Drake Batherson's next contract is shaping up to be a franchise problem for the Ottawa Senators.
Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Citizen reported Sunday morning that if Batherson reaches the open market, his salary could eclipse $11 million a year.
That number would more than double his current cap hit of $4,975,000.
Batherson is coming off a 71-point season, 33 goals and 38 assists across 79 games, with 13 of those goals coming on the power play.
He was even better in the playoffs. Four games against the Hurricanes, three goals, four points, and the Senators still couldn't solve Carolina, dropping the series in four straight.
His game-winning goal total sits at five for the year, the kind of number that shows up in a locker room's respect for a guy, not just a scoresheet.
Ottawa finished the regular season at 44-27-11 for 99 points, a real playoff club that got bounced early anyway.
Staios faces a brutal cap math problem
General manager Steve Staios now has to decide how much of the Senators' cap sheet gets tied up in one winger heading into his prime years at 28.
Is $11 million a year the going rate for a 33-goal scorer who disappears for stretches and then erupts for five points in five games? That's the bet Ottawa has to make.
Because if Batherson walks, the Senators lose a guy who scored four goals and five points over his last five outings of the season, right when the room needed secondary scoring most.
Locking him up now, before he hits the open market, would cost plenty. Letting him get there could cost more, and cost Ottawa the player entirely.
Staios has been in the GM chair since November 2023, and this is the kind of contract call that defines tenures, not just cap sheets.
Bruce Garrioch's number isn't official. It's market chatter from a guy who's been plugged into Ottawa for decades, and that carries weight even before a deal gets done.
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Whether the Senators pay Batherson like a top-line scorer or let another team make that bet, this front office is about to tell everyone exactly how it values him.
Should the Senators pay Drake Batherson $11 million a year to keep him?
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