL games under his belt. For now, Falk will likely be asked to fill in and play the role of the veteran seventh defenseman while the young group gets their legs under them at this level. His first task will be to serve as insurance for Max Lajoie, who is currently dealing with a minor injury.