What a summer ot has been in Ottawa.
After undergoing a massive roster upgrade over the summer, the Ottawa Senators decided to take care of some internal business and lock in one of their stars of the future, agreeing to terms with forward Tim Stutzle on an eye-popping eight-year contract extension worth an average annual value of $8.35 million.
The deal will kick in ahead of next season and tie Stutzle to Ottawa through 2030-31, obviously making him an unrestricted free agent upon expiry.
Boy, the Senators are really not messing around, are they?
Stutzle is now the second young forward under the age of 24 to receive a massive extension from the Senators this summer, with Josh Norris also agreeing to a huge seven-year deal worth $7.95 million per season in late July.
Like Norris, Stutzle’s massive pay raise comes with some risk.
The 20-year-old put together a very nice season for himself in 2021-22 with 22 goals and 36 assists for 58 points in 79 games. But he’s still a largely unproven player with a limited track record at this stage in his career. The Senators are hoping for Stutzle to continue his trajectory and develop into the bonafide top-line talent he’s shown glimpses of in recent years. If that happens, then an $8.35 million price tag per year will be something of a steal — especially as the salary cap rises in the coming years.
Whether Stutzle reaches that ceiling seems likely, but has still yet to be determined. This is a deal the former third-overall pick will need to grow into. Luckily, he’s shown signs of being able to do it already.
