Oliver Kylington fits the kind of camp invite that can make sense for a team like the Ottawa Senators: inexpensive, low-commitment, and potentially useful if the player finds his old game again.
That’s the appeal here. Kylington hasn’t been at his peak for a while, but the Senators are heading into training camp with a defensive group that already has some structure in place and room for one more look on the back end. A PTO would give Ottawa a chance to see whether he can still bring value without having to lock into anything long term.
The Senators’ blue line is already shaping up as a strength. Heading into the 2026-27 season, Ottawa has six defensemen on the roster, and the top four looks solid and experienced. Jake Sanderson, Artem Zub, and Thomas Chabot are part of that group, with Jordan Spence - acquired from the Los Angeles Kings last year - likely filling out the right side of the second pair.
Down low, PuckPedia lists Tyler Kleven and Carter Yakemchuk as the bottom pair. Kleven is entering the final year of his contract after a strong 2025-26 season.
Yakemchuk, the Senators’ seventh overall pick in 2024, appeared in four regular-season games last year and then posted two assists in his lone playoff game. There’s a sense he may be ready to push for a full-time spot next season.
Ottawa also has several defensemen in the minors who figure to compete for the seventh spot or challenge for minutes on the third pair.
Kylington is a different kind of bet, but one worth considering. His best NHL season came in 2021-22 with the Calgary Flames, when he put up nine goals and 23 assists.
That made him the third-most productive Flames defenseman that year, behind Rasmus Andersson and Noah Hanifin. He also logged second-pairing minutes and was one of Calgary’s best blue-liners that season.
The problem for Kylington is that season stands out more than it fits into the rest of his career. Over seven years with the Flames, he spent most of his time on the bottom pair and often bounced between the AHL and NHL.
He missed the entire 2022-23 season on personal leave. After leaving Calgary, he split the 2024-25 season with the Colorado Avalanche and Anaheim Ducks, then went to Sweden last season, where he had eight points in 25 games with Djurgärdens IF.
His game hasn’t looked as sharp since the leave of absence, but there’s still a case for a team taking one more swing. If a club can help him tap back into the offense that showed up in Calgary, he could be a useful addition.
For Ottawa, the logic is simple. A PTO gives the team a chance to bring in an unrestricted free agent and keep him for 25 games before deciding whether to release him or sign him.
If Kylington doesn’t fit, the Senators can move on. If he does show he can still handle NHL minutes, it could turn into a bargain.
Even when the scoring wasn’t there, he still provided solid defensive minutes and brought a physical edge.
In Other News...
Senators May Need A Risky Batherson Compromise To Make This Work
Elliotte Friedmans latest read on Drake Bathersons contract situation suggests the Senators may still have a path to getting an extension done, but it is not the straightforward kind. Ottawa has to keep one eye on its cap structure while also trying to keep Batherson in the fold, and the middle ground here appears to be less about comfort than about timing.
The idea under discussion is a shorter commitment that gives the club some breathing room now and postpones the next big decision until the salary cap is expected to be far less restrictive. For Ottawa, that kind of compromise would reduce the immediate squeeze, but it would also leave a significant piece of the roster unsettled again before long. [Read more 🡒]
Stutzles First Reaction Says A Lot About Ottawas Next Era
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For Ottawa, that is the bigger takeaway right now. Stutzle framed the situation as one where the organization has to keep developing, keep competing and keep moving forward rather than dwelling on what it lost, which says plenty about the mood around a roster trying to define its next phase. The trade changes the picture, but the message from one of the teams most important players is that the ambition has not changed. [Read more 🡒]
Senators Have A Bigger Extension Priority Than Drake Batherson
Drake Bathersons career-best season in 2025-26 has made his contract status an obvious talking point in Ottawa, but he is only part of a longer list of pending decisions the Senators have to sort out as they head toward 2026-27. Batherson is in the final year of his six-year deal, and the same is true for Artem Zub, a steady defenseman who turned in another strong season and remains an important piece of the roster.
Zubs value to the Senators makes this more than a routine housekeeping item, because Ottawa is not just deciding whether to keep a productive winger in the fold, but also how to protect the back end from another summer of uncertainty. The forward situation will get attention, especially with Batherson coming off a peak year, yet the bigger organizational question may be whether the Senators can lock in Zub on a longer-term basis and avoid having another key player drift toward free agency. [Read more 🡒]