Ottawa Senators Sign Tyler Kleven
The Ottawa Senators have officially signed prospect Tyler Kleven, ending his college career after three seasons at the University of North Dakota. The contract will start this season, with Kleven joining the Senators tomorrow.
General manager Pierre Dorion released the following:
We’re very pleased that Tyler has recently made the decision to begin his pro career. He’s a big, rangy, hard-nosed defender who maintains a physical presence while on the ice and an ability to hammer the puck with his shot. We’ve been especially impressed with his overall development dating to his draft year.
Kleven, 21, will join former college teammates Shane Pinto and Jake Sanderson with the Senators as he tries to carve out a role as a defensive defenseman at the next level. The 44th overall pick from 2020 recorded just 35 points in his three years with the Fighting Hawks but added 214 penalty minutes in an uber-physical shutdown role.
Given Ottawa’s offensive talent on the blue line, a player like Kleven might be a perfect fit. Sanderson, Thomas Chabot, Jakob Chychrun, and Erik Brannstrom can all move the puck effectively, meaning Kleven can be insulated as he gets used to the speed of the professional game.
Moving forward, there will be plenty of playing time up for grabs, as Travis Hamonic and Nick Holden are both set to become unrestricted free agents at the end of the year. While it’s no guarantee that Kleven will make the team out of camp for 2023-24, there is an obvious path to a roster spot available.
Starting his entry-level deal immediately means he is just over two years away from restricted free agency. Kleven’s contract will expire at the end of the 2024-25 campaign.
Latest On Ottawa Senators Arena Development
The Ottawa Senators will soon be sold—potentially for a record price of over $900MM—and new owners will have a long list of things to accomplish. Near the top of that list should be a new arena development closer to the downtown core, something that previous owner Eugene Melnyk tried to secure for years.
It’s not just new owners involved in the plan, though. In October, Ottawa elected a new mayor, Mark Sutcliffe, who will now be at the table with the Senators on any arena plans. Yesterday, he explained at a press conference that “everything is on the table” regarding a new rink, declining to rule out public funding, despite acknowledging the city’s “tight budget.”
Today, on TSN radio in Ottawa, Sutcliffe was talking again, explaining that it isn’t just LeBreton Flats that is an option at this point. An entirely new location or even re-development of the current Canadian Tire Centre, will be considered, much to the frustration of Senators fans that have longed for a resolution.
The current arena is well outside the city and difficult to reach with public transit. With the team finally showing enough young talent to compete again, and new, deep-pocketed owners soon taking the reins, a new building seems like an inevitability.
That has been the story for years, though, so today’s comments from Sutcliffe about alternate locations outside downtown likely won’t go over well in the Ottawa area.
Atlantic Notes: Savage, Brodie, Mandolese, McMann
According to Ryan Kennedy of The Hockey News, Red Wings’ prospect Redmond Savage is transferring to Michigan State University. Drafted 114th overall in the 2021 NHL Draft, Savage will take his talents closer to where he will eventually be playing.
Throughout his 67 regular season games played for Miami University (Ohio), Savage was able to put up 13 goals and 17 assists over his 2-year span. More famously, on the world stage, Savage was included on the roster of the United States World Junior team, playing in both tournaments this year and last. Throughout his 12 tournament games, Savage scored nine points for the United States team.
Since joining the Big Ten Conference before the 2013-14 NCAA season, the Spartans have only managed to earn a winning season one time in 2015. However, for the first time under new head coach Adam Nightingale, the Spartans won their quarterfinal matchup against Notre Dame but eventually lost to the University of Minnesota in this year’s Big Ten tournament.
Other notes:
- From Mark Masters of TSN, after sitting out of yesterday’s game against the New York Islanders, head coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs, Sheldon Keefe, says that defenseman T.J. Brodie will be back in the lineup tomorrow against the Florida Panthers. After handily losing to the Islanders on Tuesday, Brodie should be a welcomed return to the Maple Leafs against a surging Panthers team. Although his point production is down this season, Brodie has still been keen on his defensive aspects of the game, including being one of the better shot blockers in the league.
- After netminder Dylan Ferguson became ill before yesterday’s game against the Boston Bruins, the Ottawa Senators re-called Kevin Mandolese from their AHL affiliate Belleville Senators. Today, the Senators announced that they have returned Mandolese back to Belleville. With the Senators dealing with injuries between the pipes, Mandolese has started in three games this year, going 2-1-0 with a .916 SV% and a 3.29 GAA.
