Ottawa Senators Director of Player Development Sam Gagner has seen some skilled offensive players in his day — so his description of Stephen Halliday as an “incredible” playmaker stands out as high praise.
Halliday signed a two-year, $2.15 million contract extension with the Senators on Tuesday morning, which carries an AAV of $1.075 million. The deal comes after Halliday’s rookie season in the NHL, in which he compiled four goals and seven assists in 30 games.
Gagner says that his hockey sense is a big reason why Halliday has been able to quickly adapt to new levels. After his sophomore season in college ended in 2023–24, he turned pro, joined the Belleville Senators, and led them in playoff scoring.
The next season — where he counted Gagner as one of his teammates, with the 1000-game NHL veteran on a PTO — Halliday led the team in scoring, with 51 points in 71 games.
“I think he thinks the game at a really high level, which allows for an easier adaptation when you’re moving around leagues,” Gagner said on Tuesday afternoon.
“I think you even saw it when he got his call-up to the NHL this year, he was able to adapt and make reads, it’s his hockey sense that really stands out.”
The 23-year-old will still be a restricted free agent when the deal expires in the summer of 2028, so for both the player, who was passed over in his first year of NHL draft eligibility, and for the Senators, who drafted him as an overager in the fourth round in 2022, it’s a win.
“If you would have told me I’d be sitting here today at the beginning of the year, I would have definitely been like, ‘I hope’,” Halliday told Sens360’s Jackson Starr on Tuesday afternoon. “Yeah, super excited, really grateful, and I’m just really excited for the opportunity.”
As Gagner alluded to, Halliday has been a natural playmaker at all levels — compiling 147 assists in 215 USHL games, 58 in 78 NCAA games, and 64 in 110 AHL games.
Though that playmaking touch stuck with him when he was called up to the NHL in November — he picked up an assist on a Shane Pinto power play marker in his first game — the goals took a bit longer to come.
Scoreless in his first 18 NHL games, his first came, finally, in Nashville on Jan. 22, when he poked home a Lars Eller rebound to open the scoring. Then, the floodgates opened, with Halliday picking up three more goals over his next five games.
“He had a stretch there where I felt like he played some incredible hockey. He was hanging onto pucks more, making more happen, and I think he brings an element of offensive IQ that is really important in today’s game,” said Gagner.
Halliday even set a Senators franchise record during that hot stretch in his rookie campaign — just not one he was intending to. Halliday had two goals and one assist during a 7-1 win over Vegas on Jan. 25, 2026, recording three points in the least ice time (7:39) of any player in franchise history.
However, he did so in large part because he left the game due to injury after being sent into the glass by Golden Knights forward Tomas Hertl. Thankfully, Halliday was back in action under a week later. He appeared in seven more games ahead of the trade deadline but watched most of March and April from the press box, with a healthy complement of forwards.
Halliday said that the time he spent in the press box made him appreciate the chances he did have to play more, and that he felt like he “didn’t skip a beat” when he returned to game action against New Jersey on Apr. 12 and Toronto on Apr. 15.
“When I got in those last couple of games, I was super excited, and I got to play with some great players, like Drake and ‘G’, so it was definitely cool there. And then, obviously just trying to get better every single day, [assistant coach Ben Sexton] had great stuff for us in practice,” said Halliday.
“I was super happy with how it went. There’s still like, the IQ part of the game that you can try to get better at, I had more time with [Benoit] in the gym to kind of like, go over and better plan for how I need to get better in the offseason too.”
“I think any player would tell you they’d much rather be playing in the games than watching from up top, and part of that was just talking to him about the opportunity at hand, and there’s still an opportunity to learn, to grow, you see a lot when you’re watching from up top, and you’re able to pick up one some different things,” said Gagner.
“He’s a very smart hockey player, so for him to be sitting up there and watching the games, I think that was the main message. We would text back and forth during games about different things we were seeing, I think it just probably grows his hockey knowledge and his ability to think the game.”
Halliday is excited to train in Toronto with the organization’s Director of Player Heath and Performance, Matt Nichol, for the second summer in a row.
“He’s been unbelievable for me, I trained with him last summer, and I could just see how much better I’ve gotten. And I still have a long way to go, but I’m really excited, I put a lot of trust in Matty, and he’s been unreal for me,” said Halliday.
“Definitely going to try to get stronger, all the cliches, stronger, faster type stuff. But I definitely think working on delays, cutbacks, and kind of trying to create some separations out of the corner. And just watching Timmy and all those guys, seeing how effective it is — obviously you’re never going to skate like Timmy, but kind of trying to take a lot of those different [things]. Try to work on my shot, only had a couple goals this year, so hopefully getting to double digits for next year.”
“We’re excited, I think it’s a huge summer for him,” said Gagner. “He knows that, and yeah, there’s still a lot of growth to be had there.”
