The Senators Are Betting Big on Drake Batherson

There is something interesting about the Ottawa Senators giving Drake Batherson eight years and $86 million. It isn't just the money. It is the timing.

Batherson got his deal done before the new CBA kicked in and changed the rules for contract length. A day later, Ottawa couldn't have given him eight years. That's one of those little details that can get lost in the excitement of a big signing, but it matters. The Senators looked at the player, looked at the calendar, and decided it was time to make the bet.

And make no mistake, Batherson is a pretty big bet for the Senators.

Batherson is 28 years old and coming off his first 30-goal season. He scored 33 last season, including 13 on the power play. Those are very good numbers, actually. But an eight-year contract takes Ottawa well beyond the player it knows today.

That's the part that makes this interesting. The Senators are essentially betting that Batherson's best years aren't behind him. They're betting that the 33-goal season wasn't a high-water mark but the beginning of something more consistent. They're also betting that a $10.75-million cap hit won't look nearly as frightening when the contract reaches its later years.

Maybe they're right. The salary cap is rising, and that changes how we view long contracts. A number that looks enormous today can become considerably easier to swallow several years down the road. We've seen that happen before. A contract can go from "How can they possibly afford that?" to "That's actually not so bad" without the player changing much at all.

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Still, there’s more to consider with Batherson and the Senators.

Batherson will be 36 when this contract ends. That's a long way from 28. The Senators aren't just paying for what he has done. They're paying for what they believe he will continue to do. That's the gamble every team faces when it hands out an eight-year deal.

For Ottawa, though, something bigger is probably going on. The Senators are trying to establish themselves as a team that expects to compete for a long time. Keeping an important forward in place fits that plan. The question isn't whether Batherson is worth $10.75 million today. The question is whether Ottawa will still feel good about that number in 2032.

We'll have to wait to find out.

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