- Furthermore, on the Maple Leafs, David Alter of Sports Illustrated passes on a message from Keefe, announcing that forward Bobby McMann has re-aggravated a knee injury and will not play tomorrow night against the Panthers. McMann has been recalled a couple of times this year on an emergency loan, getting into ten games with the Maple Leafs, and producing one assist overall. Playing for the Maple Leafs AHL affiliate Toronto Marlies, McMann has been an incredibly valuable forward, playing in 30 games, and scoring 21 goals over that span.
East Notes: Mandolese, Bennett, Penguins
The Ottawa Senators announced the team has to shuffle their goaltending tandem yet again. The team has recalled Kevin Mandolese from the Belleville Senators because Dylan Ferguson is out with an illness. Ferguson was just called up two days ago and made his Senators debut last night. He was brilliant, stopping 48 of 49 shots and leading the Senators to a 2-1 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins. With Cam Talbot out with an upper-body injury and Anton Forsberg on injured reserve, this leaves the Senators pretty thin in an important area.
Mandolese has played three NHL games so far this season, including a 46-save effort in a win over the New York Islanders on February 14. The 22 year old has played 15 AHL games in Belleville this season with a 3.32 GAA and a .889 SV%. It sounds like he will back up Mads Sogard when the Senators take on the Boston Bruins tonight.
- According to a team statement, the Florida Panthers will be without a key forward this evening. Sam Bennett left last night’s win over the Detroit Red Wings early, and will not dress tonight when the Panthers face the Philadelphia Flyers. The 26-year old center is ruled out with a lower-body injury, and is officially listed as day-to-day. Bennett has scored 16 goals and 40 points in 63 games for the Panthers who are trying to chase down the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. The team also mentioned Givani Smith has been activated from injured reserve and will return to the lineup.
- The Wilkes-Barre Penguins announced the signing of Jagger Joshua. The contract is a two-year agreement but will not begin until next season, so Joshua is signed through the 2024-25 campaign with the Penguins. He will report to the team immediately, but finish off this season on an amateur tryout before his new contract officially begins. Joshua played for Michigan State University this season, scoring 13 goals and 24 points in 37 games.
Jonny Tychonick Signs AHL Contract With Toronto
An interesting signing took place this morning, permitted only by a technicality. Ottawa Senators 2018 second-round pick Jonny Tychonick signed a two-year AHL contract with the Toronto Marlies, beginning this season, according to the team.
Ottawa Senators Recall Dylan Ferguson
The Ottawa Senators recalled goaltender Dylan Ferguson from the AHL’s Belleville Senators on Sunday morning, according to a team announcement. Goaltender Kevin Mandolese was also re-assigned to Belleville.
Belleville is in action today against the Cleveland Monsters, meaning this could be a paper transaction for Mandolese to suit up in the minors and get some game action. Ottawa doesn’t play again until Monday and could opt to reverse the transaction tomorrow morning.
It could also be a performance-based recall for Ferguson, who’s excelled in Belleville since he was acquired via trade from the Toronto Marlies. On an AHL contract at the time, Ferguson was signed to an NHL deal by the Senators at the beginning of the month. Through six games with Ottawa’s affiliate, the 24-year-old has posted a 5-1-0 record and a .935 save percentage.
If Ferguson does appear in a game, it won’t be his NHL debut. Hardcore fans of the Vegas Golden Knights will remember Ferguson, who stepped into action for them during their inaugural season after being recalled from juniors when injuries ravaged their goaltending depth chart.
Ferguson’s only recently graduated to the AHL full-time, appearing in 13 games for AHL Henderson last season and 11 games split between Toronto and Belleville in 2022-23.
Ottawa Senators Expected To Begin Contract Talks With Tyler Kleven
The Ottawa Senators are gearing up to sign one of their top defensive prospects, reports Bruce Garrioch of The Ottawa Sun and TSN. Tyler Kleven‘s college season has come to a close, and Garrioch notes that talks between the Senators and his agent, Craig Oster, “will likely begin soon.”
Kleven, 21, is a strong one-on-one defender and has decent zone exit skills, too. However, it’s his offensive game that showed signs of growth throughout three seasons at the University of North Dakota. After notching just two goals and 12 assists in 62 games with the United States National U18 Team during his draft year, Kleven’s offensive totals steadily grew in college. That growth culminated in an eight-goal, 18-point campaign in 35 games in 2022-23.
