The Senators have taken care of another one of their top young talents, announcing that they’ve signed blueliner Jake Sanderson to an eight-year contract extension that kicks in for the 2024-25 campaign. The deal carries an AAV of $8.05MM, paid in equal sums each season. GM Pierre Dorion released the following statement about the signing:
Jake’s transition to the pro game has been flawless. 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. We’re very pleased to have another significant member of our core group of players under long-term contract.
Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch reported just yesterday that Sanderson had switched agents from Bartlett Hockey to CAA’s Pat Brisson and J.P. Barry. Clearly, it didn’t take too long for his new representatives to work out a new deal.
The 21-year-old is coming off an impressive rookie campaign that saw him put up 32 points and 147 blocks in 77 games. He also ranked second on the Sens in ice time, logging just shy of 22 minutes per game; only Thomas Chabot averaged more. That performance helped Sanderson finish sixth in Calder Trophy voting.
Interestingly, Chabot’s deal almost certainly stood as a comparable in discussions. He checks in at $8MM per season and while Sanderson has less NHL experience (just one season compared to two for Chabot when he signed his contract), the cap has gone up since then. While Sanderson has the higher cap hit, his cap hit percentage (9.62) actually comes in a bit below Chabot’s agreement (9.82%).
Ottawa’s young core is all locked in around a similar price point with this extension. Sanderson, Chabot, Tim Stutzle, Brady Tkachuk, and Joshua Norris are all on long-term agreements ranging from an AAV of $7.95MM (Norris) on the low end to $8.35MM (Stutzle). That gives them a strong foundation for the foreseeable future. They now have nearly $74MM in commitments in place for the 2024-25 campaign to 14 players with Vladimir Tarasenko’s $5MM contract being the biggest one set to come off the books.
For the upcoming season, Sanderson will still be on the books at his entry-level rate of $925K plus performance bonuses of up to $1.85MM. Cap space is at a premium for 2023-24 as they have less than $900K in room per CapFriendly with Shane Pinto (and prospect Egor Sokolov) still to re-sign. Sanderson is likely to hit most, if not all, of his $850K of ’A’ bonuses so if the Sens can’t free up ample cap space to fit in Pinto’s new deal, they could be looking at overage penalties which would carry over to 2024-25. That’s an extra pressure point Dorion will need to be mindful of as he crosses a key item off his to-do list with Sanderson’s deal, allowing him to focus on Pinto in the coming days.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Are they drunk?
How did you watch Sanderson play last season and not think this is going to be a pretty good bet to make. The kid was a stud 2 way player at age 20.
Look at all the 7.5+ mill contracts they have now. Not to mention he’s getting paid almost as much as Crosby more than most elite players and he’s played one season lol
Orlov and Dunne screwed the market for Ottawa so they had to make a decision. Give Sanderson the Bouchard and Key Miller contract (2yr 4mil) but Sanderson might be worth much more then 8mil in 3 years or take the chance that with the cap going up, 8mil is nothing for a top D player in 3 years. It is fair to say that Sandersons line last year of 4 G 28 A must improve next year.
You’re comparing this contract to one signed in ….2012. That should not be your first comparable. There’s no doubt they’re banking on his future as being among the games top defenceman but again I don’t know how you watched him last year and come to the conclusion that he can’t be, especially considering his pedigree.
In a few years Ottawa will be so bad. Paying all these guys 8 million AAV the instant their rookie contract expires and traded high value picks for Cat and Chychrun.
The good thing is they have them all locked up long term while they’re still in their early 20’s, and they have two first round picks to work with this year. I think they have quite a bit of time for stuff to play out before they have to worry about this cores decline.
I agree they 8 per now is too much too early BUT the cap is going to go up my at least 5 mil over the next 2 years if not more so 7+ million dollar contracts will be the norm and more like the 5 mil contracts of a few years back
I don’t think so with the cap expected to be going up so drastically in the next few seasons these long term deals for young studs throughout the league will almost all likely work out really well
Its a bit like the Atlanta Braves approach of gambling early on young talent. It has paid off nicely for them.
whiety herzog said it best with the cards, “sign ”em young while there still cheap, because each year they get more expensive” or something close to that. yes it’s a gamble (but when isn’t player acquisition a gamble) just like what atl is doing, but if it pays off and player’s salaries continue to rise this will be a bargain in a few years. assuming the kid keeps growing.
Jake is a talented kid, but not a large body of work at the NHL level to warrant a long term contract like this. But good for him!
Only time will tell now. Cant be mad at the kid for grabbing his bag, though. Dude is set.
$8 after one season. Alrighty then.
I hope this doesn’t turn out like Darnell Nurse’s contract that was signed before they actually saw what the kid was made of. Buyer regret on that one.