The Ottawa Senators have remained active in the lead up to the 2026 NHL Draft, acquiring the rights to RFA goaltender Samuel Ersson from the Toronto Maple Leafs in exchange for a 5th round pick.
Ersson was traded to the Leafs by Philadelphia as part of a larger deal involving goaltender Joseph Woll a little over a week ago. As was reported by this site at the time, it was unlikely that Toronto planned to keep the 26 in the mix for the long haul. Now we know where he’s headed as Ersson will shuffle up the 401 to Ottawa this offseason.
Ersson posted a 14-11-5 record last season as a member of the Flyers with a 3.12 goals-against average and an .870 save percentage. The Swedish born netminder will compete for a spot on the NHL club as Linus Ullmark’s backup in 2026-27. It also likely shuts the door on the rumours that impending free agent Connor Ingram will be heading to the nation’s capital.
Ottawa wasn’t done there quite yet, as the club then announced that they had extended pending RFA defenceman Jordan Spence, inking him to a 4 year, $20M contract. The new deal will feature an average annual value of $5M per season, and ties him to the club through the 2029-30 NHL campaign.
“Jordan was an excellent addition to our hockey club and proved to be a valuable asset on our blue line and stepped up when it counted last season,” said GM Steve Staios. “We’re excited to have him as part of our core group.”
Spence came over from the Los Angeles Kings last season in exchange for a 3rd and a 6th round pick. The right-shot blue liner would go on to play 73 games with Ottawa, tallying seven goals and 24 assists along the way. Originally drafted in the 4th round of the 2019 NHL Entry Draft, Spence has appeared in 253 NHL games between the two clubs to date.
Ottawa will now turn their attention to the 2026 NHL Draft which kicks off tonight in Buffalo. The team currently owns the 25th and 32nd overall picks in the 1st round, though there remains a world in which Staios and company swing a draft day deal to acquire some additional NHL ready bodies for the club.
Photo: Jenn G. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.