The biggest offseason storyline for the Ottawa Senators has been Drake Batherson’s contract extension talks.
Yes, the Brady Tkachuk trade garnered its fair share of attention. But let’s face it, Tkachuk is quickly becoming ancient history.
The present hinges on Batherson. And yes, we’ve discussed this topic at length. But it’s the latest comments from Elliotte Friedman that have to at least get Senators’ fans to perk up their ears.
Friedman discussed in a surprise edition of the 32 Thoughts Podcast that the Senators have a “path” to extend Batherson.
While Friedman purposely tried to avoid shedding any further light on the matter, he made it clear that it’s not doom and gloom for the 28-year-old in the Nation’s Capital.
Of course, there’s a desire for both sides to work something out. But getting to the point of putting ink to paper is another story altogether.
Dollar figures could be the biggest sticking points for Batherson and Senators
It seems that the dollar figures could be the biggest roadblock the two sides have to clear. The Senators want to be as cost-conscious as possible, not out of cheapness, but out of savvy salary cap management.
The issue, unfortunately, is that the Senators won’t likely be getting a hometown discount from Batherson. The prevailing chatter has been that Batherson’s camp is looking for a deal similar to those of Alex Tuch and Adria Kempe. That means we’re talking about the $10 million to $11 million range.
That’s a relatively wide gap, even if a million dollars is no big deal in pro sports. But to a hard-cap league like the NHL, a million bucks can mean passing on a veteran depth piece making the league minimum.
But there might just be a way to sort of skirt the issue, even if it means kicking the can down the road.
A short-term deal might be the easiest way out for now
Several stars are going the short-term route. The purpose is to delay a major contract decision until such a time when the salary cap ceiling is much higher. That could mean a deal that takes Batherson and Senators to around 2028 or 2029, when the cap ceiling will be at least $123 million.
That upper limit offers much more flexibility to iron out one more multi-year deal at a much higher price point. Such a plan would depend on Batherson taking a little bit less now, on the promise of a bigger payday down the line.
It’s a risk both Batherson and the Senators will take. Batherson could see his production plummet, potentially costing him millions of dollars. On the other hand, Batherson could become a 100-point player, seemingly pricing himself out of Ottawa.
All of those risks are par for the course. The likeliest outcome is that Batherson stays in Ottawa. But the path to making an extension happen may require a little more creativity than initially believed.
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