As the salary cap skyrockets, these five Senators contracts stand out above the rest.
In an exercise where we try and identify the Senators' best NHL contracts, it's important to define what we mean by best.
For example, the highest-paid player can rightly claim he has the best contract.
But most fans would look at best contracts from a team perspective, as in, which contracts are the best for my team? And that's how we've chosen to go about this. Besides, where's the fun in just copying and pasting a team's highest salaries?
So, based on money and term, weighed against the player's production and impact, we've come up with the Senators' five best contracts.
As a sidebar, the list reads as a feather in the cap of Pierre Dorion, who had some home runs to go with his strikeouts. He drafted all these players and signed four of the five deals.
1. Jake Sanderson — $8.05M AAV (UFA 2032), GM Pierre Dorion
Sanderson just finished up 10th in Norris Trophy voting this year and third for the Lady Byng. But 26 NHL defensemen made more than him this season, and his new extension still has six more years left on it. Although he's progressed well past him, Sanderson only makes $50K more than Thomas Chabot, and at 23, Sanderson is still getting better.
Most of the elite defencemen ahead of him on the salary list get paid $8.5-$11.5 million annually. Imagine how inexpensive Sanderson's deal will feel when that range creeps up to $13 million in a couple of years as he hits his prime, and still at $8 mill.
Highlights:
- Top-pair defenceman
- Heavy minutes in every situation
- Prime years locked up
- Potential Norris candidate
2. Tim Stützle: $8.35M AAV (UFA in 2031), GM Pierre Dorion
You could make a case for Stützle at one. He's a bona fide first-line centre entering his prime at age 24. Number-one centres are always among the most expensive assets in hockey, and comparable players are now pushing into the $10M-$12M range. Ottawa locked him up for eight years with five still to go.
Highlights:
- First-line centre
- Prime years covered
- Signed through 2030-31
- His stats will spike further if/when the Sens find him a complementary winger
3. Brady Tkachuk: $8.22M AAV (UFA in 2028), GM Pierre Dorion
Compared to when Tkachuk signed this deal, it's been a bargain for several seasons now. He's a UFA in two years, but if he were free today, he might get another $4-5 million right now on the open market.
Power forwards who can score 30-plus goals, drive play physically, wear the "C," and play every difficult minute are unicorns. Tkachuk had a lot in his plate this season, so after a good summer of training and rest, with injury or Olympics, I think he's primed for a monster bounce-back.
Highlights:
- Leadership premium
- Prime years
- Physical game and offence
- Cap hit below current superstar market
4. Drake Batherson: $4.98M AAV (UFA in 2027), GM Pierre Dorion
Batherson got basically the same deal the Sens gave to Colin White and one of these things is not like the other. White is long gone (though the Sens still have to pay him for two more years), while Batherson has improved every single year. He just cracked 30 goals and 70 points for the the first time, and to have that for another year at under $5 million will be borderline outrageous in 2026-27.
But we've penalized him for the purposes of this list because the term isn't there anymore. The deal ends next summer and a big raise awaits.
His next contract could easily approach $8M-$9M, but he told me last month he wants to be here and would love to get something done this summer. If there were ever a hometown discount candidate, it's Batherson. I'm guessing his next deal, combined with his continued improvement, might also keep him on this list.
Highlights:
- 30-goal, 70-point production
- Under $5 million cap hit
- Easily replaceable? Nope.
5. Shane Pinto: $7.5M AAV (UFA in 2030), GM Steve Staios
Pinto will quietly become the Senators' third-highest-paid forward this fall, so for this list, his new $7.5 million salary works against him. But he just finished sixth in Selke voting, which is further evidence that he's now, at 25, one of the game's best two-way centres.
And there's certainly more offense there than he's been able to show. He missed 10 games and still finished with 23 goals and 46 points with very limited power play time (only 5 points came on the PP). Among Sens forwards, only Tim Stutzle had more average time on ice this season, but Pinto spends a lot of his time and energy in prevention mode, shutting down top lines and killing penalties.
He'd probably love to follow in Patrice Bergeron's shoes someday, but a guy like Bergeron had the advantage of top-unit power play time while skating 5-on-5 with Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak. That would kinda help out Pinto's Selke status as he begins his new four-year contract.
Highlights:
- Top defensive centre
- Prime years secured
- Plays in every situation
- Leadership qualities, great in the room
So there it is. Our view of the best five Senators contracts. Did we miss anyone? If you're reading this at The Hockey News, let us know in the comments below.
By Steve Warne
The Hockey News
