• 2023-24: $4.0MM
• 2024-25: $4.8MM
• 2025-26: $4.8MM
• 2026-27: $4.8MM

Senators general manager Pierre Dorion released a statement on the deal:

Artem’s transition to North American hockey has been remarkable. He has worked hard to establish himself as an excellent NHL player and a strong defender. He consistently helps make us a better defensive team while he’s on the ice. We’re pleased to reach agreement with him on an extension of this length.

Zub, 27, came to the Senators in 2020, and has been arguably the most important defender on the team since the moment he arrived. While Thomas Chabot controls play and logs the biggest minutes, it is Zub that seems to make everything work. With him in the lineup, the team is so much better defensively, and he has chipped in a little bit of offense at the same time.

Last season he set a high-water mark of 22 points in 81 games, and was one of only three regulars to post a positive +/-. This year has been marred by two different injury issues, limiting him to just 14 games so far. In those, he is averaging more than 22 minutes and has four points.

It won’t get the headlines that some other extensions do, but locking up Zub is a very important step for the Senators. Given they are in the process of a sale, adding contracts to the books can sometimes be a tricky thing to pull off. Keeping Zub away from unrestricted free agency should only help the team as they attempt to turn the corner on their rebuild.

The blueliner has been out with an upper-body injury since October 28th. The Senators’ blueline just recently lost top defenseman Thomas Chabot, who was placed on injured reserve on the 13th.

Zub, who has become a fan favorite since arriving in Ottawa for the 2020-21 season, should help the Senators’ defense corps stabilize in the midst of Chabot’s absence. In his seven games played this year Zub has three points and has skated in 22 minutes per game, including two minutes on the penalty kill.

Remaining healthy and productive this year is of particular importance for Zub, as he is a pending unrestricted free agent. While there will likely be significant interest in his services regardless, putting forth a quality platform year would go a long way in securing Zub either a lucrative extension in Ottawa or a major contract from another club.

More from the Eastern Conference:

• Last night’s contest against Boston won’t be the only one that Sabres captain Kyle Okposo misses as Mike Harrington of The Buffalo News notes that the veteran is likely to miss at least a couple more games. For now, the plan is for the 34-year-old to rest for a few days and then re-evaluate him from there.  Okposo is off to a nice start to his season with nine points in his first 14 games.
• While the Senators were hoping to have defenseman Artem Zub back by now, it appears that he’ll be out a little while longer. Speaking to TSN 1200 earlier today (audio link), head coach D.J. Smith indicated that the 27-year-old is behind schedule but that he should be able to return by the end of the upcoming week.  Zub is a pending unrestricted free agent and was averaging just shy of 22 minutes a game before sustaining an upper-body injury last month.

According to TSN’s Chris Johnston on tonight’s Insider Trading program, he may get to the market, and if he does, he’s unlikely to stick around long. Johnston reports that there haven’t been substantive extension talks between the Senators and Zub, and if Zub does indeed hit the open market he “won’t be an easy player” for the Senators to keep. It’s expected that there will be leaguewide interest in acquiring Zub’s services should he hit the open market, so if the Senators wish to keep their budding star it might be best for them to hammer out an extension sooner rather than later.

For some other notes from across the NHL:

• Colorado Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar issued an update today on defenseman Devon Toews. As relayed by the Denver Gazette’s Kyle Fredrickson, Bednar says Toews is being evaluated for an injury and his status for tomorrow’s game against the Seattle Kraken is unknown. The Avalanche recently found out that they’d be without captain Gabriel Landeskog for quite a while, so they have to be hoping that whatever Toews is dealing with won’t keep him out for long.
• In other Avalanche news, the team announced today that forward Jayson Megna had been recalled from their AHL affiliate, the Colorado Eagles. As The Athletic’s Peter Baugh detailed, Megna was only sent down for cap purposes and his recall was expected. The Avalanche are one of the many teams trying to manage with extremely limited cap space, so paper transactions such as this are likely to become more common as the season wears on.

