Jordan Spence

Ottawa looks ready to turn the page on Jordan Spence before this thing gets any messier. The Senators still have the leverage that comes with an RFA, but that only matters until both sides realize the fit is fraying. In this league, when a front office starts sounding this direct, the next move is usually a lot closer than the polite public language suggests.

Ottawa has a choice to make, and this one could say a lot about how the Senators see Jordan Spence long term. RFA defensemen do not just get discussed in terms of minutes and matchups - they get discussed in terms of cost control, fit, and whether the team is ready to commit before the market forces its hand. The stakes are real because a bridge deal and a longer bet can tell two very different stories about where this roster is headed.

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.