The Ottawa Senators have placed 28-year-old winger Zack MacEwen on waivers. The move comes on the heels of Saturday’s 4-3 loss to the Vancouver Canucks. MacEwen had three points in 19 games for the Senators and if he clears waivers, he’ll head down to AHL Belleville, where he played ten games last season.
The move creates room for the Sens to pull off a ZackFlip – the recall of forward Zack Ostapchuk from Belleville. Ostapchuk has already appeared in six NHL games with the Senators this season, chipping in with one assist. In nine AHL games with the B-Sens, he has one goal and seven assists.
Ostapchuk is a solid fighter, so he can certainly replace that element of MacEwen’s game. His ability to provide secondary scoring at the NHL level is still a work in progress, though MacEwen hasn’t left him a tough act to follow.
At practice on Sunday, Ostapchuk centred a line with Michael Amadio and David Perron, two free agents who are both trying to get their offensive games in gear this season. Amadio has four points in 20 games, and Perron has zero in nine.
The Senators are riding a five-game losing streak and will be back at it on Monday night with a number of probable line combination changes as they prepare to host the Calgary Flames. That will close out a four-game homestand before starting a western road trip on Wednesday in San Jose.
