Senators expected to activate winger Mathieu Joseph

The Senators are gearing up to activate winger Mathieu Joseph from long-term injured reserve, Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch reports on Sunday. To clear roster and salary cap space, the team assigned wingers Angus Crookshank and Jiri Smejkal to AHL Belleville.

Joseph, 26, was moved to LTIR just last week, but the move was retroactive to when he exited the lineup with a lower-body injury against the Stars on Dec. 15. He will have satisfied the minimum 10-game, 28-day absence requirement ahead of their game Tuesday against the Flames and will be activated immediately upon becoming eligible.

Before the season began, Joseph and his $2.95M cap hit were the subject of trade discussions to help alleviate the Senators’ difficult cap squeeze after a busy offseason. Without any takers, Joseph began the season still in Ottawa and responded with a career-best 0.76 points per game pace through his first 25 games, recording six goals, 13 assists, and a +12 rating that remains first on the team.

That depth production will prove extremely valuable in his return to the lineup. The Senators’ largest ailment this season has again been an inept bottom-six, one that’s produced a combined 18 goals sans Joseph as the season nears its halfway mark. Combined with subpar goaltending from Anton Forsberg and Joonas Korpisalo, the team remains last in the Eastern Conference with a 14-21-0 record and 28 points.

Crookshank and Smejkal now return to minor-league action for the foreseeable future, although both fared decently well in their first career NHL stints throughout the first half of the season. The 24-year-old Crookshank scored a goal and an assist in seven games and posted positive possession metrics despite being leaned on heavily in the defensive zone, although he did it in just 8:50 per game. Smejkal, 27, has one assist and a -2 rating in nine games this season.