Entering this season, the Ottawa Senators were going to need to huge years from their superstar duo of Brady Tkachuk and Tim Stutzle. While both Tkachuk and Stutzle have been stellar this season, the Senators needed to get more offensive production outside of their top forwards.
Claude Giroux and Drake Batherson are the only other players on the team with 10 points or more, and Josh Norris' impact when healthy has been big. However, one player that may not have been relied on entering this season for offense is Adam Gaudette.
Prior to this season, Gaudette only played in two games last season with the St. Louis Blues, and it was the first time he played in the NHL since the 2021-22 season while playing for the Senators. Gaudette has been a huge surprise and has made for great value already for the Senators.
Gaudette's contract for his offensive production has been an incredible bargain
This past July, the Senators signed Gaudette to a one-year, $775,000 contract. This season is Gaudette's second stint with the Senators.
With being on a cheap one-year contract and needing to have a career changing season, Gaudette has been the biggest surprise on the Senators this season.
Gaudette is seventh on the Senators for the most points on the team with seven. Gaudette's six goals this season is tied for the second most on the team with Stutzle. Over the past five games, Gaudette has scored in four of them.
Two of the games that Gaudette scored in he scored two goals in the game, and has now scored in the past three consecutive games. Gaudette's two-goal game against the Vegas Golden Knights on Oct. 25 was his first two-goal game since November 2019. To add more impact on the team, Gaudette's +5 rating is tied for second on the team along with Stutzle. To add more of a twist with Gaudette's production, he is doing it while averaging under 10 minutes of ice time per game.
Gaudette has more points than other players the Senators were hoping to get more production out of. Some of those players include Thomas Chabot, David Perron, Shane Pinto, Michael Amadio and Nick Cousins. While Perron and Pinto have missed games, the Senators didn't expect Gaudette to take off this season.
With how much offensive production the Senators are getting out Gaudette this season, it's making the value of his contract that much better. The Senators are on the road tomorrow night at 7 p.m. ET to take on the Buffalo Sabres, and it offers as another chance for Gaudette to continue his surprising offensive production.