The NHL Journey of Former Ottawa Senator First-Rounder Colin White May Be Done – MASHAHER

For the third straight summer, former Ottawa Senators’ 2015 first-rounder Colin White is on the market as an unrestricted free agent. And it looks like his phone isn’t ringing.

It was the same story last summer, but White eventually signed a professional tryout with the Pittsburgh Penguins, who later signed him to a one-year deal.

That signing felt like one last kick at the can for White. After being overlooked all summer in 2023 free agency, an NHL team had taken a flier on him, giving him one last chance to jump-start his career.

Here’s how it went.

White played 11 games with the Penguins, scoring 0 goals and 0 points. The Pens placed him on waivers, and the Montreal Canadiens claimed him. He played 17 games with the Habs, scoring 0 goals and 0 points. Even in a stint in the AHL with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, he had just 10 points in 21 games.

Any NHL team considering their PTO options for this fall will now look back on Pittsburgh and Montreal’s 2023-24 experiments with White and probably keep scrolling past his name. It’s been an unfortunate freefall for a player who was once such a bright prospect.

The former Boston College star, oft-described as a great teammate, was drafted 21st overall by Ottawa in 2015, three picks before former Ottawa 67s captain Travis Konecny and three picks after Thomas Chabot.

“Whitey” and “Chabby” were joined at the hip back then—at the draft, as roommates, and as elite prospects who the Sens hoped would one day lead them out of the rebuild. They signed big-money, long-term extensions less than a month apart in 2019. They even have precisely the same birthdays: January 30th, 1997.

But the similarities ended there.

White posted 14 goals and 41 points in 71 games as a rookie in Ottawa. He played a good chunk of that season with two pretty talented linemates, Brady Tkachuk and Mark Stone. In hindsight, it’s clear that White’s stat line that year was a mirage, as he played alongside two of the best Senator players ever.

However, former GM Pierre Dorion didn’t look at it that way. Dorion bought in completely, as most fans and media did at the time, and signed White to a six-year deal worth $28.5 million. White immediately struggled with injuries and consistency, and within three years, Dorion placed him on unconditional waivers and bought him out.

White will continue to be paid by the Senators until the spring of 2028.

Perhaps White will find another PTO, a two-way contract to play in the AHL or head to Europe.

In the meantime, it’s hard to describe White’s NHL career as disappointing. Despite his struggles, he will finish with over $20 million (US) in career earnings, even if he never puts his skates on again.

We should all have “disappointing” careers like that.

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