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Senators Notes: Jensen, Pinto, Eller

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In mid-May, Ottawa Senators defenseman Nick Jensen went under the knife for hip surgery. Despite the most recent update indicating he was ahead of schedule in his recovery, that assurance now seems uncertain.

Sharing a quote from head coach Travis Green, Claire Hanna of TSN quoted the coach saying, “[I]t’s too early to tell if he’ll start the season.” Still, Green remained optimistic, adding, “I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s skating with the group in the next week, he’s progressing nicely.”

Fortunately, the Senators added quality depth on the right side of the blue line this offseason in their acquisition of Jordan Spence from the Los Angeles Kings. Still, Ottawa may have to give significant minutes to Nikolas Matinpalo, something he hasn’t demonstrated the ability to handle in his limited NHL career, if Jensen isn’t ready to start the regular season.

Other Ottawa Senators notes:

  • The Senators will open camp without an extension in place with forward Shane Pinto. During yesterday’s media availability, TSN’s Bruce Garrioch relayed a note from General Manager Steve Staios saying the two sides have had positive dialogue, and there was no timeline to getting something worked out. Pinto is entering the final year of a two-year, $7.5MM contract with Senators, scoring 21 goals and 37 points in 70 games last year.
  • One of Ottawa’s free agent pickups this past summer won’t be able to start training camp on time. According to Garrioch, Lars Eller had a minor abdominal procedure, which will eat into a few day’s of his avilability during camp. Still, there’s no indication that the 36-year-old center will be out long-term due to the injury.

Senators Hoping To Move Alex Formenton

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After his inclusion in the Hockey Canada sexual assault trial for the past two years, the Ottawa Senators are looking to move on from RFA forward Alex Formenton. During today’s media availability, TSN’s Bruce Garrioch offered a note from Senators General Manager Steve Staios, saying that “both sides agree that it would be best for a fresh start.”

As PuckPedia notes, since Formenton is a qualified RFA, Ottawa can only trade him or wait for him to become eligible for unrestricted free agency. There’s no mechanism for a team to release a qualified RFA, unless the NHL is willing to make an exception for this circumstance. The other four players involved in the trial were not qualified by their respective clubs, making them all UFAs.

Given the high-profile nature of the case, it’s difficult to say whether or not another team would have interest in acquiring Formenton via trade. Carter Hart, who was also involved in the trial, has reportedly garnered interest from several teams since the NHL announced that they’d be free to sign new contracts on October 15th.

Still, even outside of that variable, it’s been several years since Formenton has played professionally in North America. His last season with the Senators was 2021-22, during which he recorded 18 goals and 32 points in 79 games, finishing with a -13 rating.

Since then, he’s been playing with the NL’s HC Ambrì-Piotta, scoring 20 goals and nine assists in 48 games. Formenton appears to have kept his knack for putting pucks in the net, but Ottawa shouldn’t have any expectation of receiving a quality return for their former second-round pick.

What The Senators Can Learn From Past Champions’ Development Model

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The Senators qualified for the playoffs last season for the first time since the 2016-17 season. Their young core finally turned the corner and took their first significant step in a rebuild that previously felt like it was skidding off the tracks. They lost to the Maple Leafs in six games, but it has generated a sense of optimism in Canada’s capital. Ottawa has a promising young core led by captain Brady Tkachuk, most of the group is signed to reasonable long-term deals, the new ownership group is stable, and the team is inching closer to securing a new downtown arena. Everything looks promising for the Senators right now, but they are about to face the most challenging phase of their rebuild as they aim to make the next leap and become a Stanley Cup contender. The Senators have made several missteps along the way, and they would do well to learn from franchises that have already achieved what Ottawa is striving for.

