The first arbitration case of the 2026-27 offseason has come to a close after it was announced Thursday that Ottawa and Xavier Bourgault had settled on arbitration on a one-year, $850,000 AAV contract. The 23-year-old appeared in two games with Ottawa in 2025-26, but spent the majority of the season with Belleville (AHL), where he had 25 goals, 57 points in 34 PIMs in 70 games played.
Giroux decided to test the open market after four seasons with the Ottawa Senators, but has ultimately opted to re-sign with the team. The 38-year-old forward, entering his 20th NHL season, has remained productive offensively despite seeing a diminished role. In the 2025-26 season, Giroux averaged 16:18 time-on-ice, his lowest total since his rookie season in 2008-09, but still managed a solid 49-point (14G / 35A) campaign in 82 games.
Merilainen faces some heavy competition for playing time in Ottawa this season as the team heads into 2026-27 with Linus Ullmark and Sam Ersson both under contract and ahead of him on the depth chart. The 23-year-old Merilainen, a third-round pick of the Senators in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft, struggled in limited NHL action last season, posting a 3.51 GAA and .860 SV5 in 20 appearances (8-10-1).
The Philadelphia Flyers opted not to give Kyrou a qualifying offer, sending him to free agency as a UFA. The 22-year-old defenseman has yet to play an NHL game. He scored 34 points (10G / 24A) last season in 55 games with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms (AHL).
Tomasino was drafted 24th overall by the Nashville Predators in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft, but has fallen out of favour in recent seasons. The 24-year-old forward has 95 points (34G / 61A) in 218 career NHL games, but spent most of the 2025-26 campaign in the AHL, scoring 41 points (12G / 29A) in 52 games.
Suzuki was drafted 28th overall by the Carolina Hurricanes in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft, but was unable to translate his pedigree to a prolonged look at the NHL level, ultimately resulting in the team moving on. The 25-year-old forward scored 48 points (13G / 35A) in 66 games with the Chicago Wolves (AHL) last season.
Daoust was a sixth-round pick of the Ottawa Senators in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft and has yet to play an NHL game. The 24-year-old forward had an excellent 2025-26 season in the AHL, scoring 50 points (14G / 36A) in 63 games with the Belleville Senators (AHL).
Blais has seen some success at the NHL level, offering a unique blend of hitting, physicality, and offensive ability. That said, the 30-year-old forward has spent most of the past two seasons in the AHL, including scoring 38 points (14G / 24A) last season in 35 games with the Laval Rocket (AHL).
After being thrust into a starting role with the Philadelphia Flyers the past two seasons, Ersson was overtaken by Dan Vladar in the 2025-26 season, making Ersson expendable for the Flyers. The 26-year-old Ersson posted a 3.12 GAA and .870 SV% last season in 33 games (14-11-5) with the Flyers and hopes to provide complementary goaltending for Ottawa behind Linus Ullmark.
Nick Cousins will return for a third season in Ottawa after finishing 2025-26 with his highest goal and point totals since 2022-23 and has earned himself a two-year contract extension worth $1.5875 million AAV ($3.175M total). The 32-year-old pesky forward is entering his 14th NHL and will be expected to create a spark in Ottawa's bottom-six again this season after putting up nine goals, 23 points and 92 PIMs in 81 appearances last season.
After scoring a career-high 61 points (22G / 39A) in the 2021-22 season with the Colorado Avalanche, Burakovsky has struggled to recapture that offensive touch, bouncing around and ultimately joining the Ottawa Senators, his fourth team in the past six seasons. The 31-year-old forward averaged 16:25 time-on-ice and scored just 33 points (11G / 22A) last season while recording a career-worst -32 plus/minus in 75 games with the Chicago Blackhawks.
Just a week after being dealt from Philadelphia to Toronto, Ottawa has acquired the rights of goaltender Samuel Ersson for a 2027 5th round pick. The 26-year-old had informed Toronto he did not intend to sign with the Maple Leafs on Friday. He struggled in 2025-26, with an ugly .870 SV%, 3.12 GAA and 14-11-5 record.
Samuel Bolduc will remain in Ottawa's organization for at least one more season after it was announced on Friday the 25-year-old defensemen had signed a one-year, two-way contract extension. Bolduc was acquired at last year's trade deadline and excelled after arriving in Belleville (AHL), with one goal and 10 points in 12 games played.
Ottawa secured some defensive depth for Belleville (AHL) on Friday after it announced they had signed Djibril Toure to a to a one-year, two-way contract extension. The 23-year-old defensemen spent 2025-26 between Belleville and Allen (ECHL), appearing in 43 combined games and picking up 129 PIMs.
Ottawa has secured some blueline depth on Friday after the team announced they had signed Jordan Spence to a four-year, $5 million AAV contract extension ($20M total). The 25-year-old Australian defender is entering his sixth NHL campaign and second with Ottawa after putting up career highs in nearly all statistical categories in 2025-26 (Goals, Pts, PIMs, SOG and TOI).
After a succesful season with Linköping HC (SHL), Esklid Olsen has signed a one-year, entry-level contract with the Ottawa Senators. The 24-year-old undrafted forward represents Norway internationally and had two goals and five points in 10 games at the World Championships. In 51 games with Linköping HC last season, he had 11 goals, 32 points and 10 PIMs. He is expected to report to Belleville (AHL) for the beginning of the 2026-27 season.
Toronto proceeded to swap goaltenders on Tuesday with Philadelphia as the Maple Leafs acquired Samuel Ersson, Emil Andrae and a 2026 3rd-round pick from Philadelphia for Joseph Woll and Simon Benoit. Ersson represented Sweden at the Four Nations Tournament in 2024-25 but struggled mightily last season, posting a horrific 3.12 GAA and .870 SV% across 33 appearances while posting a 14-11-5 record. He is expected to compete for the starting role in Toronto for the upcoming 2026-27 season.
