Ottawa locked down the puck-moving blueliner on Friday after a breakout season where he thrived no matter who he played with.
General manager Steve Staios can check one of his offseason boxes off.
The Ottawa Senators announced the signing of restricted free agent defenceman Jordan Spence to a four-year deal carrying an average annual value of $5 million.
“Jordan was an excellent addition to our hockey club and proved to be a valuable asset on our blue line and stepped up when it counted last season,” Staios exclaimed in the organization’s official press release. “We’re excited to have him as part of our core group.”
Acquired from the Los Angeles Kings last summer in exchange for a 2025 third-round pick and a 2026 sixth-round pick, the addition of Spence represented an intriguing buy-low opportunity for the Senators. As a player with strong underlying numbers playing in a sheltered role with the Kings, the Senators saw an opportunity to exploit.
After a disappointing preseason, Spence started the season in the press box. It took time for the player to recognize that how he defended in Los Angeles was not how the Senators needed him to defend within their system. Once he adjusted to that and how Travis Green and the coaching staff were asking him to defend, Spence became a regular and never looked back.
Spence finished the 2025-26 season with 73 games played, 7 goals and 31 points.
Together with Tyler Kleven, the Senators’ third pairing became one of the best in the NHL, posting some of the best analytics in the league.
Of the pairings that logged more than 400 minutes of five-on-five ice time together, no defensive pairing had a greater expected goals for percentage (xGF%) than Kleven and Spence’s 62.30 per Evolving-Hockey. The Senators also generated 60.77 percent of the shots (CF%, 3rd), 61.96 percent of the shots on goal (SF%, 1st), and 65.09 percent of the total goals (GF%, 3rd).
Unfortunately for Spence, whenever the conversation turns to whether he could take on more responsibilities and tougher matchups, his size (5’11”, 188 lbs) is inevitably described as a shortcoming.
Even as the injuries mounted and Spence’s responsibilities and ice time grew, questions about his fit continued to permeate this market.
His play and performance were a blessing to the Senators, but Spence’s size continued to be a topic of discussion.
Considering the organization’s strong defensive metrics and structure under head coach Travis Green, the risk is that the Senators’ system inflates players' metrics, making it harder to separate the drivers of play from the statistical noise. That said, Spence has been an analytical darling throughout his career, and he played well with every partner and in every role last season.
Of the defensive pairings that logged more than 140 minutes of five-on-five ice time together, Spence’s name appears three times in the top-six rankings of xGF%.
Devon Toews - Sam Molinski: 243.5 TOI, 68.80 xGF%
Denton Mateychuk - Ivan Provorov: 299.7 TOI, 66.62 xGF%
Zach Werenski - Damon Severson: 394 TOI, 66.01 xGF%
Thomas Chabot - Jordan Spence: 197.0 TOI, 63.70 xGF%
Jake Sanderson - Jordan Spence: 143.3 TOI, 63.67 xGF%
Tyler Kleven - Jordan Spence: 656.6 TOI, 62.30 xGF%
Spence will never be mistaken for a bruising defenceman who thrives on boxing out and clearing the net front. His strengths lie in his skating, stick, and astutely using body position to seal plays off along the wall to separate opponents from the puck. Rather than collapsing and allowing opposing forwards to gain the offensive zone, Spence is at his best when he closes effectively in the neutral zone, forcing forwards to make quick reads and hopefully poor decisions.
It’s not the archetypal defenceman style, but to his credit, he is effective.
In signing a four-year pact, the Senators paid for Spence’s remaining two years of restricted free agent status and what would have been his first two years of unrestricted free agent rights. The multi-year deal probably cost Spence some money down the road, but it gives him the comfort and cost certainty that he has been looking for.
With a projected salary cap ceiling of approximately $123M for the 2028-29 season, Spence’s contract represents fair value now with a chance to look even better as it ages.
His deal also aligns with recent deals to other similarly sized defencemen like Sam Molinski, who appeared at the top of the xGF% rankings that I listed earlier. The 27-year-old Molinski did not have much of a track record when he inked a four-year extension worth a $4.75 million AAV with Colorado this past January. Molinski only became an NHL regular the season prior, but he signed his contract while in the midst of his career year. The 5’11, 190 lb product finished the regular season playing in all 82 games while recording eight goals and 40 points.
Despite speculation that the Senators were exploring the trade market for Spence, it was important to secure a contract. Even though there is hope that Carter Yakemchuk, the organization’s top prospect, will eventually be able to play impactful top-four minutes down the road, that time is not now. Nik Matinpalo is fine as a depth defender, but he has not consistently shown the puck-moving ability that is required to log big minutes. Although Yakemchuk does have that ability, his skating and defensive reads still need work.
The presence of Spence gives the organization the flexibility to let Yakemchuk develop in an insulated role or play big minutes in the AHL.
By Graeme Nichols
The Hockey News
