The season that was for the Montreal Canadiens was a tremendous success by all reasonable measures, as they not only returned to the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the second straight campaign, but also enjoyed consecutive road Game 7 victories over the divisional rival Tampa Bay Lightning and Buffalo Sabres before eventually falling in the Eastern Conference Final to the Carolina Hurricanes.
Still, there is plenty to be excited about for Canadiens fans everywhere, as they’ve also recently re-signed both Ivan Demidov and Jakub Dobes to multi-year contract extensions. GM Kent Hughes has done his due diligence in locking up the club’s core pieces for many years, ensuring they can remain competitive in the gauntlet that is the Atlantic Division.
And speaking of divisional opponents, the Canadiens have been listed as a landing spot for one of the best players from another top rival.
The Montreal Canadiens Have Been Named A Potential Landing Spot For Ottawa’s Drake Batherson
Ottawa Senators forward Drake Batherson is entering the final season of his current contract, and the two sides don’t appear to be any closer to making progress on an extension.
That’s where the Canadiens could come in, according to a recently released report from NHL Insider Marco D’Amico. He said that if Ottawa doesn’t want to pay Batherson what he’s looking for in his next contract, Montreal makes sense as a landing spot.
“What’s going to happen with Drake Batherson in Ottawa? He wants 10 to 11 million. Well, if Ottawa doesn’t want to give it to him, I could tell you the Montreal Canadiens probably will, right? Like, that’s a player that I could see making sense,” D’Amico said.
“Like, that’s the vision I have is that if, you know, the salary cap is going up like that, it’s a no-brainer for me if you’re the Ottawa Senators… So yeah, 10.5-11 million over 8 years, sign it now before it’s over. That’s gonna be a bargain in 2028. And if Ottawa’s not gonna do it, I could tell you that there are many teams across the NHL that are willing to give him that.”
The Senators have already undergone a massive change this offseason with the trade of former captain Brady Tkachuk to the Florida Panthers, who are also in the Atlantic Division.
Senators GM Steve Staios Said Conversations Continue Between Himself And Batherson’s Camp
According to Senators general manager Steve Staios, the club would like to re-sign Batherson and while talks are ongoing, it takes two to tango.
“There’s no secret that we want to get Drake Batherson signed,” Staios said. “That conversation is ongoing with Drake, and it takes two sides to come to a deal. But there’s been good dialog as we move forward.
“He’s a homegrown talent. It’s a great story. He continues to get better and we feel like we have a very great, strong, contending team with a chance to win. We want him to be a part of it.”
Batherson, taken in the fourth round (121st overall pick) by the Senators in the 2017 NHL Draft, has scored 149 goals with 215 assists in 470 career NHL games.
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