Free-agent focus for the Ottawa Senators

Key restricted free agents

F Shane Pinto – After a contract holdout over the summer and a 41-game suspension from the NHL for violating the league’s gambling policies, Pinto settled for a one-year, $775K contract with the Senators when everything was said and done. 

Pinto rewarded Ottawa’s loyalty, proving that his 2022-23 NHL season was not a fluke. In 41 games, Pinto scored nine goals and 27 points, finishing 11th on the team in scoring despite playing in half as many games as his peers. The Senators organization has much more financial flexibility than it did last year. As a legitimate top-six forward, Ottawa should be able to give Pinto a four- to five-year deal between $4M-$5M annually this summer.

D Erik Brannstrom – As the headlining prospect in the deal that landed Mark Stone with the Vegas Golden Knights, Brannstrom had high expectations attached to him. At the AHL level, Brannstrom showed flashes of being a top-four puck-moving defensive prospect. 

Unfortunately, he has been able to sustain any offensive production at the NHL level, topping out with 20 points this past year. It has been reported that Ottawa is undecided about issuing Brannstrom a qualifying offer this offseason, which would allow the young defenseman to sign with any team in the league.

Other RFAs:  F Parker Kelly, F Boris Katchouk, F Angus Crookshank, D Lassi Thomson, G Kevin Mandolese, G Mads Sogaard

Key unrestricted free agents

F Dominik Kubalik – Included in the return package in the trade that sent Alex DeBrincat to the Detroit Red Wings, Kubalik primarily served as a middle-six scoring option for the Senators this season. Kubalik finished the 2023-24 NHL season with 11 goals and four assists in 74 games while posting some of his career-worst defensive and possession metrics. Now that Ottawa has some flexibility to improve upon Kubalik in the middle-six, he will most likely head for a different organization this summer. Kubalik could look for an open role with any of the Anaheim Ducks, San Jose Sharks or Chicago Blackhawks organizations — as each will be scouring the market for any goal-scoring talent they can find.

Other UFAs: F Rourke Chartier, F Josh Currie, F Matthew Highmore, F Bokondji Imama, F Jiri Smejkal, D Dillon Heatherington

Projected cap space

Now that the upper limit of the 2024-25 NHL salary has officially been set at $88M, we now have a clear picture of what each team will be working with this summer. The Senators organization owns just under $12.5M in cap space without any relatively pricey restricted or unrestricted free agents to worry about.

With this being the first offseason for Steve Staios at the helm of Ottawa’s front office, he should have the flexibility to bring in two to three NHL-caliber talents to round out the team’s depth. Furthermore, if Staios can move out the contracts of Jakob Chychrun or Mathieu Joseph before free agency opens up on July 1, the Senators could acquire a top-level goaltender for the organization via trade.