The Ottawa Senators signed forward Zack MacEwen to a three-year deal worth $775,000 per year. The 26-year-old center has bounced around with a few teams over the last couple of years but has been a steady member of the bottom six throughout that time.
Related: THW’s Free Agency Tracker
Most known for his toughness and willingness to fight, and MacEwen certainly does bring a lot of that to the table. He has recorded 150 or more hits in each of the last three seasons, which is something the Senators’ bottom six is lacking. With young players like Shane Pinto and Ridly Greig expected to be on the third line, having another big body to deploy against the top lines of other teams will be valuable. There isn’t a whole lot of difference between MacEwen and Austin Watson, who had a successful time in Ottawa.
MacEwen doesn’t produce many points, setting a career-high of 10 points in 56 games split between the Philadelphia Flyers and Los Angeles Kings this past year, but he gets a lot of shots toward the net and forechecks hard. Having someone who is willing to get into the dirty areas, wear down the opponent and take a hit to make a play makes his linemates better.
MacEwen Fits the DJ Smith Mentality
Senators head coach DJ Smith loves the physical, hard-nosed players (from ‘How D.J. Smith plans on changing his coaching tactics: ‘I will coach them differently’’, The Athletic, June 30, 2023). That is why depth players like Watson fit in so well. This team is built on physicality from the top down. Mark Kastelic is expected to be the fourth-line center, and he isn’t afraid to play that kind of game either. Having Kastelic and MacEwen on the same line is the definition of hard to play against. The top nine has enough skill to let the fourth line take over in grinding down the opponents. With less than 12 minutes a night, someone like MacEwen can fit in very well with this Senators group.
In a statement following the signing, general manager Pierre Dorion stated, “Zack’s a player with strong character who adds increased physicality to our lineup. He’s a hard-nosed, competitive player who’s a tenacious forechecker and who demonstrates a routine willingness to go to the hard areas.”
Again, this is the way the Senators are building their team.
MacEwen’s toughness goes far beyond his hits and forechecking. In his 186 games, he has had 29 fights, with more fights against one team than any other…the Ottawa Senators. He has fought Dillon Heatherington, Austin Watson and then Brady Tkachuk twice. On top of that, he has had bouts against some of the toughest around the league in Zdeno Chara, Tom Wilson and many more. His willingness to stand up for his teammates is unparalleled.
The Senators stated they wanted to bring toughness into the lineup after announcing Watson would be departing. Not only did they sign MacEwen, but they also have Boko Imama on a two-way deal that can also be injected into the lineup.