The Senators are heading into next season with a new look on the back of a few jerseys.
Stephen Halliday, Carter Yakemchuk and Andre Burakovsky have all chosen numbers they’ve worn before, and in each case the switch brings them back to something familiar.
Halliday is moving from 83 to 34. That was the number he used regularly in Belleville, and it’s the one he’s returning to now. He could have gone with 19, the number he wore at Ohio State, but that belongs to Drake Batherson, the second-longest-serving active Senator.
Yakemchuk is changing from 58 to 26. He wore 26 in Belleville last season in his first year as a pro, and he also had it in junior with the Calgary Hitmen. The number was open when he was drafted in 2024, and Erik Brannstrom was the last Senator to wear it before Yakemchuk arrived.
In Senators history, only five players have shown any interest in 26, and two of them were goalies: Darren Rumble (1993-94), Shane Hnidy (2001-04), Joey Daccord (2019-21), Dylan Ferguson (2023), and Arthur Kaliyev (2026).
Burakovsky will wear 95 in Ottawa. He wore 28 with the Chicago Blackhawks last season, but that number is already taken by Claude Giroux, so the switch makes sense either way. 95 is his birth year, and he wore it for six seasons before going to Chicago last season, where Ilya Mikheyev had already claimed it.
The only other Senator to wear 95 was Matt Duchene, who had the number during the 2017-18 and 2018-19 seasons.
For anyone still attached to the old jersey-number hierarchy, it’s a little jarring to see forwards reaching for 34 and 95 while numbers like 7 and 9 sit there untouched.
Times have definitely changed.
In Other News...
Senators Face A Familiar Trade Dilemma As Staios Protects The Core
The Senators keep circling the same kind of trade conversation they have been in for a while now, and the outline is familiar: add more scoring on the wing, find a right-handed defenseman who can play in the top four, and do it without touching the center group. That means Ottawa is still shopping from the edges of its roster picture rather than the middle of it, with Dylan Cozens, Shane Pinto and Ridly Greig all staying out of the discussion as the front office tries to improve the lineup without upsetting the core.
That approach also helps explain why the club has kept a close eye on defense options it has considered before, including Rasmus Ristolainen, while still weighing a broader market that can shift quickly once teams decide who is actually available. The Flyers have their own feelers out, with interest in Vince Dunn and Matty Beniers if Seattle were ever to make those names available, which is part of the same league-wide squeeze Ottawa is navigating as it looks for the right fit without paying the wrong price. [Read more 🡒]
Senators Still Chasing The One Scoring Addition Fans Keep Debating
Even after a busy offseason, the Senators are still being linked to one more move up front, with the search centered on a top-six forward who can add another layer of scoring to the group. Ottawa has already made additions, but the sense around the team is that management is still weighing ways to deepen the attack before the season starts.
Insider chatter has kept free agency in the conversation as the most realistic path, especially now that the trade market has thinned out. The names and timing remain fluid, which is why this has become one of those summer storylines that can sit quietly for a while and then pick up steam again as late August gives way to September and training camp draws closer. [Read more 🡒]
Blackhawks Fans May Finally Get The Farewell They Wanted
Erik Karlsson is heading into the final year of his contract with the Penguins, and the sense around the league is that Pittsburgh is not planning to push for an extension once this season ends. If the Penguins fall out of the race, a trade would become a real possibility, and Ottawa has already been mentioned as one of the teams that could be in the mix as it looks to strengthen the right side of its blue line.
There is also a second layer to the defense market that could matter if the Senators decide to stay active. Vladislav Gavrikov has been the subject of whispers about his frustration with the Rangers' direction, and while nothing official has surfaced, any sign he wants out would add another name to a list that Ottawa will be watching closely. For a team trying to keep building back into a contender, these are the kinds of situations that can change quickly. [Read more 🡒]