Senators Sign Drake Batherson To Eight-Year Extension

Of course, though, expected lines are subject to change once training camp and the preseason begin in earnest.

What’s unlikely to change is that Batherson will be one of Ottawa’s most heavily relied-upon offensive producers, both at even strength and on the power play.

Batherson isn’t much of a penalty killer nor is he a feared defensive winger, but that’s not something the Senators are too concerned about given how consistently he produces high-level offense.

By signing Batherson to this deal, the Senators have firmly entered the new paradigm of player compensation that NHL teams are grappling with. Earlier this year, Los Angeles Kings forward Adrian Kempe, who is just slightly older than Batherson but has been a superior offensive producer, signed an eight-year extension at $10.625MM AAV. Alex Tuch, another comparable, signed an eight-year contract with the Washington Capitals worth $10.5MM AAV.

Batherson’s contract is above both of those comparables, and likely well above what he would have received had he been set to hit free agency this summer, rather than next summer. If he had inked his extension a year ago, his deal would likely have been closer to AFP Analytics’ projection of a $9.8MM AAV.

This is the largest contract in Senators franchise history and the inclusion of a significant amount of money in signing bonuses represents a dramatic shift from how the team has typically done its business. Ottawa has traditionally avoided paying out money in the form of signing bonuses. They do not have any on their books for 2026-27, other than a $1MM outlay spent on offseason addition William Eklund.

But in order to ensure they could keep Batherson, the Senators have broken from their conventional ways of doing business, and doing so has helped allow the team to put pen to paper on this extension before the new CBA kicks in at the end of the day.

This signing is also notable, beyond just its financial terms, for what it signals about the Senators’ intentions moving forward. Ottawa’s decision to exchange its former captain for a collection of draft picks seemed at the time like a move teams make when they’re set to kick off a rebuild, but the Senators quickly communicated that they had no intent of doing so. They traded one of the top picks they received for Tkachuk to get Eklund, and GM Steve Staios has publicly said he is aiming to build an immediate contender.

Re-signing Batherson is an essential move for the Senators’ near-term competitive hopes. While the contract might not age well in its final few years, that is an expected reality of doing business at the highest level of the player marketplace.

The Senators feel they are relatively close to true contention with their No. 1 center, No. 1 defenseman, and No. 1 goalie in place, and could not sanction the risk of losing their No. 1 winger to free agency. So they’ve broken their existing financial structure in their payroll to ensure that wouldn’t happen.

It remains to be seen if Staios will be able to build the Senators into a true contender in the seasons to come. There remains a real chance that the team’s decision to double down on near-term contention could backfire, as much as there is a chance that the decision pays off.

But regardless of what the ultimate outcome of the Senators’ Stanley Cup chase is, they’ve made their lives a lot easier by ensuring one of their key building blocks won’t have the chance to hit free agency for the rest of the prime years of his playing career.

Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet first reported that Ottawa was nearing an eight-year extension with Batherson at an AAV between $10.5MM and $11MM. Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic was first to confirm the exact $10.75MM AAV. Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch reported the no-trade and no-move terms of the contract.