Finally, the Senators are moving their AHL affiliate closer to home.

The Senators are expected make the move from Binghamton to Belleville for the 2017-18 season official Monday.

After more than nine months of negotiations with city of Belleville officials, the Senators have called a news conference for Monday at 11 a.m. at the Yardmen Arena to confirm the deal has been put in place.

Senators owner Eugene Melnyk will be on hand for the announcement and he’ll play a role in the new franchise along with the city of Belleville.

Postmedia first reported the club was working on this deal on April 25. The two sides were close to an agreement last month, but that fell apart because the paperwork couldn’t be completed.

While this means this will be the Senators’ final season in Binghamton — a place they’ve been happy to call home because it’s a strong AHL market — it’s believed the city won’t be left empty-handed. The Senators are working with the league and another franchise so that Binghamton will get another AHL team.

The news conference will come on the heels of a special meeting of the Belleville city council that will get underway at 8 a.m. At that session, council is expected to approve more than $20 million in upgrades to the arena and the work will get underway immediately.

The AHL’s board of governors were presented with the reasons the Senators wanted to make this move by assistant GM Randy Lee at their session in July in Hilton Head, N.C., and back this decision. They’ll have to give their stamp of approval in the next few days.

The Senators like the idea of Belleville because it’s only three hours from Ottawa, it’s in their television market and has shown in the past it’s willing to support a hockey franchise. The city lost the OHL’s Belleville Bulls when they were moved to Hamilton two years ago.

THIS N’ THAT

The Senators have held talks with the agents for UFA blueliners Dennis Seidenberg and Kris Russell on a regular basis — including last week. GM Pierre Dorion said he wants to see how Matt Bartkowski (PTO), Michael Kostka, Fredrik Claesson and Patrick Sieloff perform in camp. “We’ve talked to both agents. Since Day 1 since I’ve been general manager, we’ve talked about our defence as an area we have to improve on our depth,” Dorion said when asked about the duo at Fan Fest. “If you guys would have asked me if those guys would be available on Sept. (25) on July 1 I would have said ‘no chance.’ We’ve kept in contact with them. It’s the same thing as the Derick Brassard deal. When we felt it was the right price, we went ahead and (acquired) him. I like what see right now from training camp. I like what I see from Bartkowski, Kostka, Claesson and Sieloff. You’re seeing a lot of good things. Once the level goes up we’ll see if those guys can keep up.” It’s believed Russell is waiting to see how Johnny Gaudreau’s contract situation settles with the Flames before making a decision while Seidenberg is currently with Team Europe ... Goaltenders Andrew Hammond and Chris Driedger will split the duties in goal Monday night in the club’s exhibition opener against the Maple Leafs in Halifax at 6 p.m. EST. Coach Guy Boucher didn’t elaborate on how he’d use them, but it makes sense for Hammond to start because he is the veteran. The only regular blueliners making the trip are Mark Borowiecki and Chris Wideman. The Senators are expected to split their camp into two groups Wednesday. These are big games for forwards Matt Puempel, Nick Paul and Max McCormick while 2016 top pick Logan Brown will make his debut.

THE LAST WORDS

There was no update on winger Mark Stone, who suffered a concussion Friday after a collision with Buddy Robinson, but it sure doesn’t sound like he’s going to be out long. Stone wasn’t on the ice Sunday. “Don’t even worry about (Stone) ... He’ll be playing, if you have tickets on Oct. 12, he’ll be playing,” Dorion told the crowd with a smile ... With the pre-season getting under way, Dorion wants to see the battle for jobs heat up. “Without a doubt I want to see us get our team ready as quick as we can for Oct. 12. We might be cutting players earlier than in previous years because Guy has to get his team ready (for the opener),” Dorion said. “We’re going to see how the first two games go. I want to see veterans understanding the system, because it’s totally different from what we’ve done in the past. I want to see the guys that are on the bubble really push and make it hard for us to make cuts when it comes down to when the final team is made. I want the cuts, when we break with our 22 or 23 guys, to be really tough.”