The club placed the veteran forward on unconditional waivers for the purpose of a buyout Tuesday, according to Sportsnet's Chris Johnston.
Even if the Senators buy him out, they won't be completely off the hook.
Burrows, being a +35 contract, will still have a $2,500,000 cap hit next year. He'll have an actual cost of $833,333 per year for the Sens over the next two years.
The 37-year-old has one year left on the two-year, $5-million contract he signed with Ottawa in late February 2017, one day after the Senators acquired him from the Vancouver Canucks for prospect Jonathan Dahlen.
Burrows chipped in 11 points in 20 regular-season games after the trade and five more points in the Senators' unexpectedly deep playoff run last spring. This season, he managed only six goals and eight assists in 71 games.
The Pittsburgh Penguins agreed to a four-year deal with forward Bryan Rust that carries an average annual value of $3.5 million, the club announced Tuesday.
Rust was a pending restricted free agent.
He collected 13 goals and 38 points in 69 regular-season games this season, piling up 20 points in his final 31 contests. He added three goals in 12 postseason games.
Rust was a member of both of the Penguins' Stanley Cup-winning squads in 2016 and 2017, and has scored 10 goals in 18 career playoff elimination games.
The 26-year-old has spent parts of four seasons at the NHL level with the Penguins, who made him a third-round pick in 2010.
The NHL's deadline to qualify restricted free agents struck Monday at 5 p.m. ET, and Smith-Pelly's name is among the top to hit the open market.
After having the second year of his contract bought out by the New Jersey Devils, Smith-Pelly joined the Capitals on a one-year, $650,000 deal last July. The 26-year-old winger recorded 16 points in 75 regular games with Washington, but boosted his value with seven goals in the playoffs, including three in the Stanley Cup Final to help the club secure its first championship.
Wahlstrom wasn't taken by the Rangers at No. 9 overall, as they opted for Russian winger Vitali Kravtsov with the first of their two first-round choices, and the Islanders chose Wahlstrom two picks later with the first of their two consecutive selections.
The Islanders host the Rangers on Nov. 15 in their first meeting of the 2018-19 season, and the two clubs will face off again six days later at Madison Square Garden.
As one of the top centers of the 2018 free-agent class, Riley Nash will have no shortage of interest from around the NHL. However, one team has apparently already caught his eye: the Vancouver Canucks.
"(Joining a rebuilding team is) not something I would be scared of and I'm looking forward to talking to them," Nash said, according to The Province's Ben Kuzma. "We've done our research and it's pretty interesting. We're obviously aware of what's going on in Vancouver and I think they have a pretty good future ahead of them."
"They're not that far off and I don't think it will be a long rebuild."
The 29-year-old is coming off a breakout season in 2017-18, totaling 41 points in 76 games with the Boston Bruins, surpassing his previous career-high of 25. He's a very reliable defensive player as well, as he was one of two players this past season with at least 50 takeaways, but fewer than 20 giveaways.
Like many teams, the Canucks are in need of help down the middle. After Bo Horvat, Nash would likely slot in as their second-line center ahead of Brandon Sutter and Sam Gagner. Young phenom Elias Pettersson is a natural center, but it appears as though he'll begin his NHL career on the wing.
A chance to play a top-six role might be awfully tempting for Nash, especially if the Canucks use their abundance of cap room to make him a very rich man.
Every few summers a pending superstar free agent gets the NHL buzzing over a highly-anticipated move to a new market. This summer, that player is longtime New York Islanders forward and franchise cornerstone John Tavares.
Other than the half-season of donning the red, black, and yellow for SC Bern of Switzerland's National League (he played 28 games for the team during the 2012-13 NHL lockout), Tavares has only ever rocked Islanders colors, so the situation he would be moving to has to be just the right fit. Also, it should be noted that the Islanders are still the likely front-runners to retain his services.
Regardless, we take a look at, and rank, the five teams Tavares will speak to over the next few days based on which club would be the best fit for the perennial All-Star center.
5. Dallas Stars
Projected 2018-19 available salary-cap space: $19.8M.
Market: While everything might be bigger in Texas, Big D doesn't exactly boast a storied hockey culture. However, the ninth-largest city in the United States (1.38-million people) has all of the big-market appeals.
Aside from the night life and stellar barbecue, Tavares could more seriously be enticed by the lack of income tax on his paychecks he would receive should he be employed in the state of Texas.
Dallas might not top the list, but don't count out the impact that star players like Jamie Benn, Tyler Seguin, and Alexander Radulov could have on Tavares' decision-making process.
Potential line combo:
Left Wing
Center
Right Wing
Remi Elie
Tavares
Alexander Radulov
Best-fit rating: 4/10.
4. Tampa Bay Lightning
Projected 2018-19 available salary-cap space: $10.5M.
Market: Speaking of states with no income tax, Florida's white beaches and clear-blue shorelines aren't the only bonuses that come along with playing in the Sunshine State. In addition to the extra coin he would pocket by playing in Tampa Bay, South Florida would also provide the perfect kind of calm hockey setting Tavares is rumored to be interested in.
However, the Lightning are up against the cap next season and will have both Nikita Kucherov and Brayden Point commanding serious loot in 2019. Steve Yzerman's hands look to be tied.
However, if Stevie Y can work some magic with his roster, the extra cash, decreased media scrutiny, and potential to play with a close friend and elite sharpshooter in Steven Stamkos might just be enough to have Tavares heading to Tampa.
