The 2023-24 season is finally underway as the Ottawa Senators are set to face off against the Carolina Hurricanes for their first game of the season. The Senators have some big expectations ahead of the season and it all starts tonight. Here are some things to look for ahead of tonight’s game.
Embed from Getty ImagesWhat’s happening with Shane Pinto?
Shane Pinto is the only significant RFA in the league without a contract. The Ottawa Senators are no strangers to this as just a few seasons ago, Brady Tkachuk was in this same boat. Each player has missed the entirety of the pre-season due to a contract dispute. As it currently stands, the Ottawa Senators have just over 62 thousand dollars left in cap space, which is a lot less than the league minimum salary of 775k. This means that the team will have to make a trade before being able to sign the 22-year-old center to a contract as the expected cap hit is somewhere between $1.9 million and $2.5 million.
Who’s Rourke Chartier?
As the Shane Pinto situation continues to unfold, the Ottawa Senators have opted to award the third-line center spot to veteran Rourke Chartier. It’s pretty clear that Chartier’s merely a placeholder until Pinto is signed to a contract. If you’re like me, you did not know much about Chartier until I did a bit of digging.
Chartier was drafted in the fifth round of the 2014 NHL draft by the San Jose Sharks. He is described as a two-way center who’s able to excel in both playmaking and the defensive side of the game. He’s mostly been an AHLer for the duration of his career thus far. He’s suited up in 19 NHL games in parts of two seasons. In his “rookie” NHL season, he played in 13 games during the 2018-19 season for the Sharks, amassing one goal. Last season he suited up in six games for the Sens going scoreless.
Chartier unofficially retired after the 2019 season due to a mixture of post-concussion issues and the COVID-19 pandemic. He was able to return to the game via an ATO with the AHL’s Toronto Marlins in the 2020-21 season. He suited up in 28 games while scoring two goals and six assists. During the 2021-22 season, he was able to earn himself a contract with the Belleville Senators. He scored 10 goals and 15 assists for 25 points in 33 games.
Last season, he added to these totals by being able to score 20 goals and eight assists for 28 points in 40 games. He’s pretty much a hard worker who for the most part belongs in the AHL, but should be able to succeed with short stints in the NHL. I’m curious to see how he performs in his current role.
Let’s talk about Thomas Chabot and Jakob Chychrun
Finally, I’d like to address the new pairing of Thomas Chabot and Jakob Chychrun. Throughout the pre-season, these two left-shots were paired together in attempts to see who’d be able to exceed mostly on the right side of the ice. We’ve seen more of Chabot on the right side, but we’ve also seen Chychrun play in this role. I’m curious to see which of the two players will be able to claim the off-side as his permanent spot. My bet’s on Chychrun as his wrist shot on the right side could prove to be a deadly offensive threat. However, Chabot’s been good there too. We’ll find out soon enough.
Closing Thoughts
The Ottawa Senators will be playing a man short due to cap restraints. They’ll be forced to ice 11 forwards instead of the regular 12, and six defensemen. This is the case because Zack MacEwen is listed as day-to-day and the team does not have the cap space to bring somebody up from the AHL. I’m hoping this is just a temporary measure, but we’ll see what happens over the next few days.
This is my first piece in my return to BellyUp. I’m looking forward to taking on this Ottawa Senators beat position. You can find me and more of my work on Twitter @Jake_Larivire
Featured Image: Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images
