Senators Rumors

Navigating the salary cap is one of the more important tasks for any GM.  Teams that can avoid total cap chaos by walking the tightrope of inking players to deals that match their value (or compensate for future value without breaking the bank) remain successful.  Those that don’t see struggles and front office changes.

PHR will look at every NHL team and give a thorough look at their cap situation heading into the 2023-24 season.  This will focus more on players who are regulars on the roster versus those who may find themselves shuttling between the AHL and NHL.  All cap figures are courtesy of CapFriendly.

Ottawa Senators

Current Cap Hit: $83,379,047 (under the $83.5MM Upper Limit)

Entry-Level Contracts

D Jake Sanderson (one year, $925K)

Potential Bonuses
Sanderson: $1.85MM

We’ll get more in depth on Sanderson’s deal later on but this deal has $850K in ‘A’ bonuses, four valued at $212.5K each.  He hit all four last year (All-Rookie team, blocks, ATOI, and assists) and while the first one is no longer available, he has a decent chance of maxing them out again or at least coming very close.

Signed Through 2023-24, Non-Entry-Level

D Erik Brannstrom ($2MM, RFA)
F Parker Kelly ($762.5K, UFA)
F Dominik Kubalik ($2.5MM, UFA)
F Vladimir Tarasenko ($5MM, UFA)

Tarasenko’s market never really materialized as he was hoping for as even after an agent change, the price tag came in lower than expected with just a one-year term.  He didn’t repeat his better than a point-per-game effort from 2021-22 but still produced nicely at a top-six level.  This contract is certainly fair for a 50-point player with a track record suggesting he’s capable of more.  While it has created the crunch they find themselves in, it’s not a bad value agreement.  We’ll see if going this route winds up propelling him into a longer-term deal next summer.

Kubalik came over from Detroit as part of the Alex DeBrincat trade.  He had a career year last season although he slowed down as the year went on.  If he can get a fifth season of at least 15 goals under his belt, he could position himself for at least a small raise on another multi-year deal.  Kelly was a serviceable fourth liner last season, showing he can kill penalties and play with some physicality.  The offense needs to come around, however, if he wants to move off the minimum salary.

Brannstrom established himself as a regular last season but his offensive game, one that made him a first-round pick by Vegas several years ago, hasn’t come around just yet.  Additionally, his playing time dipped by over three and a half minutes per game as he went from a part-time spot in the top four to a full-time spot on the bottom pair.  It’s fair to say that the Sens still see some upside in him as evidenced by this contract but another season like this could have him approaching non-tender territory since he’ll be eligible for salary arbitration.  Speculatively, this could be a deal they wind up trying to move to open up cap room.

Signed Through 2024-25

D Jakob Chychrun ($4.6MM, UFA)
G Anton Forsberg ($2.75MM, UFA)
F Claude Giroux ($6.5MM, UFA)
D Travis Hamonic ($1.1MM, UFA)
F Mark Kastelic ($835K, RFA)

Giroux showed last season that he can still be a top-line player, posting his best showing since the 2018-19 campaign while giving Ottawa a strong return on that first year.  He’ll be 37 when his next contract comes due, however, so the expectation will be that he either goes year-to-year at that point or takes a discounted two-year deal as players in his situation often do.  Kastelic had a limited role last season but was effective on the fourth line, earning himself his first one-way deal in the process.  As is the case with Kelly, he’ll need to show a bit more offensively to get past the $1MM mark (when he’ll also have arbitration rights) in 2025.

Chychrun came over in a late-season trade from Arizona and really helped to stabilize a relatively inexperienced back end.  He hasn’t been able to match his 2020-21 breakout showing offensively with the Coyotes and if that holds up, that will hold back his earnings upside somewhat.  Despite that, if he can stay healthy, his next deal could push into the $7MM range.  Hamonic took a sizable cut compared to his previous contract to stay in Ottawa although that was going to happen no matter where he wound up.  He’s effective in a limited role and this price point works for the Senators.

Forsberg took a step back last season with his on-ice performance while dealing with injury issues that limited him to just 28 appearances.  Now set as the backup after GM Pierre Dorion turned to free agency to shore up his goaltending, that workload might be closer to his new normal.  It’s a tier below the top backups which is around where he should slot in.  He’ll need more years like his 2021-22 showing if he wants to get to upper-end backup money.

Signed Through 2025-26

F Mathieu Joseph ($2.95MM, UFA)
F Zack MacEwen ($775K, UFA)

Joseph showed lots of promise down the stretch in 2022 when Ottawa acquired him, resulting in this contract.  Unfortunately for them, he struggled mightily last season, scoring just three times in 56 games which is hardly what anyone was expecting.  This is the contract that the Sens are believed to be trying to move right now although in this cap environment, that’s much easier said than done.  MacEwen accepted a rare three-year, minimum-salary deal this summer, one that guarantees him a one-way deal throughout.  He’s projected to be on the fourth line or as a reserve forward if and when they can carry extra players so it’ll be difficult for them not to get a reasonable return.

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