Worst free agent signing from each decade in Senators history
Whenever free agency starts in the NHL, every team is looking to make a big splash and sign a player that can help improve their team in an instant.
Throughout history, the Ottawa Senators have had their fair share of signing free agents that helped contribute big for the team. From Claude Giroux, to Clarke MacArthur, to Dominik Hasek and more, the Senators have made good splashes in free agency.
The unfortunate part of free agency, is it offers teams to have more free agent busts than steals, and the Senators have had their fair share of free agent busts in each decade. Free agent signings can be tricky and not every team hits the home run with a free agent signing.
Worst free agent signing from each decade in Senators history
When the Senators had signed these four players, they had hoped the free agent signing would make the team better. While the Senators may have made the playoffs with them on the team, the production from the player wasn't the production the Senators had hoped for as well.
1990s- Tom Chorske
Prior to Tom Chorske signing with the Senators, he was a key role player with the New Jersey Devils. Chorske spent from 1991-1995 with the Devils and was a highly underappreciated player.
In the 1993-94 season, Chorske posted a career best 41 points with 21 goals. In the 1994-95 season, Chorske helped the Devils win the 1995 Stanley Cup.
Chorske became available for the Senators to sign in 1995 and they jumped on the opportunity to do so. The Senators had hoped for Chorske to bring his championship leadership over to a Senators team desperately in need of leadership.
Chorske spent two seasons in Ottawa, but didn't have the same production as he had in New Jersey. Chroske didn't record one season of over 30 points in Ottawa. While Ottawa made the playoffs for the first time in franchise history in 1997, Chorske only recorded one assist in the 1997 playoffs.
After Chorske left, he posted a 35-point season with the New York Islanders in the following 1997-98 season. Chorske was a let down when part of the Senators and the Senators had hoped better.
2000s- Alex Kovalev
Throughout his career, Alex Kovalev was a very productive player before joining the Senators. Kovalev was a key part of the New York Rangers 1994 Stanley Cup championship team and made three All-Star Games.
Prior to the 2009-10 season, the Senators signed Kovalev to a two-year contract hoping he'd be the missing piece to help the Senators go deep in the playoffs after the Senators missed making the 2009 playoffs. Kovalev was a 2009 All-Star, so it made great sense for the Senators to sign him.
Unfortunately in Ottawa, the Kovalev signing was a disaster. While the Senators made the playoffs in 2010, Kovalev had a 16-point drop off from his All-Star season the year prior and finished with 49 points in the 2009-10 season. The Senators were eliminated in six games by the Pittsburgh Penguins in round one.
In the following 2010-11 season, Kovalev's tenure ended after recording 27 points in 54 games as he was traded to the Penguins in February 2011. In the following 2011-12 season, the Senators made the playoffs without Kovalev on the team. Kovalev never lived up to the hype throughout his career before joining the Senators and was a major bust of a free agent signing.
2010s- Johnny Oduya
The 2010s was a productive decade for the most part for the Senators as they made the playoffs four times and made the 2017 Eastern Conference Finals. After losing to the Penguins in seven games in the 2017 Conference Finals, the Senators were looking to add a productive defenseman who can play defense and occasional offense when needed.
To do that, the Senators signed veteran Johnny Oduya to a one-year contract in 2017. Oduya was a two-time Stanley Cup champion who had played for four different teams before the Senators signed him, but was well respected by his teammates.
The Senators had hoped Oduya would be a mentor on the Senators' blue line and bring championship pedigree. Unfortunately, Oduya's tenure with the Senators was a very forgettable one.
At 36 years old, Oduya only played in 51 games for the Senators and recorded just eight points. The Senators didn't reach the playoffs in 2018 and it was the beginning of the playoff drought for the Senators. The Senators traded Oduya to the Philadelphia Flyers mid-season and he would only play one game for the Flyers.
After 2018, Oduya never played again in the NHL. While Oduya had positive stints with the Chicago Blackhawks and Dallas Stars before joining the Senators, his Senators tenure went poor.
2020s- Joonas Korpisalo
The Senators were in desperate need of finding their next number one goaltender after Craig Anderson's departure. In July 2023, the Senators signed Joonas Korpisalo to a massive five-year, $20 million contract.
Korpisalo seemed to have gotten his confidence back after he helped guide the Los Angeles Kings to the playoffs in 2023. The Senators had hoped his play with the Kings would carry over with a fresh start, but the signing immediately fired back on the Senators.
In his only season with the Senators, Korpisalo recorded a 21-26-4 record with a 3.27 goals against average and .890 save percentage. Korpisalo had inconsistency all season long and the Senators were even more desperate to find a new number one goaltender.
The Senators saw enough of Korpisalo after one season and traded him to the Boston Bruins to help acquire 2023 Vezina Trophy winner Linus Ullmark. Korpisalo's tenure in Boston started extremely poor after allowing in six goals in the 2024-25 season opener for the Bruins.
When Korpisalo allowed in six goals to start the season, the Senators knew they made the right decision by trading him away to the Bruins. While Korpisalo's contract was quite awful when the Senators signed him, they're glad it's not their problem anymore and it's the Bruins' problem now.
Free agency can be hard for any team in the NHL. The Senators are a team that have had their fair share of poor free agent signings from each decade.