Forward Nick Paul will be left out of the Ottawa Senators preemptively on Friday, as he is at the center of trade rumours.
Paul, 26, will become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season.
According to the daily “Ottawa Sun”, he would have refused a four-year contract extension which would have earned him $ 2.5 million per season with the Senators.
In 59 games in 2021-2022, the Ontarian has scored 11 goals and seven assists. This is only his third season as a regular in the National Hockey League (NHL), as he shuttled between the Senators’ farm club and the Bettman circuit between 2015 and 2019.
Paul changed agents earlier this year. Previously, he was represented by none other than Montreal Canadiens general manager Kent Hughes.
In his career, the winger has scored 29 goals and 66 points in 227 NHL games.
The “Sens” will face the Philadelphia Flyers at the Canadian Tire Center on Friday.