Ottawa Senators sign Zack MacEwen to three-year contract

The Ottawa Senators have come to terms with forward Zack MacEwen to a three-year, one-way contract worth $775,000 annually. MacEwen played the 2022-23 season with the Los Angeles Kings and Philadelphia Flyers. Between the two teams he scored four goals and 10 points in 56 games and put up 66 penalty minutes in a fourth-line role. He also played two games for the Lehigh Valley Phantoms of the AHL, scoring three points there.

“Zack’s a player with strong character who adds increased physicality to our lineup,” said Senators general manager Pierre Dorion. “He’s a hard-nosed, competitive player who’s a tenacious forechecker and who demonstrates a routine willingness to go to the hard areas.”

MacEwen will replace outgoing Senator Austin Watson as the hard-nosed fourth line right winger. Watson was never an offensively productive player but he was well liked in Ottawa for never being afraid to drop the gloves and his positive locker room presence. The Senators are in the midst of an important offseason regarding the future of Alex DeBrincat. As they try to find a suitable trade partner for the scoring winger, they have solved one area of the lineup going into next year.

Right now, Mark Kastelic is pencilled in to start the year as the fourth-line center and MacEwen will be one of the wingers on that Senators’ checking line. They still have to decide who will be the other winger on that line. Potential options include Parker Kelly, Angus Crookshank, Egor Sokolov, Ridly Greig, Derick Brassard, or even another UFA.

MacEwen was an undrafted player who worked his way up to the NHL with his work ethic. He has played for the Vancouver Canucks, Philadelphia Flyers, and Los Angeles Kings to this point of his career. He has earned some stability to be able to spend the next three years with the Senators.