For the first time in five years, former Ottawa Senator Austin Watson is in the American Hockey League. The Detroit Red Wings assigned Watson to the Grand Rapids Griffins this week, one day after signing him to a one-year, two-way deal.
For the second year in a row, Watson signed a PTO with an NHL club. Last year, he found part-time work in Tampa Bay and played 33 games with the Lightning. As Watson joined the Griffins this week, it’s his first time seeing AHL action since the 2018-19 season with the Milwaukee Admirals.
Drafted by the Nashville Predators in the first round of the 2010 NHL Draft, Watson spent three seasons with Ottawa. In his final year here (2022-23), he and Brady Tkachuk finished 4th and 5th overall in NHL penalty minutes.
The 32-year-old was a popular figure in the Ottawa dressing room, spending three seasons with the Senators, protecting them on the ice, and inspiring them off of it with the way he’s rallied from battles with anxiety, depression and alcoholism.
In January 2023, Dylan Gambrell presented Watson with his pin for being four years sober. It was a doubly emotional presentation as the late Bob Jones was also honoured by the team after a win, shortly after Jones was diagnosed with ALS.
As with Adam Gaudette in Ottawa, who also cleared waivers, Watson can now move up and down from the minors for the first month of the season without having to clear waivers.
Overall, the Wings have gone heavy on acquiring ex-Senators in the past year. The NHL roster includes Vladimir Tarasenko, Alex DeBrincat, Tyler Motte, and Cam Talbot.
Watson has played in the league for a decade, or 515 career NHL regular-season games. He has 60 goals and 58 assists for 118 points.
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