MacEwen missed the Senators' opening night game due to an upper-body injury and will be a game-time decision for their second matchup of the season vs. Philadelphia. The 27-year-old bruising right-winger had four goals, six assists, 66 PIMs, 73 SOG, and a -11 plus/minus through 56 games with Philadelphia and Los Angeles in 2022-23.
Norris' status isn't any more clear after suffering a setback in relation to his ongoing shoulder injury. He is not expected to play in the Senators' season opener, but outside of that his timeline remains completely up in the air. After only being able to play in eight games last season, Norris was hopeful to start the season in his familiar role as the second-line center on a much-improved Ottawa team. He has 93 points (54G / 39A) in 133 career games with the Senators.
Ullmark is coming off a remarkable season that saw him win the Vezina Trophy and post an absurd 1.89 GAA and .938 SV% in 49 appearances (40-6-1). Like last season, the talented Swedish goaltender should see a near-split in the crease with counterpart Jeremy Swayman but at least for the Bruins' season opener, the nod goes to Ullmark. The Bruins, who allowed the fewest goals in the league last season, are facing a Blackhawks team that travelled from Pittsburgh last night after defeating the Penguins 4-2. Despite the Blackhawks having rookie phenom Connor Bedard in the lineup, the Bruins are still massive -310 home favourites.
Gregor was a full-time member of the San Jose Sharks the last two seasons, accumulating 40 points (18G / 22A) across 120 games. The 25-year-old centerman will provide some nice forward depth for the Maple Leafs roster.
If MacEwen is unable to play in the season opener, the Senators will likely have to play with only 11 forwards. MacEwen recorded 10 points last season (4G / 6A) and 66 PIM across 56 games between the Philadelphia Flyers and Los Angeles Kings last season.
After being limited to only eight games last season because of his shoulder, Norris' availability for the upcoming season remains up in the air after suffering a setback last week. Any absence for Norris poses major concerns for Ottawa as it leaves a huge void in their second-line center position. Expect Ridley Greig, who recorded nine points (2G / 7A) as a rookie with the Senators last season, to take on a bigger role for the duration of Norris' injury.
“Little bit of — I don’t know if it was a setback — but we’re hopeful he plays on Saturday,” head coach D.J. Smith said when asked about Norris’ surprising absence from the practice on Wednesday. Norris will not play Thursday and is questionable for Saturday's pre-season finale. This leaves his status for the regular season opener in question, a huge issue for the Senators, who haven't re-signed RFA Shane Pinto yet. This could leave them without two of their top-3 centres to start the year.
Jenik had seven goals, 16 assists, 50 PIMs and a +3 plus/minus with the Tucson Roadrunners in 2022-23 and has signed a one-year, two-way contract extension with Arizona worth $775,000. The 23-year-old forward had appeared in 17 games for the Coyotes across the previous three seasons, picking up four goals and an assist. He was the Coyotes 2018 third-round Draft Pick (65th overall) and will be hoping to stick with the big club for a full season.
Holden announced he would be stepping away from hockey to join the Vegas Golden Knights Player Development Staff after 12 NHL seasons with six different teams (COL, VGK, CBJ, NYR, OTT, BOS). The 36-year-old defenseman played in 65 games with Ottawa in 2022-23, picking up two goals, 14 assists, 73 SOG, and 10 PIMs. He finishes his career with 52 goals, 178 points, 174 PIMs, and a +16 plus/minus in 654 games played.
Del Zotto played for eight NHL teams across 13 seasons and announced his retirement from professional hockey on Wednesday. The 33-year-old closes out his career with 63 goals, 199 assists, 284 PIMs, 1074 SOG, and a -30 plus/minus across 736 NHL games played. Del Zotto broke into the NHL with the New York Rangers after being a first-round pick in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft (20th overall).
Sanderson enjoyed a very successful rookie season in 2022-23 as he finished his inaugural campaign with four goals, 28 assists, 132 SOG, 12 PIMs, and a -6 plus/minus through 77 games played and has signed an eight-year, $64.4 million ($8,050,000 AAV) contract extension. The 21-year-old defenseman was Ottawa's 2020 1st round-pick (5th overall) and is expected to take a massive leap forward in his sophomore campaign.
Norris suffered a shoulder injury last October and attempted to return to the lineup in January, but that only last three games before re-injuring his shoulder. Norris underwent surgery in late January and says he "feels good" and has been on the ice "a ton" and "training normally" this summer. Norris also said he should be ready to play in the preseason, and his goal is to be ready for opening night. Norris has missed 90 games over the last two seasons but recorded 37 goals and 21 assists (58 points) across 74 games, making him a strong mid-to-late round fantasy selection heading into 2023-24.
Sebrango was a third-round pick in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft and split the 2023 season between Grand Rapids (AHL) and Toledo (ECHL). The 21-year-old was fairly deep on the Red Wings' defensive prospect depth chart, so it's not a huge loss for an organization that has invested a lot of draft capital in defensemen in recent years. During his time in the AHL, Sebrango had five goals and 13 assists (18 points) in 135 games over the last three seasons.
MacEwen had four goals, six assists, 64 PIMs, 73 SOG, and -11 plus/minus through 56 games with both Philadelphia and Los Angeles and has signed a three-year, 2.325 million contract with the Ottawa Senators. The 26-year-old bruiser adds some fourth-line depth to the Senators and brings 13 goals, 28 points and 245 PIMs across 186 career NHL games to nations capital.
Pilon had 11 goals, 18 assists, 24 PIMs and a +6 plus/minus through 53 games with Hershey (AHL) in 2022-23 and has signed a one-year, two-way contract worth $775,000. The 25-year-old centre brings a goal and three games of NHL experience to the Senators after being a third-round pick (87th overall) in 2016 to Washington.
Highmore had 19 goals, 42 assists, 34 PIMs and a +1 plus/minus through 68 games in 2022-23 with Springfield (AHL) and has signed a one-year, two-way contract worth $775,000 with Otttawa. The 27-year-old centre brings 139 career NHL games of experience to the Senators, where he picked up 12 goals and 27 points to go along with 165 SOG.
Harmonic had six goals, 15 assists, 136 SOG, 71 PIMs and a -5 plus/minus through 75 games with Ottawa in 2022-23 and has signed a two-year, $2.2 million contract extension ($1.1M AAV). The 32-year-old defenseman has played in 793 career NHL games, picking up 50 goals and 229 points across his 13 year career thus far.
Bernard-Docker split his time between the NHL and AHL during the 2023 season. While in Ottawa, the 23-year-old defenseman had one assist, 22 shots and 23 hits in 19 games. He figures to be in the mix for regular playing time during the 2023-24 season.
