It's safe to say that most of the Ottawa Senators’ 2025 free agent summer homework is done.
They've signed UFAs like Lars Eller and Arthur Kaliyev off the open market, and they've already re-signed most of the free agents they wanted to keep. That list includes Fabian Zetterlund, Claude Giroux, Nick Cousins, Tyler Kleven, Nik Matinpalo, and goaltender Leevi Meriläinen.
GM Steve Staios still has a few summer chores down on the farm. RFAs Max Guenette, Xavier Bourgault, Jan Jeník, and Donovan Sebrango all received qualifying offers, so they’ll likely figure something out this summer.
But with several players now eligible for extensions, the class of 2026 will soon creep onto the radar like a daily Ottawa summer thunderstorm.
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Giroux, Cousins, and Meriläinen all signed one-year deals this summer, so their agents will be back at it before long, probably feeling like they just got up from the bargaining table. Giroux and Cousins are probably in one-year mode for the rest of their careers.
Meriläinen, however, is an RFA who has a chance to be in Ottawa for a long time. The young Finn will make $1.05 million this season, a sharp contrast to Linus Ullmark's $8.25 million. Meriläinen only got into 12 games, but he was fantastic, with substantially better numbers than Ullmark and Anton Forsberg. It would be nice if we could check in on the Sens in a parallel universe where Merilainen wasn't sent down to the minors to make room for the outgoing Forsberg.
It will be interesting to see how that all works out this season, and whether Meriläinen will suddenly need to demand more money.
Staios will have to closely monitor the career fuel gauge on his four oldest veterans — Giroux, David Perron, Lars Eller, and Nick Jensen. All of them will be north of 35 and playing this season on expiring deals.
It’s a group that brings some valuable experience, and if the Sens are in the mix for a playoff spot again, as they're expected to be, they’ll surely hold on to them, even at the risk of losing them for nothing in the summer.
Giroux, Perron, and Eller were all happy to sign here so they may be in the mix again next summer. But what of Jensen, who was traded from the Washington Capitals in the Jakob Chychrun deal? Does he want to be in Ottawa? Will that repaired hip affect his game? We don't have those answers yet, so Jensen's is the 2026 UFA storyline I find most intriguing in Ottawa.
On the RFA side, along with Merilainen, it's Shane Pinto, who's currently eligible to sign his third contract with the Sens since January of last year.
The RFA list includes Pinto, Meriläinen, Kaliyev, Jordan Spence and prospect Stephen Halliday. Lassi Thomson could be an RFA as well, but unless he plays most of the season in Ottawa, he’s more likely looking at Group 6 free agency (UFA).
Still just 23, Pinto was primarily used last season on the third line, saw limited power-play time, and missed 12 games with injury. Yet he still finished fourth in Sens' goal scoring (21). Frankly, he's probably a more impactful player than some of his teammates who are expected to be slotted above him on the depth chart.
There’s also a real chance he could push Dylan Cozens for the second-line center role — and if he does, that would have financial implications. Cozens is locked in at $7.1 million AAV for five more years and will be given every opportunity to succeed at 2C. But if Pinto becomes the 2C, he'll want 2C money.
One could imagine experimenting with Pinto on the wing to give him more offensive opportunities. That said, his chemistry with Ridly Greig and Michael Amadio last season created one of Ottawa’s most effective lines at both ends of the ice on many nights, so there’s something to be said for not messing with that.
As an aside, even that line is getting expensive at almost $10 million right now, with Pinto about to add to that.
It certainly appears so far that Staios prefers to handle his free agency business during the off-season. But there have been exceptions, like signing Pinto two deals ago when he was coming off his suspension in early 2024, or Ridly Greig in January of this year. Ullmark almost made the list, but he signed his extension on the eve of the 2024-25 season opener.
There's already a lot to think about with the 2026 class, and the whole process is a little like a game of chess. Sure, you have to be focusing on the pieces in front of you and making smart moves. But you always have to be thinking several moves ahead.
By Steve Warne
The Hockey News-Ottawa
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