KANATA, Ont. – On Thursday, the Senators hosted reporters and selected clients on an arena tour – a display of operational upgrades, food sampling and an update on the team’s ticket and business plan.
As it turned out, the biggest bit of business already got done the night before when cornerstone defenceman Jake Sanderson was signed to an eight-year, $64.4-million contract extension.
Can you say, core intact?
Surprise, surprise, the man of the hour made a visit to the Canadian Tire Centre’s Legacy restaurant Thursday afternoon, where he spoke to season ticket holders and sponsors before doing a separate scrum with media. As demure as Sanderson is on and off the ice, he sounded tickled to sign for eight years with the team that drafted him fifth overall in 2020.
“You see the chemistry in the locker room, it’s something that I’ll be here for a while,” Sanderson said. “We’re going to win within the next couple of years. We know that. And I want to be here for it. The thing we play hockey for is the Stanley Cup.”
Wow. In the old days, there was a certain owner promising a Stanley Cup. Now the players are promising one. Have to love that switch.
Also music to the ears of local fans: Sanderson said he has been working more on the offensive side of his game over the summer and wants to score more this season. Plus take another step on the defensive aspect.
Sanderson had just driven in Wednesday afternoon from his Michigan training sessions when he got a call from his agent that a deal was in place. Sanderson tried to reach his father, but if you know anything about the summertime Sanderson family, you won’t be surprised to learn that Geoff was out on a river fly-fishing and had no cell phone service. In the end, Mom and Dad were delighted with the news and expect to fly in often from Calgary for games.
Oddly enough, Sanderson was just one of two Senators we visited with on Thursday with a long-term, $8-million contract. Thomas Chabot, who no longer has to play close to 30 minutes a game when the Senators have Sanderson and Jakob Chychrun in the fold, is suddenly the second-highest paid D-man in the group, with Sanderson making a measly $50,000 more when his contract kicks in next year.
“Everybody’s fired up,” Chabot said of the Sanderson extension. “He’s so talented. What he proved last year, he’s earned every bit of it. The way he plays, he’s strong defensively, he moves the puck really well, skates like the wind. To have him on the back end and the way he plays the game, with so much respect, it’s awesome to see and it’s great for this team.”
Turns out that the buzz on team chat lines after the signing had less to do with term and money, and more with a certain baby-blue pickup truck that Sanderson drove for a while last season. I guess it’s a guys' thing, but we’re told that veteran Travis Hamonic said that the truck should now be handed over to the first star of Ottawa’s first game – as a kind of door prize.
But Hamonic said the truck has already gone back to the dealer, and we’ll see about this year.
“Maybe I’ve got to bring it back,” Sanderson said of the blue truck, riding out the tease. “Who knows.”
The kid added that “the truck took care of me, was good in the winter.”
Ah, but not half as good as the driver, is how most fans would respond.
If a team’s salary cap is a puzzle, Ottawa has become adept at it – locking up every one of the club’s feature pieces without going beyond the $8.35 million AAV being paid to centre Tim Stützle.
Yes, there remains the matter of fitting RFA centre Shane Pinto into that puzzle, but for the next five years all five members of this core group are on board: captain Brady Tkachuk, Sanderson, Stützle, centre Josh Norris and Chabot. Stützle and Sanderson are under lock and key for eight and nine years, respectively, before their free agency.
That is a lot of talent secured for a cap hit just a shade above $40 million. Make it $44 million and six players if you want to add goalie Joonas Korpisalo and his new five-year deal. The rival Toronto Maple Leafs have $40 million tied up in just four players and only one of the four, Auston Matthews, has as much as a five-year term left. That’s the sound of a window closing versus one that is going to be open for a long time here in the nation’s capital.
Sanderson, 21, took the NHL by storm last season. OK, a quiet storm, in that much of the league doesn’t yet get just how outstanding this young man is – and is going to be. He finished sixth in the Calder Trophy voting, mostly because his all-around game hasn’t yet featured a big points total. Recently called “the most underrated player in the NHL” by Tkachuk, Sanderson is already tabbed as a shutdown defenceman, likely to be paired by Artem Zub in that role.
I don’t bet much and regular readers will know I’m not into hype. But for doubters of Sanderson from outside the market, know this: I would bet my house on this kid. He is that good. Scott Niedermayer-good. Slick. Fast. Poised. This contract will go down one day very soon as one of the league’s great bargains. Now, let’s just let him play.
Who knew these arena food tours turn out to be pure gold? At last year’s event, the Senators signed Stützle to an eight-year extension. Now Kid Jake.
“Jake’s transition to the pro game has been flawless,” said Ottawa Senators general manager Pierre Dorion, while announcing the Sanderson extension. “He’s a very mature young man who demonstrates a routine and skillful ability to play important minutes with poise. An effortless skater who holds himself to a high standard, he has the talent to be one of the best all-around defencemen in the NHL for years to come.”
Now that Sanderson has gone deep, how deep will the Sens go?
Ticket renewals are strong
The buzz around the Senators is starting to influence the ticket office. The Senators announced that season ticket sales are up by about 35 per cent, with more than 90 per cent of last year’s ticket holders having been renewed.
Ottawa had the league’s most improved attendance last season, with an average gate of 16,757, up from 10,145 in 2021-22 (albeit including pandemic seating restrictions).
The home opener at the CTC on Oct. 14 vs. Philadelphia has just 1,600 seats remaining and is expected to be a sellout.
The Senators are again offering flexible seating programs, including Milk Zone seats that have $35 tickets for 80 per cent of the home games.
Fans were reminded that $20 parking will be available in lots 5 and 9 without having to line up to pay an attendant. Fans can sign on with an Indigo app or pay at a machine at Gate 1.
Players respond to early ice
One of the reasons that virtually every Senators player has arrived back in town, more than two weeks before the official start of camp? The club went out of its way to put ice in early at the CTC. Instead of having to traipse back and forth between the home rink and the Sensplex down the street, players are loving the luxury of informal sessions at their main venue.
Former Senators defenceman Chris Phillips, now vice-president of business operations, said the Canadian Tire Centre will also have more forgiving boards this season. More flex. More give. This will help with player safety. As the retired player cracked, he would have a better back today if he could have played using these new boards.
Brady bobblehead
Mark Jan. 27 on your calendar. That’s the night the Senators will be relaunching their bobblehead offerings after a long absence, starting with captain Tkachuk. This item figures to be hugely popular, and will be given out on a Saturday night with the New York Rangers in town. Boffo.
Cameo by Andlauer
He might not own the team yet, but the Senators' pending boss Michael Andlauer spoke briefly to season ticket holders and clients while reporters were busy talking with Chabot.
Andlauer thanked supporters for coming out and spoke about an exciting upcoming season.
A former minority partner of the Montreal Canadiens, Andlauer is expected to be formally approved by the NHL before the opening of training camps.
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