Cap space stands between Sens and Pinto as RFA trains in Ottawa
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Ottawa Senators general manager Pierre Dorion is working to create cap space in order to sign restricted free agent Shane Pinto, TSN Hockey Insider Darren Dreger reports.
"Both the Pinto camp and Sens are trying to find a resolution," Dreger wrote on X Wednesday. "There’s no stalemate, this is purely a cap issue"
Postmedia's Bruce Garrioch added on Wednesday afternoon that Pinto arrived in Ottawa on Sunday and has since been training at the team's Bell Sensplex facility.
Pinto is the highest-profile unsigned restricted free agent remaining in the league after the Anaheim Ducks signed Trevor Zegras and Jamie Drysdale to three-year deals last week.
The 22-year-old centre recorded 20 goals and 35 points in 82 games last season, his first full year in the NHL. He appeared in just five games in 2021-22 due to a shoulder injury.
Pinto was selected by the Senators at the top of the second round in the 2019 draft.
According to CapFriendly, the Senators have just $62,620 in cap space while carrying a roster of just 20 players.
Ottawa has more than $5 million in dead cap this season after retaining salary on Matt Murray and their previous buyouts of Bobby Ryan, Colin White, and Michael Del Zotto.
The Senators' regular season will begin on the road Wednesday as they take on the Carolina Hurricanes.