Fabian Zetterlund has only been an Ottawa Senator for a couple of months, and he’s already asking the club for a raise. That wouldn’t fly in a normal workplace, but that’s how it goes in the NHL when you bring in a pending restricted free agent at the trade deadline.
The Senators acquired Zetterlund, minor league centre Tristen Robins, and a 2025 fourth-round pick from the San Jose Sharks in exchange for winger Noah Gregor, centre Zack Ostapchuk, and a second-round pick in the 2025 NHL Draft.
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Zetterlund’s current contract expires on July 1st, and he’ll be seeking an upgrade from the $1.45 million he earned over the past two seasons. He has a decent case: he led the Sharks in goals in 2023–24 with 24 tallies and 44 points. He was on a similar pace this season before the trade to Ottawa, where things got… well, a little more fourth-liney.
Coming to a new team can be a little awkward at first, but it sounds like the transition for Zetterlund was relatively easy.
“I would say it's been great,” Zetterlund said. “It felt like I stepped into a big, big family and yeah, it's been great. I mean, the group is so tight and so close with each other, so it was easy for me. Even hockey-wise didn't go that well at the beginning, but I felt comfortable when I learned the system more and more.”
Fans who recall the pesky NHL playing career of Claude Lemieux, who’s now a player agent, would never think of him as a guy who brings people together. But he’s the agent for both Zetterlund and Tim Stützle, so it’s quite likely Lemieux asked Stützle to take the new guy under his wing.
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“Yeah, (Stützle) reached out right away and told me I could live with him,” Zetterlund said. “And yeah, it was an easy, easy choice. And we had a lot of fun together. It just made when I came here so much easier. He showed me around everything, so yeah, it's just great to have a guy like that.”
Zetterlund says he would love to return to the Senators this season, but he clammed up when he was asked at the season-end media availability whether there has been any contract talks.
“No. You can talk to Steve (Staios).”
Translation: not touching that one with a ten-foot composite stick.
Staios and Lemieux occasionally butted heads as players, and it’s possible they’ll do so again while trying to agree on Zetterlund’s worth this summer. Lemieux is likely to be after a deal that reflects his client’s stats and performance with the Sharks, the worst team in the NHL the past two years.
In San Jose, Zetterlund played in the top six, frequently making calls on the “Lund Line” with Mikael Granlund and William Eklund. Last season, he played almost 19 minutes a night. This season, almost 17 minutes.
But on a superior team in Ottawa, his path to top-six minutes was often blocked. Zetterlund got some games up there but also frequently played on the fourth line. So, in 20 games with the Sens, he had just 2 goals and 5 points, and his ice time with the Senators was just over 14 minutes a night.
That said, he's quick, has a lethal release, and based on his Instagram workouts, he can deadlift a Zamboni. I like the player.
A lot will depend on other moves Staios makes this summer, but one thing’s for sure: Staios will be negotiating based on Zetterlund’s value in Ottawa, not in San Jose. And unless Zetterlund breaks into the top six regularly, getting the minutes he needs to repeat those California stats will be a challenge.
Zetterlund is under club control for two more years, but he's also arbitration-eligible* this summer. If it gets to that, will the arbitrator focus more on his Ottawa or San Jose stats? If all things were equal, Staios would probably like to get a deal done at around $2 million or under, but Lemieux will celebrate his San Jose stats and point to the recent contracts signed by Ridly Greig ($3.25M) and Shane Pinto ($3.75M).
Zetterlund had more points than each of those players last season.
Staios probably has more of a desire to keep Greig and Pinto happy because they're likely to be part of the long-term solution here, while the jury is still out on Zetterlund, who isn’t a UFA until 2027.
If the two sides can avoid the unpleasantness of arbitration, and Zetterlund says he wants to be here, it's possible they could manage a short-term deal at around $2.8 million, a near doubling of his salary.
But in arbitration, Zetterlund has a serious chance to shoot for Pinto money (or more) and get it.
Staios has options:
- He could let the process play itself out and risk having to overpay to keep Zetterlund.
- He could let Zetterlund walk by not giving him a qualifying offer. But losing Ostapchuk et al. for 26 games of Zetterlund wouldn't be an ideal management of assets.
- Staios could package Zetterlund up in a trade.
No matter how it plays out, it's going to be an interesting negotiation, especially when Zetterlund's worth to the Ottawa Senators isn't fully clear yet.
* This article has been updated to reflect Zetterlund being arbitration-eligible.
Steve Warne, Site Editor
The Hockey News - Ottawa
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