- In a similar fashion to Thompson, the Ottawa Senators announced yesterday evening that recent call-up Bokondji Imama would miss the rest of the game against the New York Rangers. Placed on the roster from an emergency loan on April 8th, Imama will likely finish the year with zero points in six games at the NHL level, with three goals and 10 points over 53 games at the AHL level spent with the Belleville Senators.
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Senators Rumors
Tim Stützle Skating In Non-Contact Jersey
Ansar Khan of MLive.com is reporting that Detroit Red Wings center Michael Rasmussen didn’t skate this morning with the team and won’t play tonight against the Montreal Canadiens. Tonight’s absence will be Rasmussen’s sixth game in a row out of the lineup as he deals with an upper-body injury.
The 24-year-old last played back on April 1st in a 4-2 Detroit win over the Tampa Bay Lightning. If he misses both games in Detroit’s back-to-back against Montreal, he will wrap up his fifth NHL season with a career-high 33 points (13 goals and 20 assists) in 75 games.
In other Atlantic Division notes:
- Less than a week after taking a high stick to the face and breaking his cheekbone, Red Wings forward Andrew Copp has returned to the lineup against the Canadiens. Copp skated with the team this morning sporting a full cage and was called a game-time decision for tonight. He ultimately has dressed in his 78th game of the season as the Red Wings battle for the final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference. Copp missed just two games with the injury.
- TSN 1200 tweeted that Ottawa Senators center Tim Stützle skated this morning with the team at Madison Square Garden in a non-contact jersey. The Senators play tonight against the Rangers and have just one game on the season remaining. Given the timeline, it seems unlikely that Stützle will return this season from an upper-body injury that has kept him out of the lineup since April 4th. The Senators haven’t made the playoffs since the 2016-17 season and were expected to contend for a playoff spot this year but were out of the race by the midway point of the regular season. The 22-year-old has done his part though, posting 18 goals and 52 assists in 75 games in his fourth NHL season.
Senators Recall Zack Ostapchuk
The Senators have recalled center Zack Ostapchuk from AHL Belleville, per a team announcement. He’ll play Ottawa’s final two games of the season instead of Mark Kastelic, who left Saturday’s shootout win over the Canadiens with an upper-body injury.
Ostapchuk, 20, got a brief stint with the Sens last month but failed to record a point in six games. He was returned to Belleville on March 22.
Before and after his first NHL call-up, the 2021 second-round pick showed flashes during his inaugural professional season but has struggled with inconsistency. In 66 games for Belleville this season, he’s scored 17 goals and has added 11 assists for 28 points and a +4 rating. The 6’3″, 205-lb forward has gotten into a fair amount of penalty trouble, too, recording 47 PIMs on the year. Most of his scoring has come in bunches – he has quite a few two-point games this season, but he has also routinely gone more than five games without getting on the scoresheet.
There’s no risk on the Sens’ part of giving him another crack in the NHL lineup for their season-ending back-to-back this week, though. They’re guaranteed a bottom-three spot in the East with a 36-40-4 record, and their final two games are against likely divisional champions in the Rangers and Bruins. It should be a good test for Ostapchuk to see how he fares against contending teams’ depth. He’s expected to center their third line, flanked by Boris Katchouk and Parker Kelly. Ottawa is dealing with a rash of injuries at forward to end the season, including star centers Tim Stützle and Joshua Norris, Kastelic, and depth winger Angus Crookshank.
While Ostapchuk signed his entry-level contract back in September 2021, it only took effect this season after sliding twice. He has two seasons remaining on his deal at a $825K cap hit and is under team control through 2029.
Highmore Assigned To AHL Belleville
- After Saturday’s victory over Montreal, the Senators announced (Twitter link) that forward Matthew Highmore was assigned to AHL Belleville. The 28-year-old missed a little more than a month with an upper-body injury but returned to practice yesterday and has been given the green light to return. Highmore has played in seven games with Ottawa this season, picking up two assists while adding 29 points in 40 appearances with Belleville, a team that is right in the thick of the playoff race in the AHL’s North Division.
Brady Tkachuk Likely To Play For Team USA In World Championships
As the regular season comes to an end, many players on non-playoff teams are making decisions on whether or not to suit up for their country in this year’s IIHF World Championships. One of those players, Brady Tkachuk of the Ottawa Senators, is leaning toward playing for Team USA per multiple reports (X Link).
Since officially joining the Senators organization back in the 2018-19 NHL season, Tkachuk has not suited up in international play. However, he was the captain for Team USA in the 2018 World Junior Championships, scoring three goals and nine points in seven games, helping lead his team to a bronze medal finish.
