Ottawa Senators sign forward Cole Reinhardt to one-year contract extension
The Ottawa Senators have signed forward Cole Reinhardt to a one-year, two-way contract extension, the club announced Friday afternoon.
Reinhardt, 24, spent the entirety of the 2023-24 season with the American Hockey League’s Belleville Senators, collecting eight goals and 23 points in 56 games. He added one goal in seven playoff contests with the club.
In their press release on Friday announcing the signing, Belleville described Reinhardt as “a strong defensive player who has made a name for himself on Belleville’s penalty kill,” adding that “the return of Reinhardt for another year provides welcome support to the Senators’ system.”
Reinhardt’s new contract carries a $775,000 cap hit in the NHL and will see him paid a $90,000 salary for the time he spends in the AHL.
The #Sens have announced that they have signed Cole Reinhardt to a one-year, two-way extension.
Les Sénateurs ont annoncé avoir signé une entente d’un an à deux volets avec Cole Reinhardt. pic.twitter.com/9kUPtDD55H
The Senators originally selected Reinhardt in the sixth round (No. 181 overall) of the 2020 NHL Draft. The Calgary, Alberta product has appeared in 225 career AHL games over the past four seasons with Belleville, collecting 40 goals and 99 points; he’s added two goals in nine playoff games.
Reinhardt made his NHL debut with Ottawa on April 7, 2022, at the conclusion of his second professional season. To this day, the former Brandon Wheat Kings forward has appeared in just the one NHL game in his career.
After re-signing both Reinhardt and Angus Crookshank this week, the Senators now have 12 pending restricted free agents left to deal with this summer: Shane Pinto, Parker Kelly, Boris Katchouk, Erik Brannstrom, Egor Sokolov, Jamieson Rees, Wyatt Bongiovanni, Max Guenette, Nikolas Matinpalo, Lassi Thomson, Mads Sogaard, and Kevin Mandolese.
The Senators finished seventh in the Atlantic Division during the 2023-24 regular season with a 37-41-4 record and 78 points in 82 games. They failed to qualify for the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the seventh consecutive season, although their AHL affiliate in Belleville did make the playoffs, falling to Cleveland in four games in the best-of-five North Division Semifinals.
As a 24-year-old player, Reinhardt is now just one year away from Group 6 UFA status unless he appears in 79 more NHL games with the Senators during the 2024-25 season, at which point he wouldn’t be eligible to hit the open market until after he turns 27.