The Ottawa Senators announced this morning that they have signed defenceman Thomas Chabot to an eight-year, $64M contract extension.
News Release: #Sens sign defenceman Thomas Chabot to an eight-year contract extension: https://t.co/JpyJK7Pqfo
— Ottawa Senators (@Senators) September 19, 2019
Communiqué : Les Sénateurs accordent une prolongation de contrat de huit ans au défenseur Thomas Chabot : https://t.co/DLvOGAeFGQ pic.twitter.com/a9rwXLH6qq
8x8 for Chabot is a good example of why players his age are starting to look for short term deals. If he continues on his current trajectory, 8 per year might end up being extremely team friendly.
— Alan (@loserpoints) September 19, 2019
While there had been some concern within the Senators fan base that the team would struggle to get this deal done, especially with the threat of an offer sheet feeling more 'real' after Montreal extended one this summer, there was plenty of reason for optimism throughout this negotiation. As discussed in previous blogs, the combination of Chabot clearly wanting to be in Ottawa and the Senators having previously shown a willingness to spend in certain spots made getting a contract done feel like a near certainty even with all the noise. The question was: What would the contract look like? Now we know.
There was a time when an $8M average annual value coming out of entry level would have been considered ridiculous, but the game has changed. When you have a chance to lock in elite talent for the long-term, you need to take it. Chabot, quite frankly, drives the bus in Ottawa these days:
Looking at Chabot's relative numbers compared to recently-signed RFA D, with numbers via @NatStatTrick. pic.twitter.com/Y7suIWo0io
— Michael Stuart (@hockeybuzzstu) September 17, 2019
As always, thanks for reading.
Michael Stuart was the Tampa Bay Lightning writer for HockeyBuzz from 2012 to 2015, and has been the Ottawa Senators writer since September 2019. Visit his archive to read more or follow him on Twitter.