Former Ottawa Senator Colin White’s First Round NHL Journey Could Be Complete

For the third summer in a row, former 2015 Ottawa Senators first-round pick 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.

This signing felt like one last kick in the can for White. After being overlooked all summer of 2023, an NHL team made a flyer about him, giving him one last chance to start his career.

See how it went.

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

Any NHL team considering their PTO options for this fall will now look back at Pittsburgh and Montreal’s 2023-24 experiments with White and likely continue to ignore his name. It was an unfortunate freefall for a player who was once such a bright prospect.

The former Boston College star, often 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 tight back then — in the draft, as roommates and as elite prospects the Sens hoped would one day take them out of the rebuild. They signed long-term, big-money extensions less than a month apart in 2019. They even share the exact same birthdays: January 30, 1997.

But the similarities ended there.

White scored 14 goals and 41 points in 71 games as a rookie in Ottawa. He played much of that season with two very 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 Senators players of all time.

However, former GM Pierre Dorion didn’t see it that way. Dorion bought in completely, as most fans and media did at the time, and signed White to a six-year contract 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 spring 2028.

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

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

We should all have “disappointing” careers like this.

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