The young Ottawa Senators defenceman says there's great chemistry in the room and it will be here for a while.

After signing his big new contract extension (8 years x $8.05 million), Ottawa Senators defenceman Jake Sanderson revealed some lofty team goals this week. Sanderson is incredibly skilled, but comes across as perhaps a little shy in interviews, as 21-year-olds often do. So it was a bit of a surprise – a pleasant one – to hear him talking so optimistically about a Stanley Cup in the "next couple of years.".

"You just see the chemistry in the locker room, it's something that will be here for a while," Sanderson told a media scrum this week. "And I think we're going to win within the next couple of years. We know that. And I want to be here for it. So that's the main thing. (That's) why you play hockey is to win Stanley Cups. So, you know, that group in there, we're ready for it."

That's a far cry from GM Pierre Dorion's rather conservative approach to goal setting in the past couple of years. Dorion said earlier in the summer that he might be willing to talk about expectations after camp begins but so far, he hasn't been able to bring himself to publicly talk about it yet.

Sanderson fearlessly went way beyond that and it was music to the ears of Sens fans, who haven't seen their club even make the playoffs since 2017, let alone go deep.

The Times They Are a-Changin'

As for his big new extension, Sanderson is now set for life with generational wealth at age 21. That's exactly the kind of thing you immediately want to share with your dad.

"I tried to get a hold of my dad, but he was fishing," Sanderson said. "He was on a river somewhere with no service, so I had to wait a couple of hours. Once I got a hold of him and my mom, I told him right away, and I was so excited."

As most Sens fans are aware, Jake's father is Geoff Sanderson, who had a long, successful career as a forward in the NHL. While Geoff was proud and beaming when he got the news, there was probably a small hint of amazement at how much things have changed in the league.

Next year, in what will be Jake's third NHL season, he'll earn $8.05 million. That's more than ten times what his dad earned for his third NHL season. And depending on how Jake makes out this season, you might be able to make an argument that Geoff was a more proven player in the league after two years. In his second season, before Jake was even a glint in his eye, Geoff put up 89 points for the 1992-93 Hartford Whalers.

Geoff made $135,000 that season, then got a raise to $800,000 for his third season. Over an 18 year career, Geoff made out just fine, earning over $22 million. It's not Jake money, of course, but it's not bad.

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