2025 Belleville Sens Offseason Player Tracker

The summer is a busy time in American Hockey League front offices, despite the lack of action on the ice, and that’s no different for the Belleville Senators. New General Manager Matt Turek and hockey operations staff from the National Hockey League parent club in Ottawa are already busy re-shaping and re-tooling the depth chart from top to bottom as they look to keep the Senators competitive in both the AHL and NHL in 2025-26.

With some roster fluctuation expected during the offseason, the Belleville Senators are publishing the club’s annual “Offseason Player Tracker.” It provides some key dates to follow throughout the summer and allows fans to keep track of where players from the 2024-25 roster will be skating next season, as well as who will be returning to the Friendly City for another opportunity to make the jump to the NHL Sens or capture a Calder Cup in 2025-26.

DEFINITIONS

• Signed Players
  A player who is under contract with the Senators organization that played in Belleville in 2024-25, or is on an AHL contract, or an NHL two-way contract for 2025-26 or beyond.

• Free Agents
  Players who played for the Belleville Senators this season, on either an AHL or NHL contract, whose contracts expired at the end of the 2024-25 season.

• Restricted Free Agent (RFA):
  A player that has reached the end of their initial entry-level contract but is not yet an unrestricted free agent. Their rights are still held by the NHL team.

• Unrestricted Free Agent (UFA):
  A player that is older than 25 (or after seven years, whichever comes first) and his contract ends. UFAs can sign with any team.

• Entry-level Contract (ELC):
  All new players, under the age of 25, are required to sign an ELC. ELC’s last three years if the player is age 18-21, two years if age 22-24 and one year if age 24.

•  American Hockey League Contract:
  If a player signs an AHL contract, they are ineligible to play in the National Hockey League. Players on AHL contracts become UFAs once their deals expire.

• Two-way contract:
  Players on a two-way contract have their pay dependent on if they are assigned to the NHL or the AHL. All entry-level contracts are two-way contracts.

•  One-way contract:
  Players on a one-way contract are paid the same amount of money regardless of whether they play in the NHL or AHL.

• Unsigned Prospects
  Players who were drafted by the Ottawa Senators but have yet to be signed to a professional contract

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KEY DATES

• • • NHL Draft – June 27-28, 2025
      The 2025 Upper Deck NHL Draft will be held at L.A. Live’s Peacock Theatre in Los Angeles, California, with the first round on Friday June 27, and rounds two through seven on Saturday June 28. The first 16 selections were determined by the NHL Draft Lottery, which was held May 5. The New York Islanders won the lottery and have the No. 1 pick. The 12 teams that lost in the first two rounds of the playoffs were slotted into picks 17-28. Teams that did not win their division were placed in inverse order of regular-season standings points, followed by the four division winners who were eliminated in inverse order of regular-season points. The Ottawa Senators have a total of six picks, with one pick each in rounds one, three, four, five, six, and seven.

• • • Qualifying Offers – June 30, 2025
      In order to retain the rights of any restricted free agent, NHL teams must send a qualifying offer by the Monday following the NHL Draft (June 30, 2025). A qualifying offer is considered to be “on the table” for two weeks and if a player signs, they are under contract to the NHL club for one more season. RFAs who do not receive qualifying offers become UFAs on the opening day of NHL free agency (July 1, 2025). Additionally, other NHL teams can send an RFA an offer sheet, which is for a contract with a certain term (years) and dollar amount. The RFA’s current team has seven days to match the offer sheet. If the team matches, then the player remains with their team under the terms of the offer sheet, but if the team does not match, the player goes to the team that signed him to the offer sheet and his former team receives compensation in terms of draft picks based on the financial terms of the offer sheet.

• • • Free Agency Begins – July 1, 2025
      As of July 1, 2025, the Ottawa and Belleville Senators can sign any unrestricted free agent who is available. Players who were issued qualifying offers can also accept and sign those contracts.

The Belleville Sens have announced six guaranteed dates for the upcoming 2025-26 American Hockey League season, including the 2025 Home Opener on Saturday, October 18, 2025.

Fans can visit the Belleville Sens website anytime for information on season seat memberships, flex packs, and the latest happenings around the club. Details on single-game tickets and the 2025-26 American Hockey League schedule will be released in the coming weeks.

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