Ottawa Senators call up 31 year old defensemen from AHL

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Nathaniel Waugh
December 1, 2022 (2:49 PM)

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Nikita Zaitsev's career in Ottawa all started with a massive trade between The Ottawa Senators and The Toronto Maple Leafs back in 2019.

Former Leafs defensemen Nikita Zaitsev and forward Connor Brown were traded to the sens in exchange for defensemen Ben Harpur and Cody Ceci.

The Toronto Maple Leafs also received forward Aaron Luchuk and a 3rd round pick in the 2020 NHL draft. As a result, the Maple Leafs also acquired the rights to unrestricted free-agent forward Micheal Carcone.

Fast Forward a few years, and this trade does not seem to have aged well at all.

Zaitsev is a player who is massively overpaid with a $31.5 million, seven-year contract signed back in 2017 by the Leafs. He has virtually contributed nothing to the Senators in 182 games played, as he has 41 points with a +/- average of -7.75 over the last 4 years.

This year he was placed on waivers back on November 9th after a bad start to the season and has been scratched by The Belleville Senators many times for registering 0 points and having a +/- average of -3.

It's no secret to anybody that Ottawa's season has been below expectations, and their rebuild seems to be advancing slowly.

However, this is maybe good news for Zaitsev, who has now been recalled to the NHL by The Ottawa Senators.

With his ridiculously overpriced contract nearing its end, this might be his last chance to prove that he has a place on the team, or even in the NHL, for that matter.