With the preseason now in the books, the Ottawa Senators cut their roster from 31 to 24 players on Sunday afternoon, with seven players ticketed for the AHL’s Belleville Senators.
Stephen Halliday is waivers-exempt, so he’s been loaned directly to Belleville. Jan Jenik, Hayden Hodgson, Olle Lycksell, Arthur Kaliyev, Lassi Thomson and Mads Sogaard have been put on waivers for the purpose of a loan to the B-Sens.
Many fans today are pointing to last fall when Adam Gaudette was placed on waivers at the end of camp, yet he still made the Senators’ opening-night NHL roster. But that’s not likely to happen with any of today’s assignments, which are specifically labelled for the “purpose of being loaned to Belleville.” According to Puckpedia, Gaudette didn’t have that label when he was waived last year.
So, all seven of these players are expected to report to Belleville if/after they clear waivers, and that leaves just one extra player in camp that the Sens have to let go before Monday’s 5:00 p.m. deadline because the NHL’s maximum roster size is 23.
Tyler Kleven and Drake Batherson are still dinged up right now, so the Sens are probably waiting for one more day of healing before making the decision on who their last cut will be.
For example, if Batherson is still hurt, MacDermid would likely move into the starting 12 for Thursday’s opener. At the same time, the team probably wouldn’t want to head for a two-game Florida road trip this week with no extra forward. So one of the forwards who was placed on waivers today would probably be recalled for the trip. If that happens, the Sens might keep one fewer defenseman than they were planning.
That’s just one of the potential variables, and there’s nothing to say the Sens couldn’t decide to roster 22 players if they choose and go with just one extra D and one extra forward.
If nothing else, Kleven and Batherson are close to returning — even if they miss opening night. So the last cut between now and tomorrow is likely a defenseman, and we’re still of the opinion that Carter Yakemchuk will end up in Belleville, where he’ll get to play big, important minutes.
With today’s news, here’s what a sample lineup might look like if they go with a full 23-man roster.
Forwards
Brady Tkachuk – Tim Stützle – Claude Giroux
Fabian Zetterlund – Dylan Cozens – Drake Batherson
Ridly Greig – Shane Pinto – David Perron
Nick Cousins – Lars Eller – Michael Amadio
Kurtis MacDermid (extra)
Defence
Jake Sanderson – Artem Zub
Thomas Chabot – Nick Jensen
Tyler Kleven – Jordan Spence
Nikolas Matinpalo (extra #1) – Donovan Sebrango (extra #2)
Goalies
Linus Ullmark – Leevi Merilainen
The Senators open the 2025-26 regular season in Tampa Bay on Thursday night, taking on the Lightning.
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