Just when it seemed like the Ottawa Senators and Drake Batherson were going to let the contract saga sail past the September 15 deadline, news of a mega-extension hit the airwaves.
Early Tuesday morning, news broke that the Sens and the forward had reached an agreement on an eight-year extension.
According to Pierre LeBrun, the deal is an eight-year deal at $10.75 AAV.
Eight years x $10.75M AAV for Drake Batherson in Ottawa. Major business done by the Senators.
— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) September 15, 2026
The information was later confirmed by PuckPedia as an $86 million deal. The contract will take Batherson all the way up to age 37, pretty much locking up the winger for the rest of his NHL career in Ottawa.
At the moment, there is no information on any bonus structures or potentially front-loaded payments. There is also no word on no-trade clauses or any other trade protection.
The deal seemingly falls within the range we’ve discussed about Batherson wanting a deal similar to what Alex Tuch got from the Washington Capitals.
In fact, considering some of the other deals we’ve seen this summer, the contract is actually a bargain. After relatively unproven players like Leo Carlsson and Macklin Celebrini got astronomical deals, Batherson’s contract looks like a drop in the bucket.
But beyond the terms themselves, the Senators got something crucial: They got certitude. The deal ends speculation about Batherson’s future in the Nation’s Capital. Most importantly, the organization now knows how much it’s going to cost to keep its top scorer in the fold for the next nine seasons.
That’s something massive when considering the type of team the Senators are looking to build for the long term.
Batherson’s extension was the last major contract to take care of before the start of the season. The only other significant player the Senators have as an impending UFA is Artyom Zub. But that’s a story for another day.
Senators and Batherson avoided a potentially costly deadline
There had been so much talk made about the looming September 15 deadline. The reason, as we have outlined here at Senshot in previous pieces, after deadline, this deal would not have been possible.
The incoming rules state that players cannot sign eight-year deals with their current teams. That number will go down to seven under the new rules.
And free agents signing with new teams would only be able to sign for six years, instead of the previous seven.
That situation put pressure on the two sides to work something out. But there was another, even more powerful reason to get something done ahead of the deadline.
The expiring rules allow teams to fork over 90% or even more of the contract’s total value in signing bonuses. That’s going down to 60% under the new regulations.
As such, there was a powerful incentive to get the contract over the line before midnight on Tuesday.
That’s exactly what happened. And when the final numbers on Batherson’s contract are known, we’ll see just how much the changing rules affected the negotiation.
Ultimately, the two sides did the right thing. They got the deal done now, especially before camp opens. There should be no distractions now. So, it will just be a matter of getting down to the business of playing hockey.
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