Senators Unlikely To Retain Nick Jensen

The 35-year-old blueliner is a veteran of nearly 700 NHL games and arrived in Ottawa as part of the Jakob Chychrun trade.

The longtime Capitals rearguard helped stabilize the right side of the Senators’ defense, and his arrival in Ottawa coincided with the team’s long-awaited return to the playoffs.

Ottawa had not made the playoffs since its run to the Eastern Conference Final in 2017 before Jensen arrived, but qualified for the postseason in each of the defenseman’s two seasons with the team.

There are a few factors that are contributing to the likelihood Jensen won’t return to Ottawa. Right-shot defenseman Jordan Spence emerged as a quality NHLer this season, scoring 31 points in 73 games while averaging 18:43 time on ice per game, including 1:16 per game on the power play. He’s due a new contract as an RFA and merits real consideration in a top-four role.

Veteran Artem Zub is already entrenched on the right side of Ottawa’s top four, meaning Jensen would likely have to settle for a third-pairing role if he re-signed in Ottawa. AFP Analytics projects Jensen’s next contract to be worth $3.575MM on a one-year deal, which could be too rich for the Senators if they’re signing him to slot in behind Zub and Spence.

Moreover, re-signing Jensen at that rate would box top prospect Carter Yakemchuk out of an opening-night lineup spot. Ottawa likely has every intention of letting the 2024 No. 7 pick legitimately compete for an NHL roster spot, and re-signing Jensen could work against that objective.

If Jensen and the Senators part ways, it might be a development that is mutually beneficial for both the player and club.

From Jensen’s perspective, he gets to exit a place where he saw his role decline sharply year-over-year. In his last season in Washington, Jensen was the team’s leading penalty-killer, averaging 2:46 time on ice per game on that unit. Jensen was a first-option penalty killer for nearly a half-decade with the Capitals. He largely maintained that status in his first campaign with the Senators, playing nearly two minutes per night on the penalty kill and 20:13 per game overall.

In 2025-26, Jensen saw that role diminish considerably. In 61 games, he spent just 0:48 per contest killing penalties. His overall time on ice per game declined over three minutes, to 17:00. He was Ottawa’s No. 4 defenseman in 2024-25, a role he also held in his time in Washington. This year, he was the team’s No. 6 defenseman.

While Jensen’s age likely has something to do with this decline in role – he’s not quite the same player he once was – Jensen’s perspective is likely to be that he still has more to give than he was called on to provide with the Senators.

That is likely a driving factor contributing to his projected departure from Ottawa, combined with the aforementioned financial and lineup considerations.