The Senators have activated forward Rourke Chartier from injured reserve and subsequently assigned him to AHL Belleville, per a team announcement. He’d missed 12 games with an upper-body injury.
Chartier, 28, was summoned from Belleville under emergency conditions on March 8 but only played once, logging 11:23 against the Sharks before exiting the lineup. He was placed on IR later in the month to open a roster spot.
It was the second lengthy absence of the campaign for Chartier, who also missed 12 games with a concussion in December and January. That hasn’t stopped the Saskatoon native from making a career-high 37 appearances this season, scoring twice and adding an assist while averaging 10:46 per game.
The minor-league mainstay is in his third season with the Senators organization and his second on an NHL contract in Ottawa after spending 2021-22 on a minor-league contract with Belleville.
A Sharks 2014 fifth-round pick, the former WHL All-Star played only 13 games with San Jose, all in the 2018-19 season. The following summer, after completing his entry-level contract, he was not awarded a qualifying offer and became an unrestricted free agent, but concussion symptoms prevented him from being cleared to play, and he sat out the 2019-20 campaign as a result.
He returned to play in 2020 on a minor-league contract with the Maple Leafs before linking up with the Sens in 2021.
While he may not have much of an NHL future after showing little promise in his fourth-line minutes, Chartier has resumed his strong level of play in the minors and should continue to earn contracts from major league clubs.
The pending UFA has been strong in limited action with the B-Sens this year, posting seven goals and 10 points in 12 games. Last season, he scored 20 goals in only 40 games.
Chartier will likely spend the rest of the season in the minors and will be eligible for Calder Cup Playoffs action with Belleville if they sneak in. They’re last place in the North Division but are only two points back of Laval for the fifth and final playoff berth with two games in hand.
However, if injuries take a forward out of the mix, he could find his way back up to Ottawa for a game or two.
More must-reads: