While the Ottawa Senators have opened contract talks with winger Drake Batherson, Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia reports a deal does not appear imminent between the two sides.
Batherson is a pending unrestricted free agent, carrying a cap hit of $4.95 million in the last of a six-year deal signed in 2021.
Garrioch writes that Batherson could command $10 million to $11 million on the open market next summer. He adds that league executives believe Batherson and the Senators “aren’t close” to reaching an extension.
Batherson, 28, recorded 33 goals and 71 points in 79 games with the Senators last season. He added three goals and four points in four playoff games before his team was eliminated in the first round.
Drafted 121st overall by the Senators in 2017, Batherson has 149 goals and 364 points in 470 career games.
Keeping Batherson could be of new-found importance for the Senators after losing a core piece in captain Brady Tkachuk earlier this summer, honouring his trade request and in a deal with the Florida Panthers.
Ottawa currently has forwards Tim Stutzle, Shane Pinto and Dylan Cozens, along with defencemen Jake Sanderson and Jordan Spence locked up through at least 2029-30.
No talks with Zub yet
Defenceman Artem Zub is also 11 months away from reaching unrestricted free agency and while contract talks haven’t started yet, his agent, Dan Milstein, expects them to come soon.
“We have not exchanged thoughts on contract at all. I would imagine we would speak about it in the coming weeks or in early fall,” Milstein told Garrioch.
Zub, 30, registered five goals and 30 points in 81 games with the Senators last season while averaging 20:48 of ice time with a plus-22 rating.
He only appeared in one playoff game due to injury as the Senators were swept in the first round by the eventual champion Carolina Hurricanes.
The 6-foot-3, right-shot defenceman is entering the final season of his four-year, $18.4 million contract that carries a cap hit of $4.6 million.
