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NHL Notebook: Drake Batherson, Ryan Leonard sign eight-year extensions before new NHL CBA begins

Photo credit: © Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

By Lachlan Irvine

Sep 15, 2026, 17:00 EDTUpdated: Sep 15, 2026, 16:41 EDT

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Welcome back to NHL Notebook — the series here at CanucksArmy where we deliver you news and notes from around the National Hockey League — oftentimes through a Vancouver Canucks-tinted lens!

With less than 24 hours before the NHL’s new contract rules kick in and eight-year deals become a thing of the past, a couple of players have inked deals with their respective teams just under the wire.

Drake Batherson, Sens agree to eight-year extension worth $86 million

On the eve of NHL training camps, Drake Batherson has signed the richest contract in Ottawa Senators history: an eight-year deal worth an average annual value of $10.75 million, with a no-movement clause for the first four seasons.

The 28-year-old Batherson is fresh off a career year where he finished second to Tim Stützle in Sens scoring with 71 points, including a career-high 33 goals. In an era where Canadians have justifiable concerns that American players no longer want to play up north (especially those in Ottawa after former captain Brady Tkachuk left for South Florida), the winger from Fort Wayne, Indiana, is committing to play in Ottawa until 2035.

The loss of Tkachuk only made signing Batherson more crucial. The Senators hope that they still have their best seasons ahead of them, and they’ll push forward with a chip on their shoulder after back-to-back first-round exits in the playoffs. They’ve already replaced Tkachuk with William Eklund after a stunning draft-week trade with the Sharks. With Batherson now locked down, Ottawa’s core will be one of the most interesting in the NHL to watch. Especially for a rebuilding team like the Canucks, who’ll have a lot of young players developing together over the next few years.

Batherson certainly believes he and his teammates are capable of more. “Just the last few years, I think what we’ve built and getting into the playoffs both years. Obviously we got swept last year, but there was a lot of tight games in that series against the team that ultimately won the Stanley Cup,” Batherson told reporters after signing his extension Tuesday.

“I think just the belief, and I know how bad guys on the team want it, and I wanted to be a part of that.”

Ryan Leonard signs eight-year extension worth $84 million with Capitals

The Washington Capitals are caught between two different eras, but they’re placing a bet on their post-Ovechkin future.

Ryan Leonard’s new eight-year extension worth $10.5 million AAV is a lot for a 21-year-old with one full NHL season under his belt. But in that short time, he’s proven his value to the Caps with 45 points in 2025-26, including 20 goals.

Like Zeev Buium last week, Leonard is another young player cashing in on a rising cap and his team willing to place a long-term bet on his future value. The Capitals are a fringe playoff team looking to give Alex Ovechkin one last shot at the Stanley Cup right now. By the last few years of Leonard’s extension, if the Caps have played their cards right and successfully navigated an ‘on the fly retool’, Leonard will be right in his prime as the Caps next contention window begins to open.

As far as the present day is concerned, Leonard’s going to get a lot of time to learn from one of the greatest players in NHL history and will be insulated by a forward corps led by Ovechkin, Aliaksei Protas, Tom Wilson and Jordan Kyrou. Not a bad position to be in at the beginning of your NHL career, especially if you can get some early playoff experience on your resume as well.

Both Batherson and Leonard’s deals come in before Wednesday’s midnight deadline. After today, NHL teams will only be able to sign returning players for a maximum of seven years and free agents for a maximum of six years.

What do you think of Batherson and Leonard’s new contracts? Let us know in the comments below!

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