The 44th overall selection in the 2020 NHL Draft could join the Senators this year, although it’s unclear whether he would head to NHL Ottawa or AHL Belleville. Garrioch remarks he has “little doubt” that Kleven will want his entry-level contract to start immediately rather than deferring until 2023-24 and joining the Belleville Senators on a tryout for the remainder of 2022-23.
Kleven’s season came to an end last night with a 3-2 overtime loss to St. Cloud State in the NCHC semifinals. He didn’t record a point but registered a +1 rating.
Ownership Group Led By Graeme Roustan, First Nations Eyeing Senators Purchase
- On last night’s edition of TSN’s Insider Trading, Chris Johnston noted that an ownership group led by The Hockey News owner Graeme Roustan, in conjunction with Canadian First Nations groups, has advanced past the first round of bidding to purchase the Ottawa Senators. Johnston reports that the group notably has an interest in developing the land around LeBreton Flats, realizing a long-time hope for a more centrally located arena in Ottawa.
Senators Recall Ridly Greig
Late last month, the Senators sent Ridly Greig back to Belleville to get some more playing time. Now, they’ve decided the time is right to bring him back up to the big club as the team announced (Twitter link) that they’ve recalled the center from AHL Belleville.
The 20-year-old played in 11 games with Ottawa during his first stint with the big club, picking up a goal and three assists while averaging 13:29 per contest, decent numbers for his first NHL opportunity. However, Greig has been considerably more productive in the minors, collecting 13 goals and 14 helpers in 35 contests although he only picked up a point in two of the seven games he played since being sent down.
In Ottawa’s announcement, it wasn’t clear if this is an emergency recall or a regular one which would count against their post-deadline limit of four. They have 14 forwards on their active roster but wingers Parker Kelly and Mathieu Joseph are both battling injuries, bringing them down to the minimum of 12. If there is another injury, then Greig’s recall could be classified as an emergency one.
Poll: Who Will Be The Wild Card Teams In The Eastern Conference?
Now that the NHL and AHL trade deadlines have passed, the league is full speed ahead toward the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs. With between 15-18 games left in the regular season, there are only nine points separating the seventh-place and 13th-place teams in the Eastern Conference playoff race.
If the season ended today, the New York Islanders and Pittsburgh Penguins would cross the finish line as the wild-card winners in the East. In their last ten games, respectively, the Islanders are 7-2-1, while the Penguins are 5-4-1. Whether or not they have the rosters to get it done, both teams made moves at the deadline in hopes of making the playoffs this year.
Following behind them, the Florida Panthers and Ottawa Senators are making the strongest case to move past the Islanders and Penguins. In their last ten, the Panthers are 6-4-0, while the Senators are 7-3-0. The Panthers are not the same dominant team that they were last year, but they still have an extremely talented roster led by Aleksander Barkov and Matthew Tkachuk.
The Senators are following a much different course. After a few seasons of rebuilding, the Senators are finally a fun hockey team to watch again. After signing Claude Giroux and making a trade for Alex DeBrincat, the Senators had hope for meaningful games in April at the beginning of the season. Starting slow out of the gate, it seems this team has put it all together as the season has progressed. By acquiring top trade candidate Jakob Chychrun at the deadline, the Senators have the team to bring the Eastern wild-card race down to the wire.
Rounding out the last of the group that could theoretically reach the playoffs, the Washington Capitals, Buffalo Sabres, and Detroit Red Wings are still within striking distance. The Capitals and Red Wings both chose to sell at the deadline, while the Sabres’ biggest move was acquiring Jordan Greenway from the Minnesota Wild. The Sabres have a similar aura around them as the Senators, after they too have an exciting team after years of rebuilding. However, all three of these teams have a losing record in their last ten games, with the Sabres’ last game being a 10-4 blowout loss to the Dallas Stars.
So who will it be PHR readers? Cast your vote and let us know which two teams will win the wild-card race in the East.
Who Will Be The First Wild Card Team In The Eastern Conference
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Pittsburgh Penguins 38% (441)
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New York Islanders 35% (416)
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Ottawa Senators 10% (114)
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Florida Panthers 7% (83)
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Buffalo Sabres 4% (48)
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Detroit Red Wings 3% (40)
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Washington Capitals 3% (31)
Total votes: 1,173
Who Will Be The Second Wild Card Team In The Eastern Conference
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Ottawa Senators 26% (276)
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Pittsburgh Penguins 24% (257)
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New York Islanders 20% (217)
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Florida Panthers 15% (158)
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Buffalo Sabres 7% (74)
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Detroit Red Wings 5% (51)
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Washington Capitals 4% (40)
Total votes: 1,073