For the second summer in a row, defenseman Dennis Gilbert has departed from Ottawa in free agency.

Gilbert, who suited up for three of the Senators' four playoff games against the Carolina Hurricanes this spring, signed a one-year, one-way deal ($850,000) to return to the Buffalo Sabres on Wednesday. That, according to TSN's Darren Dreger. 

This wasn't Gilbert's first go-around with Ottawa, and it won't be his first with the Sabres either.

The Sens acquired Gilbert and Dylan Cozens from Buffalo at the 2025 NHL trade in the deal for Josh Norris. He only played four games with the Sens before they let him walk into free agency last summer. He then signed on for this season with the Philadelphia Flyers, who started him in the AHL.

The Sens re-acquired him in mid-November of this season for minor leaguer Max Guenette, who was still unsigned and hadn't made an NHL appearance with the Senators since 2023-24. Gilbert reported for duty in AHL Belleville and had 12 assists in 31 games.

He was called up to Ottawa for 8 regular-season games and then 3 more in the playoffs. 

Gilbert was selected by the Chicago Blackhawks in the third round, 90th overall, of the 2015 NHL Draft. In between Chicago and Buffalo, his NHL stops have included the Sens, the Calgary Flames, and the Colorado Avalanche.

At 29, Gilbert hasn't yet found full-time NHL work. He had a career-high 34 games with the Calgary Flames in 2023-24, so the one-way terms of his new contract (getting NHL money even if he's in the AHL) make it a big deal.

By Steve Warne
The Hockey News 

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