There are many lessons the Senators can learn from the teams that achieved success, and the same applies to those that failed in their rebuilds. When it comes to success stories, look no further than the reigning Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers and their intrastate rival Tampa Bay Lightning, who have accounted for four of the last six champions, as well as the Colorado Avalanche, who won the title in 2022, and the Pittsburgh Penguins, the first team in the salary cap era to win back-to-back Stanley Cups. All of these teams had promising cores before winning titles, and they all faced heartbreaking moments on their way to glory. While their stories share similar elements, each franchise had a different blueprint for building Stanley Cup-caliber rosters, and these are frameworks Ottawa could consider as it aims to take the next step.

Regarding a comparison between Ottawa’s roster and those four mentioned clubs, there is one main difference. Ottawa has secured its young core of top picks long-term (Tkachuk, Tim Stützle, Jake Sanderson, Thomas Chabot), just as Pittsburgh, Colorado, Tampa Bay, and Florida have. Some might dismiss this comparison, arguing that Ottawa doesn’t share the same reputation as those teams. However, it wasn’t that long ago that Florida was considered an afterthought, and both Pittsburgh and Tampa Bay faced challenges at the bottom of the standings before they built their teams around top picks.

What Ottawa can examine is how those four teams built their championship squads without relying solely on making top draft picks. Each team clearly demonstrates the importance of selecting the top picks correctly, but beyond that, they each employed a unique strategy to develop their rosters around those key players.

For Tampa Bay, its elite scouting allowed it to draft top players outside of the first round. The Lightning selected Brayden Point in the third round in 2014, Nikita Kucherov in the second round in 2011, and Anthony Cirelli in the third round in 2015. These players supported top picks Steven Stamkos and Victor Hedman and helped propel Tampa Bay to three straight Stanley Cup Finals and two championships. Former Lightning general manager Steve Yzerman adopted a tactic from the 1990s Detroit Red Wings teams by delaying the development of their prospects, choosing to let them develop longer in the AHL rather than rushing them to the NHL.

Florida didn’t draft as well as the Lightning but chose instead to rely on trades to build around their top picks, bringing in Matthew Tkachuk, Sam Bennett, and Sam Reinhart in major moves that strengthened Aaron Ekblad and Aleksander Barkov. The Tkachuk trade, in particular, was a significant gamble by general manager Bill Zito, and it was not well-received at the time it was made. However, it’s been a crucial move for Florida, and it ended up being the one that truly pushed them over the line. The Panthers also used free agency and waivers to bolster their team, signing Carter Verhaeghe and Sergei Bobrovsky as UFAs and acquiring Gustav Forsling off waivers. The Bobrovsky signing was widely criticized when it happened, but it has again panned out as a gamble worth taking.

The Penguins, much like the Panthers, used a variety of tools to build their championship rosters after years of poor drafting, bad trades, and signings for depth. By the time Jim Rutherford took over the Penguins in 2014, most people felt that Pittsburgh had wasted the primes of Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, and in 2015, another first-round exit made many believe the critics were right. The Penguins only had one championship with their core, and calls from fans were to trade Malkin and defenseman Kris Letang. However, Rutherford chose a different path, bringing in star scoring winger Phil Kessel in a significant trade with the Maple Leafs that could have ended in disaster. However, it didn’t, and Rutherford continued to make moves, adding forwards Nick Bonino and Carl Hagelin, as well as defensemen Trevor Daley and Justin Schultz. These moves, along with some strong late picks from former GM Ray Shero (Bryan Rust and Matt Murray), set the Penguins up for a two-year run of excellence.

All of these stories raise several questions for the Senators. When is the right time to be patient versus aggressive? When should they be ruthless or show loyalty? There is no single way to succeed, but all of Colorado, Pittsburgh, Tampa Bay, and Florida have identified a clear vision and are committed to it. Tampa Bay was patient and spent a decade building the foundation for an incredible run of success. Colorado was patient as well, choosing to wait for the right moment to make trades that would boost their stars (Devon Toews).

