The Ottawa Senators have already taken a big swing at replacing Brady Tkachuk’s offense by bringing in William Eklund, but if they want to keep the same edge in their lineup, they still have work to do.
Eklund gives them a younger top-line piece with real upside. What he doesn’t bring, at least not in the same way, is the heavy, physical style Tkachuk delivered night after night.
Last season, Tkachuk piled up 162 hits and remained a force around the puck when healthy, while Eklund logged 72 hits in 78 games and added a more defense-oriented game with 51 blocked shots. That’s useful, but it doesn’t fully replace the bite the Senators are losing.
That’s where Eeli Tolvanen comes in.
Nearly halfway through August, the 27-year-old remains unsigned after his most recent season with the Seattle Kraken, and he looks like exactly the kind of player Ottawa could use to round out its lineup. Tolvanen, a former first-round pick taken 30th overall in 2017, has settled in as a middle-six NHL forward, but his value goes well beyond the box score.
At 5-foot-10 and 182 pounds, Tolvanen plays bigger than his frame suggests. He has racked up 985 hits in 423 regular-season games, an eye-popping number that jumped again last season when he posted 187 hits in 78 games. That was actually only his third-highest single-season total, after he recorded 237 and 210 in the two seasons before that.
He brings more than just contact, too. Tolvanen started 56.4% of his shifts in his own zone for Seattle last season and still managed 81 blocked shots while putting up 36 points, including 12 goals and 24 assists. That kind of combination makes him a natural fit for a third-line role.
And Ottawa already looks built for that kind of player.
The Senators were third in the NHL in hits last season, and they paired that physical identity with strong offensive output and respectable work in their own end. They finished fifth in goals and 12th in goals against, a profile that suggests Tolvanen would slide in cleanly and reinforce what they already do well.
Right now, Ottawa’s projected third line is Warren Foegele, Shane Pinto, and Michael Amadio. Together, that group combined for 224 hits last season, while Pinto had 46 points and Amadio added 35.
Foegele only played 21 games with the Senators and recorded 25 hits in that stretch, so he should be on pace for at least 90 hits over a full 2026-27 season. But his offense lagged behind, and even over an 84-game pace last year, he would have finished with just 24 points.
Tolvanen, by comparison, produced 12 more points in less than a full season and could give Pinto and Amadio a better balance of scoring and physical play. He can also line up on either wing, which gives Ottawa more flexibility. A third line of Tolvanen, Pinto, and Amadio could be one of the stronger ones in the league, while Foegele might be better used on a fourth line where his physicality can be the focus.
That setup would give the Senators more balance throughout the lineup and keep the heavier work spread around. Tolvanen could absorb some of the physical burden left behind by Tkachuk, while Eklund is left to do what he does best in a more skill-driven role.
There’s also the money side, and it works. Ottawa has just over $4 million in cap space, which would be enough to fit Tolvanen in. He previously made $3.475 million per season, and with free agency having dragged on for more than a month and a half, he may be open to a deal in that same neighborhood or even below it.
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The appeal is clear enough: he looks like a safe pick with some upside if his skill translates the way the Senators hope. The question is what kind of scorer he really is after producing at such a different level and in such a different role, because scouts are still trying to sort out how much of the offensive burst is sustainable and how much of it came from circumstances that may not carry over. [Read more 🡒]
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For Ottawa, the larger question is what happens when his offense catches up to the rest of his toolkit. Sanderson was slowed by injuries last season, which kept the full picture from forming, but the sense around him is that there is another level available if his production climbs. If that comes together, the Senators would not just have a top defenseman, they would have a legitimate Norris Trophy candidate, and a sign that their ceiling may be higher than many have assumed. [Read more 🡒]