Free Agency Recap: Senators shake things up in first weeks of summer

While most people have been enjoying the beginning of the summer with some relaxation, the Ottawa Senators (and by association, their American Hockey League affiliate here in Belleville) have been in the midst of some of the busiest weeks on the calendar. The first weeks of free agency were full of contract signings and trade deals, and the Senators hockey operations department wasted no time making moves.

The deals started flying even before the July 1 free agency period began. The Senators announced the extension of numerous players who spent time in Belleville during the 2023-24 campaign. Defender Nikolas Mantinpalo, forwards Jamieson Rees, Wyatt Bongiovanni, and Cole Reinhardt, defenceman Max Guenette, and forwards Angus Crookshank, and Matthew Highmore, all signed one-year, two-way contract extensions with the Senators over the past couple of weeks.

In addition to the returning B-Sens, the Senators would sign goaltender Michael Simpson to a one-year, one-way, American Hockey League Contract for the 2024-25 season before the free agency frenzy began.

A two-time Ontario Hockey League champion, the 21-year-old from London, Ontario, is fresh off a second consecutive trip to the Memorial Cup with his hometown London Knights, where he went 3-1-0 with a 2.50 GAA and .917 SV% over four games. Simpson played five games in last season’s Memorial Cup with the Peterborough Petes, where he had spent three seasons before moving to London. Throughout this past regular season, Simpson played in 48 games with a record of 34-10-1, a 2.61 GAA, and a .905 SV%, before leading the Knights to a 16-7-0 record in the OHL playoffs, with a 2.80 GAA and .918 SV%.

One of the first moves the Senators made on July 1 was re-signing forward Garrett Pilon to a two-year, two-way contract extension. The contract carries a value of $775,000 in the National Hockey League and $275,000 in the American Hockey League for the 2024-25 season, and $775,000 in the NHL and $300,000 in the AHL in 2025-26. Born in Mineola, New York the 26-year-old Pilon dressed in 62 regular-season games for the Senators’ AHL affiliate in Belleville during the 2023-24 campaign, collecting 47 points (18 goals, 29 assists) and being named the team’s most valuable player. Pilon also registered five points (three goals, two assists) over seven Calder Cup Playoff games.

Free Agency has brought new faces to the organization. Ottawa Senators president of hockey operations and general manager Steve Staios announced the signing of defencemen Jérémy Davies and Filip Roos,  as well as forwards Hayden Hodgson, and Adam Gaudette. All four players could end up in Belleville should they not make the NHL roster out of Ottawa’s training camp in September.

The first of the signings, Davies signed a one-year, two-way contract. The deal carries a value of $775,000 in the National Hockey League and $350,000 in the American Hockey League. Davies, from Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue, Quebec, spent the last two seasons with the Buffalo Sabres organization and suited up in 66 games for their American Hockey League affiliate, in Rochester, in 2023-24 collecting 35 points (12 goals, 23 assists). The 27-year-old also added a goal and an assist over five Calder Cup Playoff games last season. Davies also played in 23 National Hockey League games for Nashville and Buffalo, collecting three assists.

Similar to Davies, the Sens inked Roos to a one-year, two-way contract for the 2024-25 season. The contract carries a value of $775,000 in the National Hockey League and $150,000 in the American Hockey League. A native of Gothenburg, Sweden, Roos has spent the past two seasons with the Chicago Blackhawks organization, splitting time between Chicago and their American Hockey League affiliate in Rockford, Illinois. In 2023-24, Roos set AHL career highs in assists (14) and points (16), while also collecting two goals. Throughout his North American pro career, Roos has three points (two goals, one assist) in 21 NHL games, along with 27 points (five goals, 22 assists) in 98 AHL games.

Hayden Hodgson, a native of Windsor, Ontario, signed a one-year, two-way contract for the 2024-25 season. The contract carries a value of $775,000 in the National Hockey League and $325,000 in the American Hockey League. Hodgson spent this past season with the Ontario Reign (AHL affiliate of the Los Angeles Kings), where he collected 16 points (six goals, 10 assists) over 49 games. He spent the prior two seasons in the Philadelphia Flyers organization, following three seasons in the ECHL, after an initial pro stop with AHL Cleveland in 2017-18. He’s also registered a goal and two assists over seven career NHL games.

