“Little bit of — I don’t know if it was a setback — but we’re hopeful he plays on Saturday,” head coach D.J. Smith said when asked about Norris’ surprising absence from the practice on Wednesday. Norris will not play Thursday and is questionable for Saturday's pre-season finale. This leaves his status for the regular season opener in question, a huge issue for the Senators, who haven't re-signed RFA Shane Pinto yet. This could leave them without two of their top-3 centres to start the year.

Jenik had seven goals, 16 assists, 50 PIMs and a +3 plus/minus with the Tucson Roadrunners in 2022-23 and has signed a one-year, two-way contract extension with Arizona worth $775,000. The 23-year-old forward had appeared in 17 games for the Coyotes across the previous three seasons, picking up four goals and an assist. He was the Coyotes 2018 third-round Draft Pick (65th overall) and will be hoping to stick with the big club for a full season.

Holden announced he would be stepping away from hockey to join the Vegas Golden Knights Player Development Staff after 12 NHL seasons with six different teams (COL, VGK, CBJ, NYR, OTT, BOS). The 36-year-old defenseman played in 65 games with Ottawa in 2022-23, picking up two goals, 14 assists, 73 SOG, and 10 PIMs. He finishes his career with 52 goals, 178 points, 174 PIMs, and a +16 plus/minus in 654 games played.

Del Zotto played for eight NHL teams across 13 seasons and announced his retirement from professional hockey on Wednesday. The 33-year-old closes out his career with 63 goals, 199 assists, 284 PIMs, 1074 SOG, and a -30 plus/minus across 736 NHL games played. Del Zotto broke into the NHL with the New York Rangers after being a first-round pick in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft (20th overall).

Sanderson enjoyed a very successful rookie season in 2022-23 as he finished his inaugural campaign with four goals, 28 assists, 132 SOG, 12 PIMs, and a -6 plus/minus through 77 games played and has signed an eight-year, $64.4 million ($8,050,000 AAV) contract extension. The 21-year-old defenseman was Ottawa's 2020 1st round-pick (5th overall) and is expected to take a massive leap forward in his sophomore campaign.

Norris suffered a shoulder injury last October and attempted to return to the lineup in January, but that only last three games before re-injuring his shoulder. Norris underwent surgery in late January and says he "feels good" and has been on the ice "a ton" and "training normally" this summer. Norris also said he should be ready to play in the preseason, and his goal is to be ready for opening night. Norris has missed 90 games over the last two seasons but recorded 37 goals and 21 assists (58 points) across 74 games, making him a strong mid-to-late round fantasy selection heading into 2023-24.

MacEwen had four goals, six assists, 64 PIMs, 73 SOG, and -11 plus/minus through 56 games with both Philadelphia and Los Angeles and has signed a three-year, 2.325 million contract with the Ottawa Senators. The 26-year-old bruiser adds some fourth-line depth to the Senators and brings 13 goals, 28 points and 245 PIMs across 186 career NHL games to nations capital.

Pilon had 11 goals, 18 assists, 24 PIMs and a +6 plus/minus through 53 games with Hershey (AHL) in 2022-23 and has signed a one-year, two-way contract worth $775,000. The 25-year-old centre brings a goal and three games of NHL experience to the Senators after being a third-round pick (87th overall) in 2016 to Washington.

Highmore had 19 goals, 42 assists, 34 PIMs and a +1 plus/minus through 68 games in 2022-23 with Springfield (AHL) and has signed a one-year, two-way contract worth $775,000 with Otttawa. The 27-year-old centre brings 139 career NHL games of experience to the Senators, where he picked up 12 goals and 27 points to go along with 165 SOG.

Harmonic had six goals, 15 assists, 136 SOG, 71 PIMs and a -5 plus/minus through 75 games with Ottawa in 2022-23 and has signed a two-year, $2.2 million contract extension ($1.1M AAV). The 32-year-old defenseman has played in 793 career NHL games, picking up 50 goals and 229 points across his 13 year career thus far.

Bernard-Docker split his time between the NHL and AHL during the 2023 season. While in Ottawa, the 23-year-old defenseman had one assist, 22 shots and 23 hits in 19 games. He figures to be in the mix for regular playing time during the 2023-24 season.

Larsson spent most of 2023 in the AHL, where he had 17 points (4G / 13A) in 55 games with Belleville. During his time with Ottawa, he was held pointless with four shots and seven hits in seven games. It sounds like the Senators couldn't get Travis Hamonic re-signed, so they re-signed Larsson to maintain the blueline depth.

Davies had 11 goals, 12 assists, 90 PIMs and a +4 plus/minus through 66 games with Rochester (AHL) in 2022-23 and has signed a one-year, two-way contract through the 2023-24 season. The 26-year-old defenseman has appeared in 23 NHL games picking up three assists since being drafted in the seventh round (192 overall) by the New Jersey Devils in 2016.

Gaudette had 27 goals, 24 assists, 57 PIMs and a +7 plus/minus through 65 games with both Toronto (AHL) and Springfield (AHL) and has signed a one-year, two-way contract extension ($775,000/$400,000) through the 2023-24 season. The 26-year-old centre was acquired by the Blues as part of the Ryan O'Reilly trade and has 70 points (27G/43A) across 218 career NHL games played.

The Senators selected Pettersson in the third-round (No.72 overall) in the 2022 NHL Draft. The 19-year-old centre had one goal and one assist in 29 games with Rogle BK Angelholm (SHL) during the 2023 season. He also represented Sweden at the 2023 World Juniors, where he had two goals and two assists in seven games.

Matinpalo was an undrafted free agent from Finland, who had 16 points (7G / 9A) in 51 games for Assat Pori (Liiga) in 2023. Following his signing with the Senators, Matinpalo is a part of the 2024 plans but will likely have to work his way up from Belleville (AHL).

Amadio has two goals, three assists, six SOG, four PIMs and a +4 plus/minus through nine games this season but will be a healthy scratch for Game 5 vs. Edmonton. The 26-year-old will be replaced by Teddy Bleuger in the Golden Knights' lineup.