OTTAWA – Ottawa Senatorspresident of hockey operations and general manager Steve Staios announced today that the team has signed defenceman Nikolas Matinpalo to a one-year, two-way contract extension. The contract carries a value of $775,000 in the National Hockey League and $200,000 in the American Hockey League.
A native of Espoo, Finland, Matinpalo, 25, was originally signed to an entry-level contract by the Senators as a European free agent on May 25, 2023, and spent his first season in North America in 2023-24.
“Nikolas is a steady defensive defenceman who impressed while making his transition to the North American game last season,” said Staios. “He held a key shut down role in Belleville, was a strong penalty killer and performed well in NHL games when he was recalled to Ottawa.”
Matinpalo led Ottawa’s AHL affiliate, the Belleville Senators, with a plus-15 plus/minus ratinglast season and registered 14 points (four goals, 10 assists) while skating in all but five of the B-Sens’ 72 regular-season games in 2023-24. The first of five Senators to make his respective NHL debut last season, in Ottawa’s 5-2 win at Pittsburgh on Oct. 28, Matinpalo earned a plus-one rating and was held scoreless over four NHL contests.
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