The Ottawa Senators have signed Parker Kelly to a two-year extension, keeping him under contract through the 2023-24 season. The deal is two-way in 2023-24, paying Kelly $750K at the NHL level and $100K in the AHL, and is one-way in the final season and carries an NHL salary of $775K. Senators GM Pierre Dorion released a statement on the deal:
Parker has long been a consistently tenacious player for us. He’s competitive, hard-nosed, an efficient penalty killer and someone we can rely on to provide us with an energetic and determined effort every game.
It hasn’t really been very long, despite what Dorion says, as Kelly only played his first full season with the organization in 2019-20, but the tenacity has certainly been apparent from day one. An undrafted free agent signing in 2017, he returned to the Prince Albert Raiders for two seasons where his offensive production increased and then stepped into a role with the Belleville Senators without issue. Last season, Kelly made his NHL debut, scoring in his first and only game.
Kelly made the team’s opening night roster, though he seems likely to be the first send down should Brady Tkachuk reach a deal at some point in the near future. The 22-year-old is now locked up though and can provide some valuable bottom-six depth for the next several years at a low price point. If the Senators ever believed that Kelly could break out and land a full-time role, perhaps extending him early will save them some money down the road. Regardless, he’ll be making the league minimum for at least two more seasons.