The Ottawa Senators have confirmed the news that has been hinted at around these parts for weeks- Daniel Alfredsson will return for a 17th season in the NHL.

This is great news for the organization and it fills what would have been a significant void in the team’s top six forwards. Alfie says he has been training regularly, and actually feels ahead of where he was at this point last off season.

With a flurry of small moves, including Friday’s decision to buy out forward Bobby Butler, the Sens roster for next season (whenever that is) is beginning to take shape.

Obviously the most significant question mark remains the future of Daniel Alfredsson but every indication seems to be pointing towards one more season for the Captain.  August is always a slow month for NHL news so let’s try a little bit of a SensChirp Q&A.

After being placed on waivers by the Ottawa Senators, forward Bobby Butler has gone unclaimed and is now likely to be bought out by the organization.

Butler was signed by the Senators as a highly touted prospect out of the NCAA but never seemed to find his scoring touch at the NHL level.  Butler appeared in 94 games with the Sens over the course of three seasons.

On a quiet day in late July, I turn the reigns over to another reader in our Chirp of the Week feature.

Today’s article comes from Josh, who has some thoughts on the offseason the Senators have had thus far and a couple recommendations on how Ottawa could make this a more successful off season. I think this also sets a new record for longest post in SensChirp history. If you’d like to enter your COTW, send it to me at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

As expected, the Ottawa Senators have announced the signing of forward Stephane Da Costa. 

After starting last season with the NHL club, Da Costa spent the majority of last season with the Sens' AHL Affiliate in Binghamton.  In 46 AHL games he racked up 13 goals, 23 assists and 36 points.

With yesterday’s deal between the Columbus Blue Jackets and the New York Rangers, the Rick Nash Saga has officially come to close.

The Ottawa Senators were heavily involved in the process but in the end, Nash ends up with one of the teams believed to be on his list from the beginning.  Columbus receives Brandon Dubinsky, Artem Anisimov, Tim Erixon and a 1st round pick in return for their franchise player.

The Ottawa Senators have crossed another restricted free agent off their To Do list this morning, reaching a one year/one way agreement with forward Kaspars Daugavins.

The Latvian born winger appeared in 65 games with the Sens last year, picking up 11 points and 12 penalty minutes.  With the signing, Daugavins avoids an arbitration hearing that was scheduled for tomorrow.

For those of you that may have missed it, today I was lucky enough to have an article published over on the official website of the Ottawa Senators. 

Obviously an extremely exciting opportunity and one that could mean some new visitors to this site in the coming days. If by chance you are here on SensChirp for the first time; allow me to introduce you to the website.

The news of the Shea Weber offer sheet has obviously dominated headlines around the league today.

It's an extremely aggressive move by the Flyers, an extremely frustrating move for the Predators and a really oddly unfortunately timed move for the National Hockey League. What happens next will be fascinating to watch. Preds can match, take the picks and run or try to strong arm the Flyers into a trade.

(UPDATE 3:01 PM)- Suddenly a busy day for the Senators in the middle of July. The organization has also announced that they have signed forward Jim O'Brien to a two year, one way contract with an average cap hit of $637,500. O'Brien played 28 games with the Sens last season and appeared in all seven playoff games.

What's interesting here is the fact that O'Brien has received a one way deal. Means they fully expect him to crack the roster again next season.