Senators Sign Claesson to One-Year Extension
Senators defenseman Freddy Claesson has put pen to paper and agreed to at least one more season in Ottawa.
With the pending injury status announcements on Mark Stone, Mike Hoffman and Tommy Wingels, Sens fans needed a bit of a pick-me-up today. This won’t make it all better, but it should serve as a good distraction until tomorrow.
The Senators announced today that they have signed defenseman Freddy Claesson to a one-year, one-way contract worth $650,000.
News Release: #Sens sign defenceman Fredrick Claesson to a one-year contract extension: https://t.co/8CuOo5mrRC
— Ottawa Senators (@Senators) February 20, 2017
Claesson has proven to be a solid NHLer that can handle bottom pairing minutes at the least. He has recorded 5 assists in 19 games this season and boasts a 52.5% CF rating.
The key in all of this is the one-way factor. This means, looking past the possibility of a trade, the organization sees Claesson absolutely in their top seven next season.
The 24-year-old has played well enough to garner a full-time spot in the lineup, even if he spends two thirds of his nights in the press box. Head coach Guy Boucher has had nothing but positive things to say about his young defenseman, and this contract extension proves the managerial staff thinks the same way.
It’ll be extremely interesting to see how the Senators’ D corps play out during the next five months. With the trade deadline looming, expansion draft in June and up-and-coming defensemen in Thomas Chabot and Andreas Englund making big strides in the QMJHL and AHL, the organization has a lot of decisions to make for the 2017-18 campaign.