Pittsburgh and Florida, on the other hand, were proactive in their effort to win now. There were no half measures. Rutherford would quickly correct a mistake in roster assessment for the Penguins if he felt it wasn’t a fit. By the end of his tenure, that kind of behaviour became comical, but between 2015 and 2017, it was like lightning in a bottle.

For Florida, Zito and his team have been aggressive yet precise, acquiring players who have struggled elsewhere and fitting them into the Panthers’ lineup where they can succeed. Forsling and Verhague were both traded between several teams before ending up in Florida. Now, they are vital pieces of a potential dynasty.

Ottawa is at a crossroads and must decide on its next step. Should they be patient with their prospects in Belleville, or is that not the best approach given their weak farm system? This could mean trading young players and draft picks to secure immediate help. Does GM Steve Staios have the courage for a bold move? It’s possible, especially since he recently traded Josh Norris for Dylan Cozens at the NHL Trade Deadline, but he needs to be careful not to compromise too much of the team’s identity.

Ottawa also needs to improve the depth of its lineup. Their bottom six haven’t been strong for a while, and there’s a lesson to learn from the teams that win titles. Florida’s bottom six is built for speed and toughness. Tampa Bay would find depth that’s tailored for the playoffs, while the Penguins’ teams rolled four lines with speed that could dominate teams through an aggressive forecheck on every shift.

While the Senators need to improve their team depth, they must be careful with their spending in free agency, as many of their recent signings have not worked out. The David Perron signing last summer wasn’t successful (two years, $8MM), nor was the Joonas Korpisalo signing the previous summer. The Senators haven’t had much success with UFAs and need to be cautious with their secondary deals, as they will eventually need to sign Shane Pinto and avoid limiting their flexibility, which could quickly close their window to contend.

Ultimately, Ottawa doesn’t need to follow any single path listed above. The Senators can combine elements from each team’s approach and adapt them to their own journey. They can emulate Tampa Bay’s patience in development, while reflecting Pittsburgh’s commitment to their core identity and pursuing bold, fearless trades like the Panthers. There are many routes the Senators could take as they aim to progress, but the key will be committing to a clear strategy rather than just relying on talent to develop and improve naturally over time.

Photo by Eric Bolte-USA TODAY Sports

Afternoon Notes: Trenton, Bruins, Senators, Flames

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The Utah Grizzlies will relocate to Trenton, New Jersey for the 2026-27 season, with an announcement set for tomorrow, per hockey insider Frank Seravalli. If true, the Grizzlies will be set to move right after celebrating their 20th season in Utah. In doing so, they will bring ECHL hockey back to Trenton for the first time since 2013. The city previously hosted the Trenton Titans – briefly the Trenton Devils – for 24 years beginning in 1999. The club was red-hot at the turn of the century, reaching the Kelly Cup Finals in 2001 and taking the Cup home in 2005. They featured some incredible hockey names in their history. Stanley Cup winner and Vegas Golden Knights head coach Bruce Cassidy presided over Trenton’s inaugural season, and current Utah Mammoth general manager Bill Armstrong coached the team from 2002 to 2004.

The Utah Grizzlies are currently affiliated with the Colorado Avalanche and Colorado Eagles, the latter an ironic twist given the Eagles’ rivalry with the Grizzlies when they were a part of the ECHL. This move would break that tension, and return pro hockey to an upgraded CURE Insurance Arena.

