The Ottawa Senators have started extension talks with Drake Batherson, but they’re not getting anywhere fast.
According to Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch, the two sides “aren’t close” on a new deal for the 28-year-old winger, and Ottawa is staring at a tough fight to keep him out of unrestricted free agency next summer. Garrioch reported that league executives expect Batherson to be in line for “as much as $10 million to $11 million per year” on his next contract, a number that would blow past the current salary structure in Ottawa.
Right now, the Senators’ top earner is Tim Stutzle at $8.35MM against the cap. Their No. 1 defenseman and No. 1 goalie each sit just below that mark. Batherson has become Ottawa’s top winger after captain Brady Tkachuk was traded to the Florida Panthers, but he still hasn’t quite reached the same star level as Stutzle, Jake Sanderson or Linus Ullmark.
Even so, the market for high-end wingers is doing Batherson plenty of favors. Players in that scoring range - the ones who live in the high-60s and low-70s in points - have been landing huge contracts, whether from their own clubs or on the open market.
Alex Tuch, 30, got a $10.5MM AAV from the Washington Capitals earlier this summer after putting up 33 goals and 66 points. The New York Rangers also handed Pavel Dorofeyev an $11MM AAV; he’s 25, a better pure goal scorer than Batherson, and has topped 60 points only once.
That’s why, with the cap climbing and the market moving the way it is, it’s hard to see Batherson settling for less than $10MM if he keeps building on his 2025-26 season. He was one of Ottawa’s most reliable players this past year, finishing with 33 goals and 71 points in 79 games. That was second on the team, behind only Stutzle.
He also gave the Senators one of their few bright spots in the playoffs. In a four-game first-round loss to the Carolina Hurricanes, Batherson scored three goals and four points, easily leading Ottawa in postseason scoring.
All of that makes the Senators’ position pretty clear: they’d prefer not to let him walk. Batherson matters too much to a team that has no interest in sliding backward, something Ottawa showed by flipping the No. 9 pick it got in the Tkachuk deal for immediate help in William Eklund.
Still, this looks like a negotiation where Batherson holds plenty of leverage, and the clock is working against Ottawa. Every day that passes pushes him closer to the open market, and the odds of keeping him below the team’s top salary seem to be fading fast.
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Drake Batherson Just Became Ottawas Biggest Contract Decision
Drake Batherson is back on the Senators contract radar as Ottawa and the winger have begun extension talks heading into the final year of his current deal. It is a familiar kind of summer business for a team trying to keep its core intact, especially for a player who has given the club strong value relative to his contract and remains open to staying in Ottawa.
Batherson has said he would like to get something done this summer, which is exactly why the situation carries more weight than a routine negotiation. The Senators would like to avoid letting the matter drift into the season, but for now the sides are still feeling out where the fit is on a new deal, and the longer it goes, the more this one starts to look like a defining decision for the franchise. [Read more 🡒]
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