The Ottawa Senators have signed center Shane Pinto to a two-year, $7.5M contract. The deal will carry an annual average value of $3.75M. Pinto went through a tumultuous season last year, missing the first 41 games of the regular season for violating the league’s gambling policy. He eventually signed a contract for the league minimum of $775K on Jan. 19.
Once he was back in the lineup, the 23-year-old had a strong season, dressing in 41 games and posting nine goals and 18 assists while registering a +9. His underlying numbers were excellent, particularly his possession numbers as he posted a CF percentage of 53.8 at even-strength.
The Franklin Square, New York native was probably hoping for more stability this offseason but settled on a two-year term which could effectively come with a third year at $5M as the second year of his deal is reportedly for $5M (as per CapFriendly).
A former second-round pick (32nd overall) in the 2019 NHL entry draft, Pinto went through a tough contract negotiation with Ottawa last summer before his suspension and is sure to be happy to have a deal done early in July. Ottawa was able to facilitate the deal with Pinto after they sent Mathieu Joseph to the St. Louis Blues (along with a third-round pick), effectively clearing out his $2.95M cap hit for the next two years.
Pinto has been mainly a third-line center in Ottawa, however, with Joshua Norris injured last season Pinto was elevated in the lineup and played solid minutes as the Senators’ second-line center. Pinto averaged over 18 minutes of ice time per game which was an increase of more than two minutes a night. With the uncertainty of Norris going forward, the Senators have a terrific backup option with Pinto as he has already demonstrated he can be a second-line center in the NHL.