Other notes from around the hockey world:

  • Sticking in the ECHL, the Boston Bruins have announced a three-year extension of their affiliation with the Maine Mariners. The affiliation began in 2021, and marked the first NHL partnership in Maine’s brief history. It was a continuation of a long history of work between the two teams. The Mariners served as Boston’s AHL affiliate from 1987 to 1992, before being relocated to form the Providence Bruins. The ECHL Mariners haven’t found their stride under Boston just yet – losing in the first round of the postseason three times, then missing the postseason last year. They’ll face a very interesting turnaround next season, after losing former player and head coach/general manager Terrence Wallin this summer. Maine hired Rick Kowalsky – aptly, a member of the Kelly Cup-winning Trenton Devils in 2005 – to fill the vacancy. Kowalsky has previously spent four years an ECHL head coach, 10 years as an AHL head coach, and six years as an assistant coach with the New Jersey Devils.
  • Shifting to looming NHL training camps – the Ottawa Senators are expected to bring multiple professional try-outs to the start of their camp, general manager Steve Staios told Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun. Ottawa could use a bit of padding to their depth at all three positions, setting them up nicely to bring in some of the top remaining free agents. The likeliest paths to the lineup will be on the fourth-line wing, where Michael Amadio and Nick Cousins currently reside on the depth chart. Some options for UFA candidates could include 36-year-old wing Max Pacioretty, 30-year-old centerman Tyler Motte, or 31-year-old defenseman Matt Grzelcyk.
  • While Ottawa pursues the PTO market, the Calgary Flames are expected to stay away, per Ryan Pike of Flames Nation. While the Senators will look to vindicate a push to the playoffs last season, Calgary is likely much more geared towards keeping spots open for their emerging youngsters. Players like Rory Kerins, Dryden Hunt, William Stromgren, and Aydar Suniev could all make valiant pushes for bottom-six minutes next season.

Senators Expected To Trade Max Guenette

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After re-signing Donovan Sebrango earlier this week, the Senators are down to one remaining restricted free agent, defenseman Max Guenette.  However, it doesn’t appear as if he’ll actually be signing with Ottawa.  Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch reports that the expectation is that the Sens will move the blueliner before training camp begins.

The 24-year-old was a seventh-round pick by Ottawa back in 2019, going 187th overall and he has carved out a respectable career thus far for someone picked that late.  He has gotten into eight NHL games between 2022-23 and 2023-24 where he has been held off the scoresheet in a little over 13 minutes per night of playing time.  Between that time, he has been a key contributor in the minors, including a 40-point campaign with AHL Belleville in 2022-23.

Last season, Guenette was waiver-eligible for the first time and passed through unclaimed in late September, allowing him to return to Belleville.  He suited up in 58 games for them, picking up nine goals and 14 assists.  He received a recall to Ottawa in early January but didn’t see any action with them over the week he was with the team.

The Senators have reshaped the right side of their AHL back end for the upcoming season.  Top prospect Carter Yakemchuk is now AHL-eligible, prospect Lassi Thomson was brought back after he spent last season in Sweden, and Cameron Crotty received a two-year deal in late August.  Those three will likely comprise the right side of Belleville’s back end, leaving Guenette without a spot.

Given his status as a depth defender who will once again have to pass through waivers to return to the AHL, Guenette isn’t likely to command much of a return in a trade.  Instead, a swap for a player at a different position in a similar situation seems like the logical conclusion here.  Given that the teams would want their players to be at camp to learn their systems, it stands to reason that a resolution on this front should come over the next ten days or so.

Senators Re-Sign Donovan Sebrango

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The Ottawa Senators have signed defenseman Donovan Sebrango to a one-year, two-way contract extension, per PuckPedia. Sebrango was one of two remaining restricted-free agents in Ottawa’s system, alongside defender Max Guenette.

Sebrango played the first two NHL games of his career with Ottawa last season. He only managed 20:37 minutes of ice time between the two games, and didn’t record any notable stat changes – but the games were still an important step for the 23-year-old. He has otherwise spent the last five seasons in a full-time, AHL role – spread across games with the Grand Rapids Griffins and Belleville Senators.

