Senators Re-Sign Leevi Merilainen and Nick Cousins

More good news, Senators fans- Mitch Marner has ditched the Leafs! Okay, that’s a story for another website I suppose. In the Senators world, both Leevi Merilainen and Nick Cousins have signed one year contracts with Ottawa. Merilainen’s deal will pay him $1.05 million, while Cousins will earn $825,000. Let’s dive into the details on the two Senators signings!

READ MORE: Analyzing the Senators 2025 NHL Draft

Merilainen By the Numbers

Merilainen was a third round pick of the Senators back in 2020. Back then, the pick was met by a whole lot of “who the heck is that?” from Senators fans. Well, it’s safe to say the fanbase knows his name quite well by now. Prior to last season, his development had been solid but unspectacular. Then, to his credit, Merilainen put together a monstrous season. Here were his AHL numbers:

• 18-12-4, .913 SV%, 2.37 GAA, 4 Shutouts

Those numbers were obviously good, especially when the next most used goalie by Belleville, Malcolm Subban, had just an .883 SV%. What really allowed Merilainen to stand out, though, was what he did at the NHL level. Due to injuries, he was called up in late December. He were his final stats with the Senators last season:

• 8-3-1, .925 SV%, 1.99 GAA, 3 Shutouts 

It was this great stretch that in part, saved the Senators season. It was also this stretch that likely gave Staios enough confidence in Merilainen to sign him to be the backup for next season.

Cousins By the Numbers

Coming over from Florida, Cousins was supposed to be one of a few veterans with Stanley Cup experience that could help the youthful Senators learn how to win. Statistically, he started his time with the Senators slowly, but it all came together for him in December. He saw his ice-time jump up to over 14 minutes per game, and in an 11 game stretch, he scored 4 goals and 7 points. Unfortunately, in late January, he suffered a knee injury that required surgery. He valiantly worked his way back into the lineup to end the season. He played in five of the Senators six playoff games, but didn’t register any points. In total, he were his season numbers:

• 50 games, 6 goals, 15 points, 11:54 time on ice/game 

A Look Ahead

Signs point to Merilainen being the backup goalie to Linus Ullmark. He will turn 23 in August, so he is still quite young and has minimal NHL experience to this point. The Senators needed a cheaper backup, though, given Ullmark’s raise to $8.25 million this season. With how he played last season, Merilainen deserves that spot.

As for Cousins, he will likely be the Senators 12th/13th forward. It will be interesting to see what the Senators do in free agency. As of now, they have 11 forwards signed for next season. Cousins probably sits 11th on their current depth chart among that group. He wasn’t part of the Senators power play or penalty kill last season, either. That makes it so it’s on Cousins to bring the energy and physical play every night at even strength if he wants to remain in the lineup. With his salary being under $1 million, he makes for a solid depth piece lower in the Sens lineup. If he can get Brad Marchand to grab him by the neck again, he’ll be showing his worth as a pesky fourth liner.