- Steve Staios says extension talks with Drake Batherson are ongoing and Ottawa wants him signed
- Batherson is coming off a 33-goal, 71-point season on a $4.975 million cap hit that expires next summer
- Read below for the full Staios comments and what a new deal does to Ottawa’s pay structure
Steve Staios is not playing coy about the biggest contract left on his desk.
The Senators general manager took pre-submitted questions from season seat members at Canadian Tire Centre on Wednesday night, and the state of Drake Batherson’s extension talks came up early, per Callum Fraser of the Ottawa Citizen.
“There’s no secret that we want to get Drake Batherson signed. That conversation is ongoing with Drake, and it takes two sides to come to a deal. But there’s been good dialog as we move forward.”
Then came the sales pitch.
“He’s a homegrown talent. It’s a great story. He continues to get better and we feel like we have a very great, strong, contending team with a chance to win. We want him to be a part of it.”
Wanting it done and getting it done are two different jobs. League executives pegged Batherson at $10 million to $11 million on the open market in late July, around the time word got out that the two sides aren’t close.
He turned 28 in April, became extension eligible on July 1, and has one year left on the six-year contract Pierre Dorion handed him in 2021 at $4.975 million a season. Anything near that market number resets Ottawa’s entire pay structure, because Tim Stutzle tops the roster right now at $8.35 million.
The production is there. Batherson put up 33 goals and 38 assists in 79 games last season, both career highs, then went a point per game in Ottawa’s first-round sweep at the hands of Carolina.
Watch every one of those 33 goals:
Staios has more than one file open. He told the room he is “certainly not done” adding to the roster after trading Brady Tkachuk to Florida and turning one of those picks into William Eklund.
There is room to work with. Ottawa carries a little over $4 million in cap space with nobody left to re-sign, per PuckPedia.
Two depth forwards also got named as camp candidates. Staios pointed to Sammy Blais and Philip Tomasino as wingers with a real shot at the opening-night lineup, per Hockey HotStove’s Murray Pam:
Blais bounced between Montreal and Toronto on waivers last season before finishing the year in Laval, and he signed a two-year deal in July. Tomasino spent most of an injury-shortened season in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and took a one-year contract.
Batherson’s number is still the one that decides how the rest of the roster fits.