Sebrango struggled to produce much on either side of the ice through his early career – netting just 18 points in 135 games with the Griffins. The low scoring seemed set to continue after Sebrango recorded just seven assists in 35 games of his first year with Belleville. But the young defender finally found his groove this season, climbing all the way to 20 points in 50 games with Belleville. That jump in offense, complimented by a gritty, two-way style, earned Sebrango quick attention from the Senators. A one-year extension could be exactly what the young blue-liner needs to build on his momentum from the breakout year. Another hot year could earn him even more NHL ice time, and a much more confident contract offer from the Senators next summer. Sebrango was originally a third-round pick to the Detroit Red Wings in 2020 – after managing an OHL career that spanned 56 points in 118 games.

Nick Jensen Ahead Of Schedule In Recovery From Hip Surgery

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When Senators defenseman Nick Jensen underwent hip surgery after Ottawa’s playoff appearance, it was unclear how long he’d be out for.  While a firm timeline remains unknown, Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch reports that the blueliner’s recovery appears to be ahead of schedule.

Back in May when he had the procedure, GM Steve Staios stated his intent “to address the club’s defence after learning the extent of Jensen’s ailment.”  That was a clear suggestion that the initial assessment would be that he’d miss some time at the start of the upcoming season.  He indeed addressed the right side of their back end at the draft with the acquisition of right-shot blueliner Jordan Spence from Los Angeles, shoring up their depth on Jensen’s side of the ice.

Jensen’s first season with the Senators was solid despite the fact he played through the injury in the second half of the year as well as the playoffs.  Acquired as part of the return for Jakob Chychrun last July, he got into 71 games during the regular season, picking up 21 points while logging over 20 minutes per contest for only the second time in his nine-year career.  He was held off the scoresheet in their six playoff outings against Toronto while averaging a little less than 21 minutes per contest.

Suffice it to say, Jensen is a key part of Ottawa’s top four on the back end while the upcoming season is also notable for him as he’s in the final year of his contract that carries an AAV of $4.05MM.  He’ll be wanting to demonstrate that he’s fully recovered and worthy of a new agreement that could push past the $5MM mark but as Garrioch notes, hip surgeries generally carry a recovery time of four to six months.  If things went absolutely perfectly, he could be ready by the end of training camp but given Jensen’s importance to the team, erring on the side of caution and not rushing him back might make the most sense in the long run, even if he is ahead of schedule in his recovery.

Shane Pinto Extension Not Expected Before Start Of Season

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Despite expressing a desire to sign a long-term extension with the Ottawa Senators when he became eligible on July 1st, there’s currently no such agreement in place for Shane Pinto. In a recent interview with Steve Warne of The Hockey News, General Manager Steve Staios doesn’t expect this to change anytime soon.

In the interview, when directly pressed on extension negotiations between the team and Pinto, Staios said, “I think what we’ve decided on is we’re gonna let the season start and not have Shane distracted with (contract talks). But I guess the best way to put it is (we’ve had) preliminary conversations – positive ones – that lead me to believe that there will be a deal done at the right time. And that’s really all I can report on that.”

The news of positive preliminary talks is a good sign that Pinto will ultimately sign an extension with Ottawa; the phrase ’distraction’ has different implications altogether. It doesn’t necessarily mean that Pinto won’t re-up with the Senators, but the use of that word implies the team is willing to wait until next offseason to work out the specifics.

There’s no real reason for Ottawa to rush, as Pinto will become an arbitration-eligible restricted free agent next summer while still being three years away from unrestricted free agency. With Ottawa’s salary cap situation becoming increasingly tight due to the younger players on the roster receiving new contracts, it seems risky for the Senators to delay serious negotiations with Pinto. Gaining cost certainty now would be a more prudent decision.

Ultimately, Pinto will decide his fate. He rebounded nicely last season after missing half of the season in 2023-24 due to his violation of the NHL’s sports wagering policy. Appearing in 70 games for the Senators, Pinto scored 21 goals and 37 points, averaging 17:33 of ice time with a 16.5% shooting percentage. Additionally, he was sneakily productive on the defensive side for a player who’s considered a goal-scorer, finishing fifth on the team among forwards with a 91.0% on-ice save percentage at even strength.

