The Senators have been making big moves this off season, as GM Pierre Dorion looks to make changes to a team that finished second to last in the Atlantic Division last year. The team has been notorious for not wanting to spend money on big contracts in the offseason but this summer seems to be very different.
The team has already made a couple big pickups and re-signs with Claude Giroux joining the team and John Norris being renewed for another 8 years. Other notable trades include Cam Talbot who was acquired via trade just before the free agent market opened and Alex DeBrincat in a deal with Chicago.
After five years of missing the playoffs, not signing any big free agents as well as seeing big ticket stars like Mark Stone and Erik Karlsson leave Ottawa, this has definitely been an offseason for the books.
Senators Reach Eight-Year Deal to Re-Sign Josh Norris
The Ottawa Senators re-signed restricted free agent forward Josh Norris to a big eight-year, $63.6 million contract. Norris has been one of the most valuable players on the team putting up consistent numbers even though the Sens have not been having good seasons.
Norris at 23, was the Senators’ leading goal scorer last season with 35 goals and was also able to post 20 assists to go along. Norris came from a first-round pick by the San Jose Sharks in 2017 before being traded to the Senators in September 2018. Since Norris made his NHL debut back in February 2020, he leads all Senators in goals with 52, game winners at 10 and power-play points at 37.
Norris was a big one to keep and the Senators will be extremely happy to see the young forward in their ranks for many years to come.
Sens Sign Forward Claude Giroux to a Three-Year Contract
The big news out of the Ottawa Senators camp came with the announcement of the signing of forward Claude Giroux to a three-year, $19.5M contract deal. The contract holds an yearly average of $6.5M that will see him earn $7M in 2022-23, $7M in 2023-24 and $5.5M in 2024-25.
Giroux has been a five-time 25 goal-scorer, and is the second among all-time Flyers in scoring with 900 points (291 goals, 609 assists). Last year Giroux was traded to the Florida Panthers where he put up 23 points in 18 games, showing exactly what he can do on a good team.
You can expect Giroux to make a huge impact on the Sens lineup and continue to tally both goals and assists in the coming season. This could be the pickup that finally breaks the Sens drought form the playoffs.
