The Ottawa Senators have already taken one swing at adding more skill by bringing in young star forward William Eklund. But if they want the kind of edge Brady Tkachuk used to supply before being traded to the Florida Panthers, they may need to keep shopping for a different type of forward.
That’s where Paul Cotter comes in.
The New Jersey Devils winger was not given a qualifying offer, which puts him on track to become a UFA on July 1 if New Jersey doesn’t get a new deal done before then. If he reaches the market, he looks like the sort of hard-driving, physical player Ottawa should be eyeing.
Cotter’s appeal starts with the numbers he’s piled up in the middle of the ice. He played 79 games for the Devils this past season, finishing with nine goals, 15 points and 192 hits. That came after a 2024-25 campaign in which he posted a career-high 16 goals and 22 points in 79 games for New Jersey, showing he can chip in offensively when he’s rolling.
But the real selling point is the punishment he dishes out. Before this past season, Cotter set a Devils franchise record with 245 hits. He also logged 233 hits in 2023-24 with the Vegas Golden Knights.
For a team that could use more bite, that kind of energy matters. A contender needs players willing to lean into the heavy stuff, and Cotter fits that mold. On a short-term deal that doesn’t break the bank, he could make a lot of sense for Ottawa.
In Other News...
Senators Make Two More Moves That Reignite A Familiar Debate
The Senators kept working their way through the opening weeks of the offseason by adding another goaltender and bringing back another familiar depth piece, moves that fit the clubs recent habit of staying active while sorting out the edges of the roster. Samuel Ersson arrives on a two-year deal after Ottawa had already acquired him and then watched him briefly reach free agency, while Nick Cousins is back on another two-year contract after his previous deal expired.
Both moves also feed a debate that never seems far from the Senators whenever they start filling in the bottom of the lineup and the crease. Ottawa has tried to balance experience, toughness and stability without boxing itself in long term, and these additions suggest the front office still sees value in that approach even as the rest of the Atlantic keeps making noise with bigger-name business elsewhere. [Read more 🡒]
Senators Just Lost A Veteran Blue Liner Fans Learned To Trust
Nick Jensens steady, stay-at-home game gave Ottawa a dependable veteran presence on the blue line, and that kind of profile tends to be noticed only when it starts to disappear. The 35-year-old defenseman has been around long enough to offer more than minutes, bringing the sort of defensive reliability and calm that can settle a third pair and help younger players around him.
Now Jensen is moving on after a season that ended in March because of injury, and the Senators will feel the loss of a player who had playoff mileage from stops in Washington and Ottawa. His next team expects him to anchor the lower half of the defense and provide leadership in a limited role, which only reinforces how much value Ottawa had in a veteran who understood his job and usually did it without much fuss. [Read more 🡒]
Senators Keep Adding Veteran Depth In A Telling Offseason Move
The Senators spent part of their offseason continuing to build out the edges of the roster, signing five players to two-way contracts for the upcoming season. Among the group were NHL veterans Sammy Blais and Philip Tomasino, while Ryan Suzuki, Christian Kyrou and Philippe Daoust were brought in to add minor league depth and give Ottawa more options across the organization.
For a team that has spent the summer trying to harden its depth chart, the mix of names is notable. Blais offers recent NHL experience, Tomasino brings a first-round pedigree and a track record that suggests there could still be more to tap into, and the other additions help fill out the pipeline as the Senators keep reshaping the back end of the roster. [Read more 🡒]