The Montreal Canadiens may be watching Ottawa’s contract talks with real interest, because Drake Batherson could quickly become a name to know if the Senators can’t get him signed.
Batherson is coming off his biggest offensive season yet, finishing with 71 points last year after increasing his point total in every season of his career. He’s established himself as a productive top-six winger who brings both offense and physical play, and that kind of profile is going to come at a steep price.
He’s currently on a deal worth under $5 million per season, but his camp is reportedly pushing for something in the neighborhood of Adrian Kempe’s eight-year, $10.625 million salary. According to Marco D’Amico, if Ottawa can’t lock Batherson down, Montreal will be among the teams ready to pursue him.
That interest fits with how aggressive the Canadiens have already been in the rumor mill, with the club previously tied to Kirill Marchenko and Matthew Knies. Batherson would give them another major swing at adding a high-end winger if he becomes available.
There was also a notable twist in Florida’s goaltending picture. Daria Tuboltseva reported that Sergei Bobrovsky was prepared to leave $8 million in total value on the table in order to stay with the Panthers.
The agreement in principle was a two-year deal at $6 million per season, but the sticking point came down to trade protection. Panthers general manager Bill Zito was not willing to hand out a full no-trade clause, and Bobrovsky wasn’t interested in taking the discount without stronger protection.
Instead, Bobrovsky ended up with the Maple Leafs, where his new contract pays $7 million annually over three years and includes a full no-trade clause. Florida, meanwhile, is moving ahead with Jacob Markstrom and Akira Schmid in net.
That’s a very different look, and while it may not carry the same comfort level Bobrovsky brought, the Panthers clearly were willing to treat last season as a down year in the middle of a broader injury mess. Bobrovsky, for his part, posted the worst numbers of his career.
The Maple Leafs are betting they can get a better version of him, and they clearly weren’t scared off by last season’s stat line. As a free-agent addition, it’s a bold move aimed at helping push the club back toward winning form.
In Minnesota, the next contract on the docket may not be the one everyone is talking about, but it looks like it’s coming soon. Joe Smith of The Athletic reported that John Hynes is likely to receive an extension before the season begins.
Hynes has posted a .601 points percentage since arriving with the Wild, which is better than what he managed with the New Jersey Devils and the Nashville Predators. Under him, Minnesota has become one of the league’s toughest teams to face, built on strong defense and the ability to score in bunches.
Even with below-average center depth, the Wild have found a way to make it work with Joel Eriksson-Ek, Ryan Hartman, Michael McCarron, and Danila Yurov. Those are useful pieces, but not a true elite center, and Minnesota has still thrived.
The expectation is that Hynes’ new deal will be around three years. The bigger-picture outlook around the Wild remains positive, and the sense is that they are positioned to keep moving forward, with more room to improve as they go.
In Other News...
Maple Leafs Blue Line Question Has Put One Trade Target In Focus
Torontos blue line remains a conversation point as the club looks for ways to add more defensive stability behind its top defenders, and one name that has come into focus is a right-handed shutdown option from Calgary. With the Flames carrying a crowded defensive group, the idea is simple enough: find a defender who can block shots, play physically and bring a steadier edge to the third pair or deeper depth chart without asking for offensive flair.
The appeal is easy to understand from the Leafs side, especially with a player whose game is built around reliability and tough minutes. The wrinkle, of course, is fitting another defenseman into an already tight roster picture, which means any serious pursuit would come with cap gymnastics attached. For a team still weighing how much room it can create and where the biggest needs really are, the interest makes sense even if the path to getting it done does not look especially clean. [Read more 🡒]
Maple Leafs Just Got An Atlantic Division Opening They Needed
Brad Marchands offseason has already created a potential ripple in the Atlantic Division, and the Maple Leafs have a reason to pay close attention. Florida has not officially confirmed the exact nature of the issue, but the expectation is that Marchand underwent surgery and could miss the start of the season, a development that matters for a Panthers team Toronto will see again in December.
For the Leafs, any early-season absence from a player of Marchands caliber could alter how the division race begins, especially against a Florida club that has been a direct obstacle in recent years. Even if this does not change the long view of the standings, it gives Toronto a cleaner opening to bank points while one of the Easts most irritating playoff veterans works his way back. [Read more 🡒]
Darryl Sittler Owns A Leafs Feat That May Never Fall
Darryl Sittlers place in Maple Leafs lore already feels secure, but one mark on his resume stands alone in a way that still stops people cold: the most points in a single game by a Toronto player, and in NHL history. On Feb. 7, 1976, he put up 10 points against the Boston Bruins, piling up six goals and four assists in a night that has lived on for nearly half a century as one of the sports most untouchable performances.
What makes the feat linger is not just its scale, but how the game around it has changed since then. Scoring rates have shifted, goaltending has gotten sharper, and the kind of all-out offensive eruption Sittler produced has become harder to imagine, let alone duplicate. For Leafs fans, it is one of those records that does more than survive the passage of time - it quietly reminds every new generation just how exceptional one night in Boston really was. [Read more 🡒]