Senators reassign center Adam Gaudette

According to a team announcement, the Senators have sent center Adam Gaudette and goaltender Mads Sogaard to AHL Belleville. The move ends a one-day stint on the active roster for Sogaard under emergency conditions. Meanwhile, Gaudette cleared waivers during the preseason but was never actually sent to the minors and remained on the opening-night roster.

Gaudette, 28, appeared in two of Ottawa’s three games to begin the season, including Monday’s wild 8-7 overtime win over the Kings. He managed an assist during that chaos and had a +2 rating, averaging 7:30 and going 5-of-7 in the faceoff dot across his pair of showings. 

He signed a two-way deal in free agency this summer after spending last season in the Blues organization, making two NHL appearances and leading the AHL in goals with 44 in 67 games with the Springfield Thunderbirds.

Now firmly established as a top minor league offensive threat with fringe NHL upside, Gaudette hasn’t been a full-time NHLer since the 2021-22 campaign. The fifth-round pick of the Canucks back in 2015 has 27 goals, 44 assists, 71 points and a -35 rating in 222 NHL games in parts of seven seasons.

Sogaard was needed for game action Monday after Linus Ullmark was scratched due to a muscle strain. Backup Anton Forsberg, who started in relief of Ullmark, also left the contest in the second period after a hard collision with Los Angeles defenseman Brandt Clarke. Sogaard allowed four goals on 17 shots in relief but still recorded the win.

It’s been a rough go of things thus far in the NHL for the 23-year-old Dane, who has intriguing upside with his 6-foot-7 frame but hasn’t been good when given the chance. He’s now logged NHL time in four straight seasons, and while his 11-10-3 record is strong for a non-playoff team, his other numbers aren’t — a .881 SV%, 3.53 GAA and -17.5 GSAA in 24 career starts and four relief appearances. Sogaard will now return to Belleville, where he posted a .964 SV% in a shootout loss to Syracuse in his season debut last weekend.

He’ll likely be brought back up later this week if Ullmark isn’t ready to return against the Devils on Thursday. The Senators also haven’t issued any further updates on Forsberg’s status. The same could be said for Gaudette, who’s been filling in while Ridly Greig is week-to-week with an upper-body injury. Sending him to Belleville and keeping him off the active roster for a couple of days delays when he’ll need waivers again to return to the minors.