Ottawa Senators In No Rush To Sign Shane Pinto to Extension

Shane Pinto, Ottawa Senators, will not be offered an extension just yet

Shane Pinto has not had a smooth path in contract negotiations in his short career. And it appears that this season is going to be no different, as the Ottawa Senators have indicated that there's no rush to sign an extension.

After his entry-level deal expired in 2022-23 with a solid 20-goal rookie season, Pinto's summer was marked by radio silence on the extension front, and we eventually found out that was because he was the subject of a gambling investigation, which landed him a 41-game suspension for 2023-24. He eventually signed a minimum-salary deal to complete the rest of that season, and then had to settle for a two-year bridge deal ($3.75M AAV) last summer.

Now, being eligible for another extension since July 1st, once again, there's nothing doing on the negotiations front, as the Senators are taking a wait/see approach, as GM Steve Staios told the Coming in Hot podcast (h/t Steve Warne in The Hockey News).

I think what we've decided on is we're gonna let the season start and not have Shane distracted with (contract talks). But I guess the best way to put it is (we've had) preliminary conversations – positive ones – that lead me to believe that there will be a deal done at the right time. And that's really all I can report on that.

Staios did add that he considers Pinto a part of the team's core group going forward, and was pleased that the 24-year-old got an invite to the USA Hockey’s Olympic orientation camp. "A huge confidence boost for him," is what Staios called it.

Pinto, the Sens' third-line center, notched career highs last season with 21 goals and 37 points, along with a plus/minus rating of +10. The 6'3", 200-pounder also tossed in 73 hits in 70 games.