Senators place veteran forward on waivers

The Senators placed Zack MacEwen on waivers Monday, per Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch. This is the veteran grinder’s second time on the wire this season.

MacEwen, 27, is in his first season with the Senators after signing a three-year, $2.325M deal in free agency. His $775K cap hit is fully buriable in the minors, where he’ll likely spend a significant amount of time during his tenure in Canada’s capital.

The waiver placement comes ahead of netminder Anton Forsberg’s pending return to action from a groin injury that’s kept him out for the last month, per Garrioch. Forsberg will likely dress Tuesday against the Blue Jackets, and the Senators need to clear $1.55M in cap space to take him off long-term injured reserve. Assigning MacEwen to AHL Belleville, plus returning backup netminder Kevin Mandolese to Belleville from his emergency loan, will clear the necessary space.

MacEwen has played in 22 games with Ottawa, scoring twice and adding an assist while averaging 6:23 per game. He hasn’t been a significant defensive liability in his limited minutes, although his point-producing ability at the junior- and minor-league levels still hasn’t translated to the NHL.

Prior to landing on waivers, MacEwen was a healthy scratch in six of Ottawa’s last eight games, including five straight.