Xavier Bourgault is getting another crack at carving out an NHL future, and this time it comes with the Ottawa Senators.
The former Edmonton Oilers first-round pick has agreed to a one-year, two-way contract with Ottawa worth $850,000 at the NHL level and $265,000 in the minors. The deal also keeps him out of arbitration.
Bourgault was taken 22nd overall by Edmonton in the 2021 draft after a huge QMJHL season with the Shawinigan Cataractes. In the year after he was selected, he put up 36 goals and 75 points in only 43 games, a performance that made him look like a major piece of the Oilers’ prospect pool.
That promise never turned into an NHL role in Edmonton. Bourgault never played a game for the Oilers, and in 2024 he was sent to Ottawa as part of the organization’s roster management around its championship-contending core.
His time in the Senators system has mostly been spent in the AHL, but last season gave him his clearest sign of progress yet. Bourgault scored 25 goals and finished with 57 points in 70 games for AHL Belleville, ranking second on the team in scoring. He also got his first taste of NHL action with Ottawa, appearing in two games and making his debut on Dec. 27 in Toronto.
He still hasn’t picked up an NHL point, but the jump he made in the AHL gives him a real chance to push for a steadier role with the Senators this season.
For Ottawa, it’s a low-risk move on a player who once looked like a key part of Edmonton’s future. For the Oilers, it’s another reminder of a prospect they moved on from while trying to build a Cup winner, and one that still stings a little because Bourgault has the tools to become a legitimate NHL player.
And with Ottawa’s offseason already marked by major change, including the trade of captain Brady Tkachuk to Florida, Bourgault may have landed in the right place at the right time for a fresh start.
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