The clock is starting to run out on the Ottawa Senators and Drake Batherson. He is reportedly looking for an eight-year contract extension, and September 15 is an important deadline for both sides. Under the new collective bargaining agreement, that is the final day players can sign an eight-year extension with their current team. After that, the maximum drops to seven years.
Batherson is entering the final season of his six-year, $29 million contract, and he is coming off the best season of his career. The 28-year-old scored 33 goals and finished with 71 points in 79 games, putting himself in a much stronger position heading into negotiations.
Ottawa can't play hardball with Batherson
Ottawa can't afford to lose another important homegrown forward after Brady Tkachuk's departure this summer. However, the good news is that both sides appear interested in getting a deal done. The question is how much the Senators are willing to pay.
Players like Adrian Kempe and Alex Tuch have signed long-term contracts worth more than $10 million per season, and Batherson could be looking for something in that range. If he reaches free agency next summer after another strong season, there is a good chance he could command a significant contract.
An eight-year deal worth more than $10 million per season would make Batherson the highest-paid player in Senators history. It would also take him through his age-35 season, creating some obvious risk toward the end of the contract. Which would likely see any protection clauses reduced or removed by the six-to-eight range.Â
Batherson is coming off a 71-point season and is entering his prime. If he has another year like that, his price probably isn't going down. The Senators could also find themselves dealing with the same questions next summer, except without the option of giving him eight years. So, the pressure to sign him before we enter the 2026-27 season is on. They could get him for $1-2 million less per year right now than if he had another good season.Â
Senators’ GM Steve Staios and his front office need to find a way to get this deal done. We’ve seen it so many times around the NHL: the two sides can’t reach an agreement, and then the player hits the open market and signs with a new club. Or, like Mitch Marner and the Toronto Maple Leafs, accepts a sign-and-trade to a new team. This isn’t the time to play hardball after losing your captain. Staios needs to sit down with Batherson’s camp and grind out a team before September 15th.Â
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