Ottawa Senators place Zack MacEwen on waivers
The Ottawa Senators placed winger Zack MacEwen on waivers on Sunday for the purpose of reassigning him to the AHL.
The #Sens have placed Zack MacEwen on waivers. The forward had 2G and 1A in 19 games.
Zack Ostapchuk has been recalled from Belleville, he has 1A in 6 games with Ottawa.
The move comes not due to the Senators making room on their NHL roster, but more so to make a move amidst a five-game losing streak, and MacEwen’s play appears to have made him the scapegoat. He had seen his fair share of struggles playing on the fourth line this season, so Ottawa opted to send him down to their AHL affiliate, the Belleville Senators, to see if his play improves or if they can find another option for that fourth line role.
MacEwen has just 2 goals and 1 assist for 3 points in 19 games, although that’s still about his usual scoring pace, as he has yet to even hit the 10-point mark in his NHL career. That said, he has drastically underperformed in terms of driving play compared to the rest of his team, as his -6.04% 5v5 relative expected goals share is the fourth worst on the Senators.
MacEwen is currently in the second year of a three-year contract with a $775,000 cap hit.
The Senators have also recalled center Zack Ostapchuk from Belleville to replace MacEwen on the roster. He has 1 assist in 6 games with Ottawa this season, along with 1 goal and 7 assists for 8 points in 9 games in the AHL with Belleville.
With MacEwen in the minors, the Senators will probably slot in one of Ostapchuk or Noah Gregor on their fourth line alongside Adam Gaudette and Nick Cousins.
The Senators will look to snap their five-game losing streak when they host the Calgary Flames on Monday at 7:30 p.m. EST. Ottawa currently sits in seventh in the Atlantic Division with an 8-11-1 record, which is already six points behind the Boston Bruins for the final wild card spot in the Eastern Conference.