Ottawa Senators sign Calen Addison, Nikolay Kulemin to PTOs

The Ottawa Senators have signed defenseman Calen Addison and winger Nikolay Kulemin to professional tryout contracts.

Originally a Pittsburgh Penguins draft pick, Addison, 24, has spent parts of four seasons in the NHL, starting all four with the Minnesota Wild before he was dealt to the San Jose Sharks in November during the 2023-24 season. He was a restricted free agent this offseason, but the Sharks opted not to give him a qualifying offer, and with no teams willing to give him a standard contract, he’ll look to win a spot in training camp.

Addison took a step back last season, as after putting up 29 points in 62 games in 2022-23, he fell to just 1 goal and 16 assists for 17 points in 72 games between the Wild and the Sharks. He’s more of a power play specialist, so he may struggle to fit on a Sens team that already has Jake Sanderson and Thomas Chabot quarterbacking their power play units, but with Ottawa lacking depth beyond their top four, Addison may still find an NHL role.

Kulemin, 38, also joins the Sens on a PTO and will get his first NHL action in six years, having last played in 2017-18 for the New York Islanders. The Toronto Maple Leafs draft pick spent 10 seasons in the NHL with the Leafs and Isles before departing for the KHL.

Kulemin scored close to his usual rate during his KHL stint, with 13 goals and 12 assists for 25 points in 46 games for Ufa Salavat Yulayev, as well as 0 points in 2 playoff games. He looked a bit slow for the KHL in his later seasons, making the transition back to the NHL a bit surprising, but perhaps there’s a hope that it can be sheltered a bit on the smaller North American rink.

The Sens also made quite a few additions on actual contracts this summer, such as acquiring Linus Ullmark and Nick Jensen, and signing David Perron, Michael Amadio, Noah Gregor and Nick Cousins. Ottawa will look to end a seven-season playoff drought this season, a drought that is the third-longest in the league.