Senators Acquire Wyatt Bongiovanni From Jets
The Senators acquired center Wyatt Bongiovanni from the Jets in exchange for future considerations on Friday, per a team announcement. The team promptly reassigned Bongiovanni to their AHL affiliate, the Belleville Senators. Belleville will likely send a player signed to an AHL contract to Winnipeg’s affiliate, the Manitoba Moose, to complete the trade. Since he was traded after the March 8 deadline, Bongiovanni will not be eligible for recall to Ottawa for the remainder of the 2023-24 season.
[Related: Post-Deadline Transaction Restrictions]
Bongiovanni, 24, signed with the Jets as an undrafted free agent in 2022 and has played for the Moose ever since, scoring 21 goals and 33 points in 93 games. However, the former Quinnipiac University captain has been one of Manitoba’s worst defensive forwards, posting a team-worst -17 rating in 2022-23 and a -12 rating this season. He has not received an NHL recall since turning pro nearly two years ago.
The Michigan-born center was once a solid contributor with Quinnipiac, racking up 50 goals, 90 points and a +43 rating across 123 appearances between 2018 and 2022. His shot was always the most intriguing aspect of his game, and while he’s managed to flash it at times with Manitoba, the rest of his game hasn’t reached the level required for a major-league summons.
Bongiovanni is exempt from waivers and will remain so for two more seasons or until he plays 60 NHL games, whichever comes first. His two-year, $1.605MM entry-level contract expires this summer, and if the Senators issue him a qualifying offer, he’ll be a restricted free agent with arbitration rights.
Josh Norris Undergoes Shoulder Surgery, Out For Season
The Senators will indeed be without center Joshua Norris for the rest of the season after he underwent shoulder surgery last week, the team informed reporters (including Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun). It’s unclear if the team expects Norris, who has had three surgeries on his left shoulder in the past few years, to be ready for the beginning of next season. Depth center Rourke Chartier will also be sidelined for roughly one week with an upper-body injury, per CapFriendly.
Ottawa placed Norris on injured reserve on Feb. 29 and moved him to long-term injured reserve the next day to gain much-needed relief from his $7.95MM cap hit. That relief ensures the Senators can ice a full roster down the stretch after being forced to dress a skater short on multiple occasions this season due to cap constraints.
Norris began the season on IR after sustaining a setback in his recovery from his second shoulder surgery, which was performed in January 2023, during training camp. He made his season debut in mid-October and couldn’t recapture his 2021-22 season form that earned him his eight-year, $63.6MM extension. Over 50 appearances, the left-shot pivot recorded 16 goals and 30 points while averaging 17:38 per game. He posted a -6 rating and recorded 115 shots on goal, a 0.31 shots-per-game decrease from his 35-goal showing two years ago.
It’s another concerning development for the 24-year-old as he deals with seemingly consistent shoulder injuries. They limited him to just eight games last season, meaning he’ll have played only 35% of the Senators’ games since 2022 once this campaign concludes. He has six years remaining on his extension, with a 10-team no-trade list from July 1, 2026 onwards.
Norris last played on Feb. 27. He also missed four games in January with what the team termed an upper-body injury, although it’s unclear if that absence was related to his shoulder. The Senators, who are now down two centers with Chartier injured, will need to recall a forward from AHL Belleville before tomorrow’s game against the Penguins to have 12 available. They’ll be eligible to use an emergency recall, keeping their four post-deadline standard recalls open for later.
Chartier, 27, has three points in 37 games with the Sens this season. He was briefly reassigned to Belleville on deadline day to make him eligible to participate in the Calder Cup Playoffs.
Senators Notes: Bernard-Docker, Kubalik, Belleville
The Ottawa Senators had a quiet deadline – only moving winger Vladimir Tarasenko – but it wasn’t from lack of trying, with Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun reporting that teams called about defenseman Jacob Bernard-Docker but weren’t willing to pay Ottawa’s high asking price. What that asking price was isn’t clear, though there’s no doubt that Ottawa highly values their former first-round pick, despite his struggles at the top level. Garrioch added that Ottawa likely wasn’t eager to move the 23-year-old, happy to continue letting him grow now in a full-time NHL role. Bernard-Docker, the 26th overall pick in the 2018 NHL Draft, is still searching for a groove in the league, with just four goals and 12 points in 53 games this season. It’s his first full season in the NHL, entering the season with just 32 career games across the last three years.
