Sens sign MacEwen
The Ottawa Senators add some toughness in Canadian centre Zack MacEwen.
The Ottawa Senators have added some toughness to the bottom of the lineup with the signing of Prince Edward Island native Zack MacEwen to a multi-year deal.
Welcome aboard, Zack!
— Ottawa Senators (@Senators) July 6, 2023
The #Sens have agreed to terms on a three-year deal with forward, Zack MacEwen! pic.twitter.com/SRhzGYDgyZ
MacEwen, 26, is a right shot fourth line centre who's main contribution to the lineup is on the physical side. He tends to spend more time without the puck than with it, although he is strong in the dot, as he's only had one season in his career where his faceoff win percentage was below 50%.
The Ottawa Senators have signed 6'3" 26yr old centre, Zack MacEwen to a 3x$775k (one-way) contract. MacEwen is an okay depth player who hits a LOT. Has had 150+ hits in each of the last 3 seasons. Also a good face-off guy.#Sens #GoSensGo https://t.co/jTrIdsY2EM pic.twitter.com/xX6D3e0W6V
— The Senstennial Podcast (@senstennial) July 6, 2023
MacEwen is far from an advanced stats darling, never having posted a positive possession metric in a substantial sample size. While he plays minimal minutes, he doesn't contribute much with the puck.
The term of this contract is a bit puzzling, as it's strange to see a player of MacEwen's calibre get any kind of term. Fortunately, the value of the contract will have very little impact on overall roster construction. Even though he has a one-way contract, MacEwen getting safely waived seems like a strong bet, should the Senators need to go down that route. And should he ever get waived and claimed, there's very little downside.
