The Ottawa Senators are at a tricky point with Drake Batherson, and the longer they wait, the pricier this is likely to get.
Batherson has been eligible to sign an extension for the past three weeks, and on paper, this feels like the kind of deal Ottawa would want to tackle early. He’s 28, coming off a career year, and every season in Ottawa has brought a modest climb in his production. Last season was his best yet: 33 goals and 71 points.
That upward trend is exactly why the clock matters. If Batherson puts together another step forward in 2026-27, he’ll reach unrestricted free agency next summer with even more leverage than he has now.
The market around him is changing fast, too. The NHL salary cap is set to jump by $8.5 million this summer to $104 million, and it’s projected to rise again to around $113 million in 2027-28. As the cap goes up, so does the going rate for top-end offense.
That reality was on display over the weekend when Connor Bedard signed a five-year deal with the Chicago Blackhawks carrying an average annual value of $15 million. Earlier this month, Leo Carlsson landed a five-year contract with Anaheim at $18 million per year after the Ducks matched the offer sheet he signed with the Philadelphia Flyers.
Batherson can’t be compared directly to either player because of age and upside, but those deals still matter. Bedard finished last season with 75 points, Carlsson had 67, and Batherson’s 33 goals and 71 points sit in that same statistical neighborhood. The difference is that Batherson is 28, while those two are much younger and were paid in part for what they’re expected to become.
That’s why Ottawa’s timing is so important. If the Senators had locked Batherson up before those contracts were signed, they might have had a better shot at a lower number. That opportunity is gone now.
Batherson is also finishing the bargain deal he signed five years ago, a contract with a cap hit of less than $5 million per season. It has been one of the better value contracts in the league, but that era is ending.
So what does a new deal look like? If Bedard is at $15 million and Carlsson is at $18 million, it’s fair to wonder whether Batherson’s side would push for $10 million or even more.
His standing in Ottawa has only grown, too. With Brady Tkachuk now in Florida and several veteran voices no longer around, Batherson is suddenly one of the longest-serving core players on the roster, behind only Thomas Chabot.
He also delivered in the playoffs. Ottawa was swept in the first round by the eventual Stanley Cup champion Carolina Hurricanes and had trouble scoring, but Batherson still managed three goals and an assist, factoring in on four of the Senators’ five goals in the series.
There is at least one encouraging sign for Ottawa: Batherson has made it clear he wants to stay. When asked in May whether he was open to a long-term future with the Senators, he said, "Oh, yeah," Batherson said.
"I mean, it's a great spot for me. It's close to home.
I've been here for almost a decade now and made so many friends outside of hockey in Ottawa. So, yeah, it feels like home.
"I've lived here pretty much the same amount of time I've lived in my hometown."
He also said there had been no contract talks at that point.
"This is all new to me. Obviously, it's my first time coming up on being a free agent since I was 23.
That was my last one, which has flown by. I can't believe it's been five years.
So yeah, we'll see what happens."
Those comments gave Senators fans a reason to feel better about the situation. But with more mega-deals landing around the league, Batherson’s camp may be looking at the market very differently now than it was a couple of months ago.
A $10 million price tag might sound steep at first glance, but that’s where the NHL is headed. The only real question is whether Ottawa can get Batherson signed before his play and the market push the number even higher.
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