The San Jose Sharks are working on keeping a couple of key young pieces in place, and one of them appears to be moving toward a deal.
General manager Mike Grier said there has been ongoing dialogue with Will Smith and Collin Graf, and he made it clear the club wants to keep Smith around for the long haul.
“Continuing to have dialogue with (Smith and Collin Graf) and see where that goes. Smitty is definitely someone we’d like to lock up long-term as well.
So we’ll see how it goes. But definitely, it’s part of the plan to hopefully get them locked up long-term.
But if it doesn’t happen (with Smith), then we’ll be okay, and we’ll figure it out as the season goes on and into next summer.”
Grier also said the Sharks are “pretty close” to getting Graf’s contract finalized.
On the Ottawa side, Drake Batherson is heading into the final season of his deal with a $4.65 million cap hit, and the picture there sounds a lot less settled. Bruce Garrioch reported that some league executives think Batherson could land somewhere in the $10 million to $11 million range if he reaches the open market next July 1.
The Senators and Batherson’s camp have talked, but sources say the two sides “aren’t close.” Batherson wants to stay in Ottawa, and the Senators want to keep him, but getting there may be the hard part.
One source pointed to Adrian Kempe’s $10.625 million as a possible comparison. Ottawa’s approach could complicate things, too, since the Senators have a history of not liking to hand out large amounts for bonuses and salary up front. That could push Batherson toward at least testing free agency.
Ottawa GM Steve Staios would also like to get defenseman Artem Zub extended. Zub is set to become a UFA after next season, and his agent, Dan Milstein, said the sides have not talked contract yet.
“We have not exchanged thoughts on contract at all. I would imagine we would speak about it in the coming weeks or in early fall.”
In Other News...
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 🡒]
Travis Green Thinks Ottawa Took A Real Step Toward Contending
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Greens bigger point was about where this group sits on the long road back to true contention. He said the Senators are closer to winning a Stanley Cup now than they were when he first arrived, a sign that progress is being measured not just by results, but by how the team has learned to respond when things get difficult. For a fan base that has waited through plenty of false starts, the challenge now is turning that confidence and identity into something that lasts well beyond one encouraging season. [Read more 🡒]
Calgary Flames Face Tough Dustin Wolf Decision During Rebuild
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For a club trying to climb back into contention, the challenge is not just identifying talent but lining up the right windows so the best pieces peak together. The Flames can look at other NHL rebuilds for examples of how to speed things up, but the hard truth is that accelerating the process is easier to talk about than to execute, especially when the clock is already ticking on a goalie in his prime years. [Read more 🡒]