Other Senators trade notes:
- Garrioch also reports that Ottawa continued to try and find a trade for winger Dominik Kubalik, who the team has been shopping around since December. Garrioch adds that Kubalik will likely be out the door when he becomes an unrestricted free agent on July 1st. The 28-year-old winger has 10 goals and 14 points in 58 games this season, netting double digit goals for the fifth-straight season, despite a down-year in overall production. Kubalik has managed 92 goals and 175 points across 341 career NHL games.
- Tarasenko’s move opened up space on the Senators lineup that the team hopes to fill creatively. While they did claim bottom-six staple Boris Katchouk off of waivers, Senators general manager Steve Staios shared that the team could give top Belleville Senators prospects – including Tyler Kleven, Zack Ostapchuk, and Oskar Pettersson – a chance at the majors as well. He told Garrioch, “All of those players have progressed nicely. They’re worthy of an opportunity to play.” Ottawa currently sits second-to-last in the Eastern Conference, with just 25 wins on the season. With a quiet deadline not providing much change, they could be well-poised to try out their top young names.
Senators Recall Three Players On Emergency Loans
The Senators thinned out their roster late yesterday but have since reversed those moves. Forwards Rourke Chartier, Jiri Smejkal, and defenseman Max Guenette are back on the active roster ahead of tonight’s game against the Sharks, per the AHL’s transactions log. All three players were briefly assigned to the Belleville Senators, making them eligible to suit up in the Calder Cup Playoffs. CapFriendly notes today’s moves are emergency loans, not standard recalls.
Chartier, Guenette, and Smejkal are projected to play in San Jose. Three forwards and two defensemen are unavailable due to injuries, and winger Parker Kelly is unavailable after being suspended yesterday night.
Chartier, 27, has settled back in as a capable minor-league scoring center after concussion symptoms nearly forced him out of the sport in 2019 and 2020. His time in the NHL has been less fruitful, though, scoring three goals and adding one assist in 55 games since making his debut with the Sharks in 2018-19. The San Jose 2014 fifth-round pick has played in a career-high 36 games this year with Ottawa, recording three points and a -4 rating while averaging 10:45 per game. Despite his limited offensive production, he has some value in the dot with a 50.9 FO% and a solid 50.2 xG%.
He’ll be in for a more expanded role tonight, sliding into a third-line position with Joshua Norris hurt and Vladimir Tarasenko traded to the Panthers before the deadline. Norris is expected to miss the remainder of the season as he searches for other opinions on his third left shoulder injury in the past few years, so Chartier may get an extended run in increased minutes down the stretch.
If the Senators want to assign him to the minors again this year, they’ll need to place him on waivers if he plays at least eight games and remains on the roster for 27 more days. He’s already played in two games and been rostered for three days after last clearing waivers on Jan. 31.
Smejkal, 27, is in his first professional season in North America after inking a one-year, two-way deal ($870K NHL/$82.5K AHL) in May 2023. However, the Czech power forward hasn’t had much impact in the NHL or AHL and is likely to return to Europe this summer. Skating in 10 games with the Sens, Smejkal has one assist and a -2 rating while averaging a minuscule 9:21 per game. He’s gotten caved in terms of possession quality in his limited minutes, recording a 36.6 xGF%. In Belleville, he has 19 points and a -11 rating in 39 games.
The 22-year-old Guenette carries the most intrigue as a somewhat recent draft pick, taken by the Sens in the seventh round of the 2019 draft. While he’s averaged only 11:56 through his three NHL showings this year, he’ll get a shot in the team’s top four tonight alongside Jakob Chychrun with Thomas Chabot out with a lower-body injury. A pending RFA nearing completion of his entry-level contract, Guenette has had a strong season in the minors with five goals, 29 points and a +4 rating in 49 games.
These recalls are under emergency conditions, so they don’t count toward Ottawa’s four allotted post-deadline recalls.
