In the past couple of seasons, the Ottawa Senators have had several players who received plenty of playing time in Ottawa, but when they parted ways with the club, there simply wasn’t any NHL interest for the following season.
These players serve as a reminder of how subjective player evaluations can be. Sometimes, when GMs decide to bring in a player, they give that player every chance to thrive, especially if they gave up assets to acquire him. If the player excels, the GM looks smart and keeps his job. It’s as simple as that.
When the GM finally faces facts and parts ways with the player, the rest of the league isn’t influenced by the rose-coloured glasses of confirmation bias. They see things for what they are, and sometimes, it isn’t pretty.
Here are five such players from the past few years who are no longer with the Sens or in the NHL.
Erik Brannstrom
Brannstrom was meant to be the crown jewel in the 2019 Mark Stone trade. After playing over 70 games for Ottawa in each of the past two years, he’s now in the minors. Brannstrom did sign a deal in Colorado, but the Avs changed their mind about him, trading him to Vancouver, where the Canucks then put him on waivers. Any team could have claimed him at that point and did not. Brannstrom now plays for the AHL’s Abbotsford Canucks and has three points in his first two games. As the only young player on this list, he’s the one guy who might still reboot his NHL career.
Dominik Kubalik
Kubalik arrived in Ottawa last year as the only active player they acquired in the Alex DeBrincat deal with Detroit. Kubalik once scored 30 goals in the league, and GM Pierre Dorion hoped he could bring some of that to his lineup. He did not. Kubalik now plays in the Swiss league, with seven points in 11 games for Ambri-Piotta, Alex Formenton’s former team.
Nick Holden
Holden seemed like a good, steady, stay-at-home defenseman who might find work somewhere last season. It never happened. After Holden helped mentor Jake Sanderson in his rookie year (2022-23), he wanted to stay, and Sanderson couldn’t say enough good things about him. But the Sens didn’t re-sign him, nor did anyone else. So Holden retired and took a job with Vegas in player development.
Tyler Ennis
Ennis, the best to ever do it, was pretty much a regular in his second tour of duty with the Sens in 2021-22. After that season, NHL work completely dried up. Ennis went to a Swiss team, which didn’t offer to bring him back last season. So he signed in Germany with Tim Stutzle’s old team. Ennis retired after getting injured in his seventh game with Mannheim.
Rourke Chartier
Chartier began last season as an everyday player, partly due to Shane Pinto’s absence. He played every one of the club’s first 25 games until he got hurt against Dallas. Chartier missed a month of action, and the Sens began to use him sparingly after that. Over the summer, Chartier signed with Kunlun Red Star, China’s KHL team, where he currently has six points in 15 games.
Honourable mentions: Dylan Gambrell and Austin Watson. Watson started the year in Grand Rapids but just got called up last night. Gambrell still hasn’t played in the NHL since leaving Ottawa, but he did make the opening night roster in Columbus as a black ace.
New chapters are unfolding for players like these, but it’s amazing that the Senators embraced them as everyday players when, in reality, their NHL careers were coming to an end.
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