Senators Waive Eight Players as Opening-Night Roster Shape
The Ottawa Senators made a significant round of roster decisions Sunday as they continued preparing for the start of the NHL regular season.
Ottawa placed eight players on waivers, including forwards Samuel Blais, Tyler Boucher, Xavier Bourgault, Philippe Daoust, Ryan Suzuki and Philip Tomasino, as well as defensemen Samuel Bolduc and Christian Kyrou.
If all eight players clear waivers Monday, they are expected to join the Senators’ AHL affiliate, the Belleville Senators.
The moves come with the NHL’s deadline to finalize a 23-player roster approaching Monday at 5 p.m. Ottawa has now moved beyond its shortened training camp and is turning its attention toward opening the regular season.
The decisions made by general manager Steve Staios and head coach Travis Green largely followed expectations, with another group of players assigned to Belleville without needing to pass through waivers.
Those players include Djibril Toure, Oskar Pettersson, Kasper Halttunen, Tomas Hamara, Eskild Bakke Olsen, Matthew Andonovski, Gabriel Eliasson, Lucas Ellinas, Jackson Parsons and Kevin Reidler.
However, Ottawa’s roster situation isn’t completely settled.
Several injuries have complicated the final decisions, meaning the Senators still have some work to do before submitting their official roster to the NHL’s Central Registry.
Following Sunday’s transactions, 29 players remain in Ottawa, leaving the organization with additional decisions to make before the deadline.
Sanderson Injury Adds Another Question
One of the biggest developments to monitor involves defenseman Jake Sanderson.
Sanderson exited Saturday’s 4-3 preseason victory over the Montreal Canadiens after experiencing an undisclosed issue. The Senators described the situation as precautionary, while Green indicated that Sanderson is expected to be ready when the regular season begins.
The defenseman had only appeared in one preseason game because he had been dealing with the issue throughout the week.
Ottawa has characterized the injury as minor, but with opening night approaching, Sanderson’s status will remain something to watch closely over the next several days.
With the 23-man roster deadline rapidly approaching, the Senators still have several pieces to sort out before their opening-night group becomes official.
