The Ottawa Senators had a quiet Canada Day, with no major signings or trades, and even a brief power outage during GM Steve Staios' press conference. The team only re-signed its own unrestricted free agents: goaltender Samuel Ersson and veteran winger Nick Cousins.
Senators Stay Quiet on July 1
After a busy 10-day stretch that included trading captain Brady Tkachuk to the Florida Panthers on June 22, acquiring William Eklund from the San Jose Sharks 48 hours later, and bringing in Andre Burakovsky from the Chicago Blackhawks on Friday, the Senators opted not to spend on the opening day of free agency. The club has $5.295 million US in cap space remaining after signing Ersson and Cousins.
Staios did not rule out further changes. “We continue to work at it. Today is just one day,” he said. “It’s been a week since I’ve made the trade on Brady, and you have the draft, and so I think it’s a little early to make an assessment on where we’re at.”
Flexibility and Draft Capital
Staios emphasized the team’s newfound flexibility. “We’ve put ourselves in a position now where we have great flexibility and draft capital, and sometimes when you get to the oftentimes in the way I see the market right now is that there could be some opportunities to come.”
The core of the roster remains intact, including Tim Stutzle, Jake Sanderson, Thomas Chabot, Shane Pinto, Ridly Greig, Drake Batherson, Artem Zub, Tyler Kleven, and goaltender Linus Ullmark. Staios acknowledged uncertainty about how the group will perform without Tkachuk’s presence, but expressed confidence in new additions.
Eklund and Burakovsky Expected to Contribute
Staios highlighted Eklund as a key acquisition. “William Eklund, I think, is a huge addition. I don’t think we’ve talked enough about it. What I’m excited to see is he’s a different dynamic than what we had previously, and he’s a great playmaker. I’m excited to see how he does playing with our top players, and I know our players are excited about playing with him, so that’s a different dynamic.”
He also expects Burakovsky to thrive under coach Travis Green. The Senators previously signed defenceman Jordan Spence to a four-year extension at $5 million per season before the NHL draft on Friday. Staios remains committed to ensuring the team does not “take a step back” and is confident in the current group’s potential.