Elsewhere in the Atlantic:

• Earlier this week, ESPN’s Kevin Weekes reported (Twitter link) that the Canadiens had opened up extension discussions with goaltender Jake Allen. Friedman clarified in his podcast that those discussions are still in the preliminary stage and that nothing is close while the team wants to get a sense of Allen’s intentions sooner than later.  The 32-year-old is entering the final year of his contract that carries a $2.875MM AAV and with Carey Price likely done for the season already, he’ll once again be their projected starter.  Between that and the recent market for veteran goalies, Allen could push closer to the $4MM range on a new deal with Montreal.
• Dylan Larkin isn’t the only notable Red Wings forward that’s entering the final year of his contract as winger Tyler Bertuzzi is also in that situation. MLive’s Ansar Khan posits that a long-term agreement for the 27-year-old should check in somewhere between $6MM and $7MM per season.  Bertuzzi is coming off his best season with 30 goals and 32 assists in 68 games after missing almost all of 2020-21 due to injury and even with a more limited market compared to most free agents since he wasn’t able to play in Canada last season, he’ll be one of the more sought-after players if he gets to free agency next summer.

We’re pleased that Artem has elected to pursue an NHL career here in Ottawa. Artem is a smart defensive defenceman who moves the puck well and who utilizes his strength and mobility to make plays. His extensive international resume will help him transition to a North American style of play but his key attribute is his sound ability to defend.

March 27: The Senators have long been the front-runners to sign Russian defenseman Artem Zub and it appears that they will indeed be getting him.  After a report earlier in the week had Ottawa on Zub’s shortlist, TSN’s Darren Dreger reports that the Sens are expected to sign him to an entry-level contract.  His KHL contract runs through the end of April so an official announcement won’t come until May at the earliest.

The 24-year-old has been on the NHL radar for the last couple of years after a strong showing at the 2018 Olympics.  While he hasn’t been a big point producer with SKA St. Petersburg of the KHL (though he managed 22 points this year), he has been a reliable defender in his own end and logged more than 19 minutes a night this season.  Zub also had a +35 rating in 57 games; while plus/minus isn’t as important as it once was among stats; it’s worth noting that the next best defender in that stat on his team was only +12.

Ottawa’s back end is certainly in need of some improvements with several spots up for grabs for next season.  Thomas Chabot, Nikita Zaitsev, and Mike Reilly are the only established blueliners under contract for 2020-21 so Zub could certainly step into an important role right away and give them a quality upgrade as they look to start progressing towards battling for a playoff spot.

The 24-year old defenseman has played the last four seasons with SKA St. Petersburg, one of the KHL’s powerhouse organizations. He broke out offensively this season with 13 goals and 22 points, though Igor Eronko of Sport-Express points out that he doesn’t see the powerplay and is normally more of a defensive option. For a more thorough scouting report, Scott Wheeler and Hailey Salvian of The Athletic (subscription required) recently broke down some of Zub’s tape.

• Zub’s not the only KHL player with his name in the news today, as Kirill Dyakov was one of three to receive a suspension from the IIHF. Dyakov currently plays for Admiral Vladivostok but will receive a 15-month suspension from IIHF competition after testing positive for cocaine. Michael Budd and Vladislav Nikiforov also received 24- and 15-month suspensions respectively.
• USA Hockey has announced its U17 roster for the 2020-21 season, a group that is expected to have a strong NHL draft presence down the road. There are some familiar hockey names among them, including Marek Hejduk—son of Colorado Avalanche legend Milan Hejduk.

Zub, 24, is a comparable player to current Senator Nikita Zaitsev, says Dreger. The young defenseman is a right shot and plays a strong defensive game, rather than opting for offensive flash like many of his KHL counterparts. However, Zub may be taking a step toward rounding out his game, as he has already far surpassed his career high in points with 19 and counting this season. A fixture on the international stage for Russia and one of the more dominant defensive players in the KHL, Zub is already very accomplished for his age, and has the mature game to match.

Zub’s consistent defensive play has likely had him on NHL radars for some time, but his offensive outbreak comes at the right time, as his current contract with SKA comes to an end. Dreger reports that the defender will not make a decision, at least publicly, on his future until after the KHL season, as he remains focused on St. Petersburg’s division-leading record and Gagarin Cup hopes. However, when the time does come, Dreger says that Zub is already in the final stages of making the call on his next team and he could make his NHL destination known almost immediately after his season ends.