The Ottawa Senators took care of another piece of business on the eve of training camp.
The Senators signed restricted free agent defenceman Donovan Sebrango to a one-year, two-way deal on Thursday, with camp set to get underway on Sept. 17 at the Canadian Tire Centre.
This leaves blueliner Max Guenette as the only unsigned RFA and the expectation is that he will be dealt before camp.
Acquired as part of the trade that sent winger Alex DeBrincat to the Detroit Red Wings in July 2023, Sebrango, 23, an Ottawa native, had eight goals and 20 points in 50 games with the club’s American Hockey League affiliate in Belleville last season.
The 6-foot-2 Sebrango was a third-round pick of the Wings in the 2020 NHL draft. He’s scheduled to make $140,000 US in the minors and $750,000 in the NHL.
The Senators should have a good battle for playing time on defence in Belleville this season. Defenceman Nick Jensen finished last season with a hip injury that required surgery just over three months ago and is expected to miss the start of the season.
Carter Yakemchuk, the club’s top pick in the 2024 NHL draft, is expected to push for a spot on the roster after spending last season with the Western Hockey League’s Calgary Hitmen.
Yakemchuk, 19, nearly made the Senators coming out of camp last year, but general manager Steve Staios felt the best route was to send him back to the WHL for more seasoning.
The club also brought back defenceman Lassi Thomson after he spent this past season playing in Sweden.
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Thomson, who was selected No. 19 overall by the Senators in 2019, finished with 17 goals and 29 points in the SHL and should push for a spot.
The club also signed veteran defenceman Cameron Crotty from the Minnesota Wild organization a couple of weeks ago.
That doesn’t leave a lot of room for Guenette and the belief is he will get a change of scenery. The Senators gave him a qualifying offer in June to retain his rights for free agency.