Senators sign Blais, Tomasino, Kyrou, Suzuki, Daoust to contracts
The Ottawa Senators continue to make additions around the margins of their roster as NHL free agency opens on Wednesday.
The Senators announced on Wednesday afternoon that they signed five players to two-way contracts for next season, headlined by NHL veterans Sammy Blais and Philip Tomasino.
Beyond that duo with extensive NHL experience, Ottawa added minor league depth in Ryan Suzuki (younger brother of Montreal captain Nick), Christian Kyrou (bother of Capitals winger Jordan) and forward Philippe Daoust, who has been in the organization since being drafted in 2020.
The #Sens have signed forwards Philippe Daoust, Sammy Blais, Philip Tomasino, Ryan Suzuki and defenceman Christian Kyrou to two-way contracts ✍️
Blais has 278 games of NHL experience to his name, most recently with the Toronto Maple Leafs this past season, where he posted three points in eight games. He has 79 points and 132 penalty minutes over the course of his career.
Tomasino was a first-round pick in the 2019 NHL Draft, and he’s compiled 95 points in 218 career games split between Nashville and Pittsburgh.
Follow along with Daily Faceoff’s live free agency tracker here.
Staios and the Senators’ front office as a whole have navigated a complicated offseason, as a trade request by captain Brady Tkachuk sparked a trade to the Florida Panthers with a return exclusively comprised of draft picks.
Ottawa used one of those picks to land a replacement top-six left winger in William Eklund from the San Jose Sharks before acquiring Andre Burakovsky in a deal with the Chicago Blackhawks
Staios also worked out a four-year, $20 million extension for defenseman Jordan Spence, who excelled from an analytical perspective in his first year in Canada’s capital. He also secured a backup for goalie Linus Ullmark in Samuel Ersson, who was signed to a two-year contract earlier Wednesday.
According to PuckPedia, the Senators still have about $5.3 million in space under the upper limit of the salary cap to make further additions to the roster with 14 forwards, seven defensemen and two goalies already locked into contracts for next season.