Taunton native signs NHL contract

OTTAWA – A Taunton native is headed back to the Canadian capital.

The Ottawa Senators announced Tuesday that they signed center Adam Gaudette to a one-year, two-way contract with their AHL affiliate, the Belleville Senators, on a deal worth $775,000 at the NHL level and $450,000 at the AHL level.

This marks the second stint with the Senators for the 2018 Hobey Baker Award winner , who played 50 games for Ottawa in the 2021-22 season after being claimed off waivers from the Chicago Blackhawks. During that stretch, he recorded four goals and eight assists as the Sens finished seventh in the Atlantic Division.

Gaudette is coming off a strong season spent mostly with the Springfield Thunderbirds, the AHL affiliate of the St. Louis Blues, recording a league-best and career-high 44 goals and 27 assists for a career-best 71 points. He was selected as an Atlantic Division All-Star and was voted a 2023-24 AHL First Team All Star . He also made two NHL appearances for the Blues following an injury to forward Kasperi Kapanen.

Gaudette grew up playing sports in Taunton, first honing his skills on the ice at Aleixo Arena and Raynham IcePlex, and helped lead the Taunton West Nationals to the 2008 Mass. Little League Division 6 title . He played high school hockey at Thayer Academy in Braintree before embarking on a successful college career at Northeastern University. He was drafted in the fifth round (149th overall) of the 2015 NHL Draft by the Vancouver Canucks, joining them three years later after leading the Huskies to the 2018 Beanpot title and earning tournament MVP honors.

Gaudette has 27 goals and 43 assists for 70 points in 220 NHL games split between the Canucks, Blackhawks, Senators and Blues. At the AHL level, he has 77 goals and 43 assists for 134 points in 148 games between the Thunderbirds, Toronto Marlies and Utica Comets.

This article originally appeared on The Taunton Daily Gazette: Taunton native signs NHL contract