- Steve Staios confirms extension talks are open with Drake Batherson and Artem Zub
- Ottawa finished eighth in NHL goals last season and still wants a finisher
- Read below for the contract numbers, the sniper options left on the market and Ottawa’s goalie logjam
Ottawa’s next two big contracts are already in motion.
Senators general manager Steve Staios told TSN 1200 that the club has started extension talks with Drake Batherson and Artem Zub. Both enter the final year of their deals and hit unrestricted free agency next summer. Staios was asked how far along those conversations have gotten.
“Certainly, there’s been discussions. And those two players are players that I really like, and I think fit into our team.”
Watch Staios go long on the same offseason in a sit-down with Locked On Senators last week:
Batherson is the pricier of the two to sort out. He put up 33 goals and a career-high 71 points in 79 games on a $4.975 million cap hit, and he has cleared 60 points in four straight seasons.
Zub had a career year of his own with 30 points in 81 games. The 30-year-old defenseman carries a $4.6 million charge and has logged more than 20 minutes a night for five straight seasons.
There’s a clock on the length, too. Eight-year extensions stay on the table until mid-September, when the new CBA kicks in and caps a re-signing player at seven.
The scoring question chased Staios through every interview he did this month. Ottawa sent captain Brady Tkachuk to Florida and brought in William Eklund and Andre Burakovsky, neither of whom is a natural finisher.
Staios was asked whether this roster has enough finish in it.
“We were eighth in goals for in the National Hockey League last year. On the surface, do we have a pure sniper? I think everybody is sort of looking at that. As we continue to build our group, you’d love to add that.”
Finding one is the hard part. Vladimir Tarasenko is the best pure goal scorer still unsigned, with Michael Bunting and Patrik Laine also on the board, and Ottawa isn’t working with much room.
Tim Stutzle led the team with 34 goals last season, followed by Batherson at 33 and Dylan Cozens at 28. Take a look at what Stutzle does when he gets a step:
Goaltending is the other loose end. Linus Ullmark and new backup Samuel Ersson are set, but Leevi Merilainen is waiver-eligible for the first time, and Staios sounds willing to carry three netminders rather than risk losing him for nothing.
They have the cap room and the roster spot to do that. Getting Batherson signed is the harder job.
