The Ottawa Senators have locked up another piece of their goaltending picture, agreeing Thursday afternoon to a one-year contract with restricted free agent Leevi Merilainen.
Ottawa said the deal is a one-way contract with a $1.1 million NHL cap hit, a modest bump from Merilainen’s previous $1.05 million NHL salary.
Merilainen, 23, spent the 2025-26 regular season between Ottawa and Belleville. In 20 NHL games with the Senators, he went 8-10-1 with an .860 save percentage. He also logged 19 AHL appearances for the Belleville Senators, finishing 8-8-1 with two shutouts and a .909 save percentage.
The 6’2″ netminder has been in the organization since Ottawa selected him in the third round, No. 71 overall, in the 2020 NHL Draft. Before arriving in North America, he came through the Karpat system in the Finnish Liiga, then spent the 2021-22 season with the OHL’s Kingston Frontenacs. The next year saw him split time between Karpat, Belleville, and Ottawa, before he settled in North America for good in the 2023-24 season.
Across his NHL career, Merilainen has now appeared in 34 games over the 2022-23, 2024-25, and 2025-26 seasons. His combined line at the top level stands at 16-14-3 with three shutouts and an .885 save percentage.
In the AHL, he has played 84 games over parts of four seasons with Belleville, putting together a 39-29-14 record, eight shutouts, and a .911 save percentage. He also made one playoff appearance for the B-Sens in 2024, stopping 27 of 29 shots in a 3-1 loss to the Cleveland Monsters.
Merilainen, who is from Oulu, Finland, has also worn his country’s colors internationally. He played for Team Finland at the 2022 IIHF World Junior Championship, appearing in one game before the tournament was shut down due to COVID-19 and then in four more after it restarted the following summer.
With Linus Ullmark, Merilainen, and new acquisition Samuel Ersson all under contract, the Senators now have their top three goaltenders signed for the 2026-27 season at a combined $11.55 million salary cap hit. Ottawa also has minor-league prospects Lucas Beckman, Kevin Reidler, and Jackson Parsons signed for each of the next two seasons.
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