Potential line combo:
Left Wing
Center
Right Wing
Ondrej Palat
Tavares
J.T. Miller
Best-fit rating: 6/10.
3. Boston Bruins
Projected 2018-19 available salary-cap space: $11.9M.
Market: If it's a storied history of winning that Tavares craves, he need look no further than the Bruins, a team which has qualified for the playoffs nine of the last 11 seasons.
Boston isn't as flashy as other cities on the list, but in terms of its hockey culture, Bean Town is one of the very best. It's long been rumored that Tavares, a quiet and composed individual both on and off the ice, has always had eyes for a subdued market - something the hockey-crazed New England area is not.
It should also be noted that the Bruins already own a handful of forwards on long-term contracts north of the $6-million mark, so Boston general manager Don Sweeney would have to do some roster shuffling to make room for Tavares.
However, if Tavares were to jump ship and join the Bs, he would be joining a team already boasting one of the best top lines in the business with Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand, and David Pastrnak. He could relish an opportunity to play more of a supporting role rather than having to shoulder the burden of being the lone face of the franchise in New York.
Potential line combo:
Left Wing
Center
Right Wing
Jake DeBrusk
Tavares
Danton Heinen
Best-fit rating: 6.5/10.
2. Toronto Maple Leafs
Projected 2018-19 available salary-cap space: $24.6M.
Market: Take a deep breath, Toronto. Just because he sits second on this list doesn't mean that an order for a Tavares jersey in every colorway needs to be placed ... just yet.
Aside from the obvious draw of playing in his hometown, the Maple Leafs can offer Tavares the legitimate chance of winning right now. And while the same can be said for the other clubs on our list, Toronto employs one of the best young lineups in the NHL, making sustained success a real possibility.
Toronto's crazed hockey market and rabid media have proven to affect even the most grizzled of hockey vets, and the city is truly gasping for a winner. Needless to say, the pressures of playing in Canada's biggest city are intense. The Leafs will also have to come up with the cash to lock down William Nylander, Auston Matthews, and Mitch Marner over the next 12 months, which could potentially be the biggest hurdle to clear in getting Johnny T in blue and white.
There really is no telling if Tavares wants to subject himself to the media meat-grinder in Toronto, but the chance to bring the Cup back to where he grew up might be a deciding factor.
Potential line combo:
Left Wing
Center
Right Wing
Patrick Marleau
Tavares
Mitch Marner
Best-fit rating: 8/10
1. San Jose Sharks
Projected 2018-19 available salary-cap space: $18.8M.
Market: Everything about San Jose seems to fit the mold as Tavares' town. Aside from the Nor Cal appeal of living in the Bay Area with the Pacific Ocean as his everyday backdrop, Tavares could be lured to the Sharks with the promise of living in relative obscurity.
He may be a big-name star in NHL circles, but playing in San Jose could afford Tavares the type of anonymity that he's looking for, regardless of how the team performs.
The Sharks also have a proven track record of recent success, failing to qualify for the playoffs only twice in the past 20 seasons. The team also employs the services of some of the best players in the league, with Brent Burns on the blue line and Joe Pavelski up front.
San Jose's beautiful setting, hockey culture, cap flexibility, and on-ice product has it in prime position to land the biggest free agent in recent memory.
The NHL's 5 p.m. ET deadline to extend qualifying offers to restricted free agents came and went on Monday, and there were more than a handful of household names who weren't tendered.
As a reminder, a restricted free agent who doesn't receive a qualifying offer will become an unrestricted free agent on July 1 and will be free to sign with any team he chooses.
Here is a list of the most notable names:
Forwards
Player
Team
GP
G
A
P
Nick Shore
CGY
64
5
14
19
Phil Di Giuseppe
CAR
49
5
8
13
Joakim Nordstrom
CAR
75
2
5
7
Anthony Duclair
CHI
56
11
12
23
Nail Yakupov
COL
58
9
7
16
Daniel Carr
MTL
38
6
10
16
Logan Shaw
MTL
72
4
10
14
Tobais Rieder
LA
78
12
13
25
Tom Kuhnhackl
PIT
69
2
6
8
Riley Sheahan
PIT
81
11
21
32
Devante Smith-Pelly
WSH
75
7
9
16
Defense
Player
Team
GP
G
A
P
Duncan Siemens
COL
16
1
1
2
Dylan DeMelo
SJ
63
0
20
20
Derrick Pouliot
VAN
71
3
19
23
Joe Morrow
WPG
56
6
10
16
Goalies
Player
Team
GP
SV%
GAA
SO
Robin Lehner
BUF
53
.908
3.01
3
Petr Mrazek
PHI
39
.902
3.03
4
The unrestricted-free-agent market just got a little deeper.
The Montreal Canadiens drafted center Jesperi Kotkaniemi with the third-overall pick in this year's NHL draft, but they don't appear to be finished addressing their needs down the middle of the ice.
The Habs aren't alone, though, as LeBrun adds that there's "no shortage of suitors." He says Stastny and the Jets have mutual interest in his return to Winnipeg, but the team would have to make cap room in order to make it work.
Stastny will likely wait until fellow free-agent center John Tavares signs a contract before he makes his own decision, but it wouldn't be surprising if he ended up in Montreal. The 32-year-old was born in Quebec City while his father, Peter Stastny, was starring for the Quebec Nordiques in the 1980s.
Splitting last season between the Jets and St. Louis Blues, Stastny had 53 points in 82 games, and added 15 more in 17 postseason contests.
