Drake Batherson

Batherson’s season gets put under the microscope here, and that usually tells you as much about the team around him as it does about the player himself. Ottawa has spent years trying to sort out which pieces are core, which pieces are support, and which numbers only look pretty on paper. A report card is never just a grade in this league; it is a referendum on role, usage, and whether the player can carry more when the lights get brighter.

Ottawa’s front office has some expensive puzzles to solve, and this one is already getting the offseason treatment. Spence, Batherson, and a few others are the kind of players who force a team to decide what it really values before the market does it for them. That usually means hard numbers, longer conversations, and a lot of coffee in the corridors where deals get quietly built before anyone admits they’re close.

Drake Batherson signals he's all-in on a summer extension with Ottawa, calling the Sens his true home after years of building there. Wingers with his scoring touch don't hit free agency often, and GMs around the league take note. This could lock down a key piece for Ottawa's upward push.

Batherson flips it home backhand in tight, the deke-and-dish magic that makes defenders look silly in playoff scrums. Forwards with that soft touch thrive when the game's ugliest, turning chaos into goals. Ottawa counts on these greasy ones to stay alive against Carolina's pressure.

Ottawa's brass eyes Jacob Kleven as the steadying force on defense who brings size, smarts and shutdown chops that this blue line desperately needs right now. Meanwhile, the Tkachuk-Stützle-Batherson line carries the weight of the Senators' offense, and insiders whisper they must crank up the production or watch playoff hopes fade. Garrioch dishes on exactly what Kleven adds to the mix and why this top trio's goal drought spells trouble for a team on the bubble.

Tim Batherson knows a playoff beast when he sees one, and he's singing the praises of teammate Jake Kleven's rugged style that thrives under the bright lights. Kleven's physical edge and shutdown game have Ottawa buzzing in the playoffs, the kind of tool that separates contenders from pretenders this deep into April. With the series heating up, Batherson's endorsement carries weight from a guy who's been through the grind, hinting at bigger roles ahead for the young defender.