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Senators re-sign former first-round draft pick to one-year contract
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- Senators re-sign former first-round draft pick to one-year contract
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The Ottawa Senators have decided to keep forward Tyler Boucher in the organization, signing the former first-round pick to a one-year, two-way contract for the 2026-27 season, the team announced Friday. The deal carries an NHL salary-cap hit of $850,000 and an American Hockey League salary of $90,000.
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Boucher, 23, was selected 10th overall by Ottawa in the 2021 NHL Draft. Five years after being chosen in the top 10, he remains one of only four first-round selections from that draft class who have yet to make their NHL debut. The others are Chaz Lucius of the Winnipeg Jets organization, Corson Ceulemans of the Columbus Blue Jackets organization, and Chase Stillman of the New Jersey Devils organization.
Since turning professional, Boucher has spent all three of his seasons with the Senators' AHL affiliate, the Belleville Senators. Across 115 career AHL games, he has recorded 19 goals, 22 assists and 41 points.
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The 2025–26 season was the most productive of Boucher's professional career. In 47 regular-season games with Belleville, he set new career highs with 12 goals, 14 assists and 26 points while also collecting 68 penalty minutes and finishing with a plus-7 rating. Those totals surpassed his previous best season in 2024-25, when he amassed five goals and 10 points in 47 games.
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Ottawa's decision to retain Boucher comes after the best offensive season of his pro career, but durability continues to be a major storyline. Injuries have repeatedly interrupted his development dating back to his draft year, when two knee injuries and a bout of COVID-19 limited him to only five games. The injury issues persisted after he was drafted, restricting him to 21 games with the OHL's Ottawa 67's in 2022-23 and 21 games with Belleville during the 2023-24 season.
Following his selection by the Senators, Boucher began the 2021-22 season at Boston University, where he accumulated two goals and three points in 17 games. After signing his entry-level contract, he joined the Ottawa 67's and later transitioned to the professional ranks with Belleville.
The Senators will now look for the Scottsdale, Arizona native to build on his career-best production and remain healthy as he enters the next stage of his development.
Internationally, Boucher won a silver medal with the United States at the 2019 Under-17 World Hockey Challenge and a bronze medal at the 2023 IIHF World Junior Championship.
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