Highmore (Upper Body) Took Part In A Full Practice
- Senators forward Matthew Highmore took part in a full practice today, reports Sportsnet’s Wayne Scanlan (Twitter link). The 28-year-old has missed a little more than a month with an upper-body injury. Highmore has played in seven games with Ottawa this season, picking up two assists but won’t suit up tonight despite having the full game-day skate. The pending unrestricted free agent also has 29 points in 40 appearances with AHL Belleville.
Senators Notes: Stützle, Kubalik, Hamonic
Senators star center Tim Stützle isn’t playing in tonight’s clash against the Lightning, interim head coach Jacques Martin said. It marks his fourth straight absence with an upper-body injury sustained last week against the Panthers. It’s fair to wonder if Ottawa will opt to shut down their first-line pivot for the season with only three games left after tonight and playoffs not in the picture yet again for the Sens.
2023-24 has been a step back for the 2020 third-overall pick, although he still produced at a good clip with 70 points (18 goals, 52 assists) in 75 games. Expectations were quite high after a 39-goal, 90-point campaign last year, though, and the Sens will need him to get back to that level if they want to shake their seven-year playoff drought. As it stands, Stützle will take the Sens’ scoring crown, although captain Brady Tkachuk only trails him by two with 34 goals and 68 points on the year.
Elsewhere in Sens-land:
- Winger Dominik Kubalík has recovered from his undisclosed injury but was still out of the lineup as a healthy scratch against the Bolts, per Dean Brown of TSN 1200. The 28-year-old had been out for the past two games after logging less than eight minutes against the Devils last Saturday. It’s been a season to forget for Kubalík, who Ottawa acquired as part of the return from the Red Wings for the signing rights to then-RFA winger Alex DeBrincat. The two-time 20-goal scorer was limited to just 11 tallies and 15 points through his first 72 games of the season and will have little opportunity to add to that total over the next few days. He’s spent most of the 2024 calendar year in a bottom-six role and has averaged 12:13 on the season, his lowest usage since making his NHL debut in 2019. It seems unlikely he’ll re-up upon completion of his two-year, $5MM deal this summer.
- Brown also says defenseman Travis Hamonic has likely played his last game of 2023-24. He’s officially missed four games with a lower-body injury, although he was a healthy scratch in six prior and hasn’t suited up since March 21 against the Blues. Bringing the 33-year-old back on a two-year, $2.2MM deal with full no-move protection has proven to be an unwise gamble for now-former GM Pierre Dorion. He’s easily been the team’s worst defender this season, posting six points in 48 games on the season with a -10 rating and horrid possession metrics (43.2 CF%, 41.5 xGF%) despite shouldering less than 15 minutes per game.
Shane Pinto Will Play For United States At World Championship If Invited
- Senators center Shane Pinto will suit up for the United States at the 2024 World Championship if invited, he confirmed to Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia and TSN. While it’s unlikely he’ll crack the roster for the U.S. national team at the 2025 4 Nations Face-Off or the 2026 Winter Olympics, Garrioch relays Pinto would like to extend his season regardless and gain experience playing meaningful games after the regular season ends. Pinto has been excellent for Ottawa since serving a 41-game suspension for violating the NHL’s sports wagering rules, racking up eight goals and 18 assists for 26 points in 36 games. He’s averaging 17:41 per game, a career-high by a long shot, and has some of the best possession numbers on the team with a 53.3 CF% and a 60.1 xGF%. The United States last medal at the 2021 tournament, winning bronze, and has lost the bronze medal game in back-to-back years.
Senators Part Ways With Two Pro Scouts
- The Senators have parted ways with professional scouts Jim Clark and Rob Murphy, GM Steve Staios announced. This could end an illustrious front-office career for the 70-year-old Clark, who’s held roles with the Red Wings, Blue Jackets and Panthers as well since breaking into the league in 1990. He was brought on by the Sens in 2008 after being let go as Columbus’ assistant GM, serving on their scouting staff for six years before being promoted to their Director of Professional Scouting in 2014. Ottawa demoted Clark out of the head scout role ahead of this season, replacing him with Murphy, who’d been a pro scout for the organization since 2018. This was Murphy’s second run with the Sens, also serving in their pro scouting department from 2010 to 2014 before leaving for a Director of Scouting role with the Sabres.
Upper-Body Injury For Tim Stutzle
Senators forward Tim Stutzle won’t play tonight against New Jersey due to an upper-body injury, relays Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch (Twitter link). The injury was sustained in Thursday’s game against Florida. It has been a bit of a trying year for the 22-year-old; while he has already set a new career-high in assists with 52, he has also been limited to just 18 goals in 75 games. For context, he had 39 last season. Stutzle is in the first season of an eight-year, $66.8MM contract that was signed back in September 2022 and it’s fair to say that expectations will be higher for him next season.