The Ottawa Senators are entering the 2026-27 season with several pending unrestricted free agents. The most notable is Drake Batherson, as the 28-year-old forward is entering the final season of his six-year, $29.85 million contract.
With Batherson being one of the Senators' top players, there has been a lot of talk about the possibility of them signing him to a contract extension. It is understandable, as the Fort Wayne, Indiana, native is coming off an excellent season with Ottawa. In 79 games during the 2025-26 season with Ottawa, he set new career highs with 33 goals and 71 points.
While Batherson is a clear extension candidate for the Senators, they have another player they should be working hard to extend: defenseman Artem Zub.
Zub is entering the final season of his four-year, $18.4 million contract, and the Senators should aim to lock him up to his new deal as soon as possible. He is Ottawa's best right-shot defenseman, and it would undoubtedly sting to see him sign elsewhere next summer.
Senators should look to lock up Zub to a multi-year extension
While Zub will be turning 31 years old in October, the Senators should not be afraid to lock him up to a multi-year contract extension. He has formed excellent chemistry with star blue liner Jake Sanderson and is showing zero signs of slowing down.
In fact, Zub has only been getting better as his Senators tenure carries on. The right-shot defenseman appeared in 81 games last season for the Senators, where he scored five goals and set new career highs with 25 assists, 30 assists, and a plus-22 rating. He also threw 66 hits and blocked 120 shots for Ottawa in 2025-26.
Given how important of a defenseman Zub is for the Senators, they should act quickly and try to get Zub signed to a contract extension before the start of the season. It will be interesting to see if they can successfully do just that from here.
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