Sens Received Interest In Bernard-Docker
The Senators received some trade interest in defenseman Jacob Bernard-Docker, reports Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch. However, it appears that Ottawa placed a fairly high price tag on the 23-year-old, one that other teams weren’t willing to pay. Bernard-Docker actually cleared waivers back in training camp but has spent most of the year up with Ottawa, picking up 12 points and 108 blocked shots in 52 games while logging just under 16 minutes a night. Signed for one more year after this one at an affordable $805K price tag, it’s understandable that the Sens would have had some interest in Bernard-Docker, perhaps not just from buyers either. Instead, he’ll remain with Ottawa through the rest of the season at least.
Parker Kelly Receives Two-Game Suspension
While it was a busy day on the trade front on Friday, the Department of Player Safety was busy as well. On top of handing out three fines, they also announced that Senators center Parker Kelly received a two-game suspension for an illegal check to the head on Kings defenseman Andreas Englund.
The incident occurred late in the third period of Thursday night’s matchup. He received a two-minute minor for an illegal check to the head on the play while Englund also received a minor for roughing as well.
It’s the first suspension of Kelly’s career and he’ll forfeit a little under $8K which goes to the Players’ Emergency Assistance Fund. Kelly will miss tonight’s game against San Jose and Tuesday’s contest versus Pittsburgh. Ottawa shouldn’t need to recall a player to take his place on the roster with their addition of Boris Katchouk off waivers yesterday so they won’t need to use one of their four post-deadline regular recalls.
Senators Claim Boris Katchouk Off Waivers
The Ottawa Senators have claimed forward Boris Katchouk off of waivers from the Chicago Blackhawks. Katchouk has been with the Hawks for the last three seasons, totaling 117 games and 26 points with the club.
Katchouk has largely served in a full-time NHL role since making his debut with the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2021-22, playing in just nine AHL games since. That includes six games with the Rockford IceHogs this season, where Katchouk has scored three goals and five points. But while he’s stayed on an NHL roster, his role hasn’t grown much – with Katchouk regularly rotating into the lineup as a depth winger. He’s totaled 155 career games over the last three seasons, averaging just under 11-and-a-half minutes each game and scoring a total of 32 points.
Katchouk will now join a Senators lineup that recently traded winger Vladimir Tarasenko, forcing them to rely on call-up Jiri Smejkal to fill their fourth line. Smejkal has managed just one assist in 10 games this season, adding 19 points in 39 AHL games. It’s his first year in North America, after spending the last seven years touring across Europe’s top leagues, playing in the KHL, Czechia Extraliga, Liiga, and SHL. He’s proven productive in every league, though he hasn’t yet found his scoring groove in Canada. Some healthy competition could be exactly what he needs, now battling with an experienced depth forward in Katchouk.
Sens Seeking Second-Round Pick For Brannstrom
One player that the Senators have been believed to have been shopping is defenseman Erik Brannstrom. Ottawa has placed a fairly high asking price on his services, however, as Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch reports that the team is seeking a second-round pick for the 24-year-old. Playing time has been difficult to come by for Brannstrom this season as he’s averaging under 16 minutes a night through 55 games where he has just three goals and ten assists. Owed a $2MM qualifying offer in June, Brannstrom could be a potential non-tender candidate for the Sens which means it wouldn’t be surprising if the asking price comes down today, ensuring they get something for a player they could very well lose for nothing in three months.
Senators Still Trying To Move Chychrun
- One defenseman who has seen his name pop up in trade speculation for the last few seasons is Jakob Chychrun of the Ottawa Senators. Although it appeared that Chychrun had finally found a long-term home in Ottawa, the new front office does not seem as convinced. TSN’s Bruce Garrioch is reporting that although nothing is imminent on the Chychrun front, General Manager Steve Staios continues to work the phones regarding a Chychrun deal.
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Ottawa Senators Announce Multiple Roster Moves
6:00 PM: The Ottawa Senators have recalled forward Jiri Smejkal and defenseman Max Guenette. The pair will serve as fill-ins for the injured Matthew Highmore and Thomas Chabot, who are bearing with a lower-body and upper-body injury respectively. Ottawa has also sent goaltender Mads Sogaard to the minors.