Tyler Motte Signs a One-Year Deal with Ottawa Senators

Fans that weren’t enjoying seeing Tyler Motte get squeezed by this current NHL market can breathe a little easier on Wednesday as a player who is considered by many to be an elite penalty killer, a player with speed, hustle and drive now has a deal with an NHL club. The Ottawa Senators have signed Motte to a one-year $1.35 million contract.

The Senators announced that the 27-year-old will wear #14 for the team when training camp opens on Sept. 21.

ANOTHER SENS SIGNING ✍️

The @Senators have inked Tyler Motte (@tmotte_14) to a one-year contract! pic.twitter.com/1X1MZfePQI

— NHL (@NHL) September 14, 2022

Some have called the signing an Alex Formenton insurance policy but Motte will provide nice depth for the Senators, a team that has been among the busiest of franchises this summer. The club has completely reshaped its group of forwards and now boasts one of the more dangerous top nines in the NHL. With Alex Debrincat, Brady Tkachuk, Drake Batherson, Josh Norris, Tim Stutzle, and Claude Giroux in the top six, the Senators now have some skill and depth to back them up. If nothing else, he is an energy-line fourth-line winger with decent scoring touch. He doesn’t necessarily generate a lot of offence, but he has no issues with parking himself in front of the net and causing havoc for opposing goaltenders.

Motte spent time with both the Vancouver Canucks and the New York Rangers last season. DailyFaceoff’s Frank Seravalli reported Wednesday that Canucks insider Rick Dhaliwal reported Vancouver was not in the mix to be one of the teams to sign him. In 269 career games, he has 35 goals and 27 assists.

The Senators now have $5,690,119 in cap space based on a projected roster of 21 players (12F-7D-2G) and one player tentatively on IR.

Next: Sonny Milano’s Reason for Remaining Unsigned Explained