Senators' Kurtis MacDermid clears waivers, assigned to Belleville

Ottawa Senators winger Kurtis MacDermid cleared waivers Sunday at 2 p.m. and has been assigned to Belleville, the club's AHL affiliate. The 32-year-old rugged winger has yet to play a game this season after missing most of training camp with an undisclosed ailment. He had only recently resumed skating with Ottawa.

MacDermid was not on the ice Saturday before the Senators' 7-4 home win over the New York Rangers, and was placed on waivers later that day. He played 19 games for Ottawa last season after being acquired from the New Jersey Devils before the season, when the club sought more toughness to protect its stars. He had played for Travis Green when Green was the Devils' interim coach in 2024-25.

His one-year contract carries a $1.15 million U.S. cap hit. Moving him clears approximately $2.6 million in cap space, according to Puckpedia. The move was driven by the 23-man NHL roster limit: the club had eight defencemen, 13 forwards and two goalies. MacDermid had lost his fourth-line job to Hayden Hodgson.

The Senators left for Las Vegas Sunday morning ahead of a five-game road trip that opens Tuesday against the Golden Knights at T-Mobile Arena. Linus Ullmark, on injured reserve with an undisclosed lower-body strain, made the trip, and captain Thomas Chabot skated in a non-contact jersey Saturday and is expected to face the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday if all goes well. To activate Ullmark, the club must make another roster move, and Jonas Johansson is expected to be sent back to Belleville. HighOnCity reported on the eight waivers the club issued ahead of the Monday roster deadline. No return timeline for MacDermid has been given.