NHL Rumor Roundup: Senators Trying To Re-Sign Drake Batherson While Seeking Additional Scoring
The Ottawa Senators could find it expensive to re-sign right winger Drake Batherson. Meanwhile, a pundit predicted that they might reunite with a former captain.
Video Transcript
I'm Lyle Richardson of the Hockey News.
In today's NHL Rumor Roundup column, I'm looking at some of the latest speculation involving the Ottawa Senators.
We begin with Drake Batherson.
Batherson has been among the more consistent of the Senators' scorers.
In fact, he's third in goals, assists, and points since making his full-time debut with the Senators in 2020-21.
He's currently completing a six-year contract with an average annual value of $4.975 million and is in line for a substantial raise.
How much of a raise?
Well, according to a report out of Post Media, some league executives believe that Batherson could seek between $10 and $11 million per season on his next contract.
And it's believed that his camp is using Adrian Kempe of the Los Angeles Kings and Alex Tuck of the Washington Capitals as comparables in his contract negotiations.
Meanwhile, there's also some speculation that perhaps the Senators could reunite with Eric Carlson.
Jimmy Murphy of the Sick Podcast was responding to one of his readers posting up a report claiming that the Pittsburgh Penguins are unlikely to sign Carlson to a contract extension at the end of his term this season.
And he suggested that perhaps Carlson might go to the Senators or to the Toronto Maple Leafs before the start of the season.
Now, it seems unlikely that Carlson's going to be going to the Senators or the Leafs.
However, we can't rule out the possibility of a reunion with the Senators by the March trade deadline if the Senators remain buyers and if the Penguins are out of contention by then.
