Ottawa Senators player grows tired of waiting, leaves Ottawa and heads for home

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Josh Tupper
October 13, 2023 (6:37 PM)

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The expectations are sky high for this year's Ottawa Senators. With the NHL's 2023-24 season underway, the Ottawa Senators are still without restricted free agent forward Shane Pinto, who remains unsigned.

The two sides were hoping to get a contract done, but it's been tough due to Ottawa's current salary cap situation. Despite that, Pinto has been in Ottawa the last few days in hopes of getting a deal done, but now, according to Bruch Garrioch, Pinto has decided he will be returning home.

"Shane Pinto has returned home. Too much attention here and wants to focus on training. #Sens" Garrioch said in a post on X."

In order to solve their salary cap situation, Ottawa Senators General Manager have been trying to complete trades involving forward Mathieu Joseph and defenceman Erik Brannstrom. Joseph has 3 years remaining on his deal with a cap hit of $2.95 million, while Brannstrom is owed $2 million this season before becoming a restricted free agent next summer.

Pinto, 22, had a great rookie season in the Nation's capital in 2022-23 where he put up 35 points (20 goals, 15 assists), 18 penalty minutes and was a minus-21 in 82 games.

Shane Pinto was expected to be a big piece to Ottawa's future and to not have him signed is frustrating for both sides. It seems like Dorion is quite active on the trade market as he wants to get his done as soon as possible, but the clock is ticking.

Because he's a restricted free agent, if he's still unsigned by 5 p.m. ET on December 1st, he'll not be allowed to play in the National Hockey League for the rest of the 2023-24 and that's a situation both Pinto and the Senators want to avoid.

TSN