After the NHL suspended Ottawa Senators RFA Shane Pinto for 41 games on Thursday, there's plenty of talk about what this means for his next contract.

Shane Pinto's contract standoff with the Ottawa Senators took an unexpected turn on Thursday when he was suspended by the NHL for 41 games for activities related to sports wagering. The club also reportedly rescinded its contract offers to the 22-year-old center amid his suspension.

Pinto issued an apology and took ownership of what happened. The Senators released a statement saying they will welcome Pinto back “with open arms” once he's completed his suspension. They vouched for his character and believed he was remorseful for his mistake. 

“When the time is right and with the league's blessing, we will welcome him back to the organization and embrace him as one of our own,” said the statement.

Given Pinto is an RFA whose rights belong to the Senators, he already is one of their own. How tight that embrace will be remains to be seen.

The earliest Pinto can return to action is Jan. 21 against the Philadelphia Flyers. Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun reports the Pinto camp and Senators management were believed to be close to an agreement on a two-year contract with an average annual value of $2 million.

Garrioch anticipates Pinto will sign his one-year qualifying offer worth $874,500 to get the contract out of the way while he's serving his suspension. However, The Athletic's Ian Mendes isn't assuming Pinto will go that route.

Mendes said Pinto's suspension means the Senators aren't in any immediate need of a cost-cutting trade to re-sign him. GM Pierre Dorion was rumored to be peddling Mathieu Joseph, Dominik Kubalik or Erik Brannstrom to free up sufficient salary cap space. They'll likely remain with the club until January, when Dorion should have a better idea of which player will become a cost-cutting candidate.