Perhaps the biggest addition in terms of two-way signings is the addition of Gaudette, who led all AHL goal-scorers last season with 44, setting a new franchise mark as well for the Springfield Thunderbirds (AHL affiliate of the St. Louis Blues). He also represented the Atlantic Division at the 2024 AHL All-Star Classic presented by Tech CU and was named to the league’s First All-Star Team at the end of the campaign. Drafted by Vancouver in the 5th round of the 2015 NHL Entry Draft and now a veteran of 220 NHL games, Gaudette has split his NHL time between Vancouver, Chicago and Ottawa (where he played 50 games in 2021-22) and has collected 70 points (27 goals, 43 assists). Over 148 AHL games, Gaudette has picked up 134 points (77 goals, 57 assists) with Utica, Toronto and last year, Springfield. 

As the moves continued throughout the week, the Ottawa Senators president of hockey operations and general manager Steve Staios announced that the team had acquired forward Jan Jenik from the Utah Hockey Club in exchange for forward Egor Sokolov.

A native of Nymburk, Czechia, Jenik recently completed his fourth professional season with the Arizona Coyotes’ organization and spent the majority of the season with Arizona’s American Hockey League affiliate, the Tucson Roadrunners where he ranked third among Roadrunners in scoring with 36 points (16 goals, 20 assists) over 55 regular-season games. He also skated in five contests with Arizona and recorded one point (one assist).

Drafted by the Coyotes with the team’s second third-round (65th overall) selection at the 2018 NHL Draft, Jenik has skated in 22 career NHL games (all of which have occurred with the Coyotes) over which he has recorded six points (four goals, two assists) and 20 penalty minutes. He has also appeared in 165 career AHL contests (all of which have occurred with the Roadrunners), tallying 120 points (46 goals, 74 assists).

As hard as it will be for B-Sens fans to see Sokolov go, as he leaves the team as the franchise leader in games played (240), goals (76), assists (104), and points (180), they’ll also be keeping a close eye on a departing favourite, with a new opportunity in front of them.

Another new addition to the B-Sens is Wyatte Wylie, who signed an American Hockey League standard contact for the 2024-25 season. The 24-year-old from Everett, Washington, just completed his fourth season of professional hockey, suiting up in 45 games for the Ontario Reign (AHL affiliate of the Los Angeles Kings) and picking up 13 points (two goals, 11 assists). Wylie also added an assist over eight Calder Cup Playoff games and played five games with the ECHL’s Greenville Swamp Rabbits in 2023-24, collecting two goals and two assists.

The Ottawa Senators will hold their training camp in September, this list is players who may play in Belleville if they don’t crack the Ottawa opening day roster.

The Senators also extended qualifying offers to restricted free agents, and former Belleville Sens, goaltenders Mads Sogaard and Kevin Mandolese, and blueliner Lassi Thomson, though no deals have been completed to this point.

Thomson (Malmo – Sweden) is one of a number of players who have left Belleville for other opportunities, signing in Europe or elsewhere in North America for the upcoming campaign. Other players who are departing Belleville after playing here last season include defencemen Jacob Larsson (HC Rapperswil-Jona – Switzerland), Ryan MacKinnon (HK Spisska Nova Ves – Slovakie), and Dillon Heatherington (San Diego Gulls – AHL) as well as forwards Jiri Smejkal (HC Dynamo Pardubice – Czechia), Boko Imama (Pittsburgh/Wilkes-Barre/Scranton – NHL/AHL), forward Josh Currie (Kolner Haie – DEL) and Brennan Saulnier (Hershey Bears – AHL). 

In addition to those B-Sens players departing from last season , Parker Kelly, who played 128 career games in Belleville and spent last season in Ottawa, left the organization on July 1, signing a two-year deal with the Colorado Avalanche. Also signing with the Avs is former Belleville Senator Erik Brannstrom. While never playing a full season with the B-Sens, Brannstrom did suit for 49 games with the team. The 24-year old defenceman inked a one-year deal worth $900,000.

You can keep tabs on player movement from the 2023-24 roster via the Belleville Sens 2024 Offseason Player Tracker and stay tuned to the Belleville Sens social media channels (@BellevilleSens) for all the latest news, notes and information on the club, as the offseason continues.

Details on single-game tickets for the 2024-25 AHL season will be available in September, but fans can put down a deposit now to lock in a group experience for any of the Club’s 2024-25 regular season games. More information on 2024-25 group packages, 2024-25 season seat memberships or 2024-25 Business Elite memberships, is available via the Belleville Sens website, or by emailing tickets@bellevillesens.com. 

About the Belleville Senators

The Belleville Senators are the American Hockey League affiliate of the National Hockey Leagues’ Ottawa Senators and have been operating in the AHL since the 2017-18 season. The Senators play their home games out of the CAA Arena at the Quinte Sports and Wellness Centre and have graduated more than 60 players to the NHL since moving from Binghamton, New York.

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