Senators F Drake Batherson Garnering Plenty of Interest on Trade Market

His name hasn't been on the rumor mill all season, but Ottawa Senators forward Drake Batherson is now garnering plenty of interest on the trade market as we head down the stretch to Friday's deadline.

Per insider Bruce Garrioch in the Ottawa Citizen, Batherson is "getting attention" from rival teams. The 26-year-old has two more seasons to run on his $4.975 million AAV contract.

League executives told Postmedia that Steve Staios, the club’s president of hockey operations and general manager, has been busy working the phones, and he’s studying different options on the market...
We’re told one significant name teams have been kicking the tires on is Senators winger Drake Batherson as the club weighs its options on the trade front.

League executives insist that Staios isn’t in any hurry to trade the 26-year-old Batherson, but he’s an attractive option for teams looking to get younger at the deadline.

Garrioch then goes on to add that the most likely reason behind the interest from other teams is the hope that they can capitalize on a sell-low opportunity while Batherson is struggling, with only three goals in his last 30 games.

Overall, his scoring is off a bit from last year, sure, coming off a 28-goal season. But Batherson currently sits on 16 goals through 60 games, which is still nearly a 22-goal pace, nothing to sneeze at.

“Drake is a hell of a player,” head coach Travis Green said. “He’s taken big steps in his game, he evaluates his game and he’s a mature person. He always tries to do the right thing and gives you an honest effort. He’s (just) been a little snake-bitten.

“I’m not worried about Drake."

The Senators are in buying mode, not selling; they want to add scoring, not subtract from it. So a Batherson offer would have to really blow them away for Staios to take it seriously.

The 6'3", 200-pounder was an All-Star in 2022, and has 106 goals and 272 points in 369 games over seven seasons with Ottawa.