Ottawa Senators
The Ottawa Senators have fifteen players that are up for new contracts next year. Eight of those players are UFAs meaning general manager Pierre Dorion will be extremely busy this offseason. A couple players from the Sens list should be familiar to Leafs fans.
Ron Hainsey
Ron Hainsey, Mike Babcock’s former favourite play toy will be hitting the market again. He was named an assistant captain in Ottawa and respected for his veteran leadership. Hainsey just turned 39 years old on March 24 but that didn’t stop D.J. Smith from giving the defenseman extended minutes this season.
Hainsey played an average of 20:41 minutes per night. With that workload, there’s no doubt that if he wants to keep playing, Hainsey could.
Craig Andersen
The biggest UFA with the Sens is veteran goalie Craig Andersen. At 38 years old, he has 17 years of NHL experience. His career record is 202-168-46 with a save percentage of 0.913 and a goals-against-average of 2.84. This season, Andersen was 11-17-2 with a save percentage of 0.902 and a goals-against-average of 3.25.
Mikkel Boedker
Mikkel Boedker has recovered from his hip flexor injury. This season he didn’t figure into the lineup as much as he would have liked, getting to play in just 20 games. With a young Sens core, the 30-year-old might not be included in future plans for the team. Used at times as a healthy scratch, Boedker will need to assess his options going into the offseason.
Matthew Peca
The Sens have center Matthew Peca about to finish his two-year $2.6 million contract. He is not related to former Maple Leafs player Michael Peca but he did get into watching Leafs games around the time that Michael was playing his only season in Toronto.
Matthew’s connection with the Buds runs even deeper than just being a fan when growing up. He also happens to have been coached by Sheldon Keefe when they were both with the Pembroke Lumber Kings in Junior A.
Matthew split time this season with three Canadien teams. He played 34 games for Laval in the AHL, five for the Canadiens and nine for the Sens. Peca was unremarkable in the NHL, but with more playing time with the Rocket, he looked much better.
Scott Sabourin
After spending seven years playing in the AHL with a three-game stopover in the ECHL, Scott Sabourin finally got a taste of the NHL with the Senators. He played 35 games and picked up six points on two goals and four assists. With his contract expiring, hopefully, Sabouring will manage to find his way onto an NHL roster to continue living his dream.
Mark Borowiecki
The Sens also have three players on the injured reserve (IR) list who will become UFAs. Mark Borowiecki, an assistant captain with the team was having a career-best season when he tore the ligaments in his ankle forcing him to the sidelines. Borowiecki is the only one of the three IR free agents that is expected to return to action.
Ryan Callahan
Ryan Callahan‘s contract is about to expire and that will officially end his time in the NHL. Callahan was already done with the game when he was traded to the Senators. Callahan was diagnosed with a degenerative back disease that’s kept him off the ice.
Clarke MacArthur
Former Maple Leafs forward Clarke MacArthur is also on the books for Ottawa. He last played in 2017 but retired in 2018 when he failed his physical ahead of the Senators training camp. Concussion issues became too much to overcome for MacArthur, which is why he needed to step away from the game.