During Ottawa’s brief run in the 2025 Stanley Cup playoffs, he was relatively unremarkable. However, he had a standout performance in this summer’s IIHF World Championships, where he scored two goals and recorded 10 points in eight games, finishing with a +9 rating for Team USA. Due to his performance on the international stage, Pinto was included in Team USA’s orientation camp roster for the 2026 Winter Olympics, but he is unlikely to make the final roster.

Outside of Pinto’s expiring $3.75MM cap hit, Ottawa will have an additional $15.45MM coming off the books next summer, assuming they don’t sign anyone to an extension throughout the 2025-26 season. This means that should Pinto have an explosive campaign, the Senators will have the funds to reward him financially. Still, it would be wise for the team to make that commitment sooner rather than later, as Pinto’s long-term price will only continue to increase if he has a successful year.

Senators Reach Affiliation Agreement With ECHL Allen

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  • The Senators announced that they have reached an affiliation agreement with ECHL Allen for the upcoming season. They had previously been affiliated with the Americans in 2022-23 and 2023-24 before Utah stepped in and became their affiliate last season, leaving Ottawa without an ECHL squad.  Now, the situations have been reversed with the Sens getting their affiliation back while the Mammoth look like they won’t have one in the 30-team league.

Senators Sign Cameron Crotty, Jan Jenik To Two-Way Deals

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The Senators announced this morning they’ve signed depth defenseman Cameron Crotty and Jan Jeník to two-way deals. Crotty’s is a two-year commitment, while Jeník’s is just for one. The pair will now vie for positioning on Ottawa’s depth chart during training camp.

Crotty, 26, only has a pair of NHL appearances to his name. Originally a third-round pick by the Coyotes in 2017, he made his NHL debut for them in 2023-24 before getting into a game with the Wild last year. The Boston University product is a 6’3″, 212-lb stay-at-home righty and captained Minnesota’s AHL affiliate in Iowa last season, recording 10 assists with 56 PIMs and a -7 rating in 64 appearances. He logged just 5:08 of ice time in his lone NHL appearance for the Wild, their penultimate game of the regular season against the Canucks.

With Crotty being at least 25 years old and having at least three seasons of professional experience with fewer than 80 NHL games played, he qualified for Group VI unrestricted free agency for the second straight summer after completing his two-way deal with the Wild. The two sides did not agree on a reunion, and he’ll now take his talents north of the border to serve as a capable call-up option if the Sens need some defensive muscle.

While Ottawa has seen some turnover among its complement of depth defensemen this offseason, that’s unlikely to produce the opportunity for Crotty to capture a roster spot in camp. Even with fellow righty Nick Jensen potentially on the shelf to start the season after undergoing a lower-body surgery, the Sens would have Artem Zub, Jordan Spence, and Nikolas Matinpalo as their top three righties, with 2024 No. 7 overall pick Carter Yakemchuk also expected to compete for a job. Even among their depth options already in the system, like Max Guenette and 2019 first-rounder Lassi Thomson, would presumably receive priority over Crotty.

As for Jeník, the soon-to-be 25-year-old was under Ottawa’s control as a restricted free agent. He got into a pair of midseason games for the Sens in 2024-25, going pointless with two hits and a -1 rating. It was his first season in the organization after the club acquired his rights from Utah last offseason and promptly re-signed him.

The 6’2″, 200-lb winger was also an Arizona third-round pick, one year after Crotty in 2018. He has the leg up on his former Coyotes teammate in NHL experience, though, recording a 4-2–6 scoring line in 24 appearances dating back to the 2020-21 campaign. He had an underwhelming performance in the scoring department for AHL Belleville last year, with 29 points in 52 games and will now look to build on that as he looks for more NHL opportunities.

Jeník should qualify for Group VI status next summer as long as he stays under 80 career NHL games, which would require him to log 56 appearances in the upcoming season.

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