Ottawa Senators Lose Another Player To A Waiver Claim

Every team in the NHL strives for organizational depth, but the waiver wire makes it hard to hang on to it.

The Senators just lost another player on waivers, their second in just over a month.

On Thursday, the Minnesota Wild claimed defenceman Cameron Crotty, who had been placed on waivers earlier this week as the Senators prepared for the return of Thomas Chabot in LA.

With Chabot coming back rom injury, the Senators needed to clear a roster spot and were hoping to sneak Crotty through waivers and assign him to Belleville.

Unfortunately for the Senators, one of the NHL teams in need was the Minnesota Wild. He played in that organization in 2024-25, so they knew him well, and they wanted him back.

Crotty, an Ottawa native, had provided the Senators with some additional defensive depth while the club dealt with injuries on its blue line. Although he wasn't a regular in the lineup, he gave the team another option during a stretch when several defencemen were unavailable.

With Chabot getting healthy and Jake Sanderson and Artem Zub already back in the lineup, Crotty fell to the number 8 position on Ottawa's blue line.

It's the second time this month that the Senators have tried to send a player to Belleville, only to lose him to another NHL team.

Earlier in October, the Vancouver Canucks claimed goaltender Leevi Meriläinen after the Senators placed him on waivers.

With the signing of Samuel Ersson as the NHL backup, Meriläinen had slipped on the depth chart, but the Senators were hoping to keep him in the system as insurance in case of injuries.

The 24-year-old got off to an encouraging start with Vancouver, but Meriläinen has been shelled in his last three outings, surrendering a combined 15 goals.

While the Senators would have loved to keep both players in the organization, the players union long ago negotiated rules to help keep NHL-level players from being buried in the minors.

Crotty's exit means that Hoyt Stanley would probably be Ottawa's next man up, if needed.

The Senators now move forward with one fewer depth option in their organization, although the return of Chabot should provide an immediate boost.

Meanwhile, the Wild obviously took a shine to last year's Belleville Senators. They also signed Arthur Kaliyev to a PTO with AHL Iowa.

By Steve Warne
The Hockey News Ottawa