- Drake Batherson signed an eight-year, $86 million extension with Ottawa on Tuesday
- The $10.75 million cap hit is the largest contract in Senators franchise history
- Read below for what Batherson said about out-earning Sidney Crosby
Drake Batherson is the richest player in Senators history.
Ottawa signed the 28-year-old winger to an eight-year, $86 million extension Tuesday. The $10.75 million average annual value kicks in next season and carries him through 2034-35.
Batherson met the Ottawa media a few hours later and got asked about a number he clearly had not made peace with. That cap hit puts him ahead of Sidney Crosby, and he was not about to pretend otherwise:
“And I definitely don’t deserve to make more money (than Crosby). I don’t think I ever thought I’d make this kind of money.”
Watch the full press conference:
Pierre LeBrun had the terms out before the team did:
Tuesday was the cutoff. The NHL’s new CBA takes effect Wednesday and drops the maximum term on an extension to seven years, which is why Washington also rushed Ryan Leonard’s eight-year deal across the line the same morning.
The structure is heavily protected. Batherson gets $30 million in signing bonuses over the life of the deal and a full no-move clause for the first four years, which converts to a no-trade clause for the last four.
He earned it on the ice last season with career highs of 33 goals and 71 points in 79 games. His 30 power-play points led the team, and he added three goals in a four-game first-round exit.
General manager Steve Staios leaned on the development angle in the team’s release, calling Batherson a player who “exemplifies what it is to be an Ottawa Senator” and a key part of the core group. The 121st pick in 2017 now has 364 points in 470 games.
Ottawa has Tim Stutzle, Jake Sanderson, Shane Pinto, Dylan Cozens, Jordan Spence and Batherson locked in through at least 2029-30. That matters more after the front office honored Brady Tkachuk’s trade request in June and shipped its captain to Florida.
Batherson was asked whether he had weighed testing free agency, and he said his answer never really moved.
“My mind just kept coming back to, I wanted to get a deal done in Ottawa and play here for as long as I can. These are the group of guys that I love and I didn’t want to be anywhere else.”
