Senators Sign Artyom Zub to an Extension
The Ottawa Senators have… Zub.
The Ottawa Sena… Zub.
Zuuuuuuuuuuuuub.
Zub.
…
Zub. Zuuuuub. Zub. Zuuuuub. Zub. ZUB!
Zub!!!!!
Where was I?
On ‘Insider Trading’ ahead of last night’s Senators/Jets broadcast on TSN, Chris Johnston stated that the Senators were making progress on a long-term extension with impending unrestricted free agent Artyom Zub.
“Well, that would be if things go exceedingly well, but I think what’s notable in this case is that the sides are talking. When the season started, Artyom Zub and the Senators’ management hadn’t had any discussions about an extension. That has started to change here recently with talks picking up this month. There was a meeting last week face-to-face in Detroit with Sens management and his agent Dan Milstein to exchange some thoughts. I do think there is some optimism here, but no deal is done until it's done in any case. Of course, it is a little more complicated in Ottawa because that team is in the middle of a sale process.”
Those talks apparently progressed to the point where the organization could announce this morning that the Senators have inked the defenceman to a four-year contract carrying an average annual value of $4.6 million.
In a welcomed bit of business, the Senators’ communication team revealed the specific details of the Zub contract extension on Twitter.
The magnitude of today’s news cannot be understated. In Zub, the Senators not only locked up their best right defenceman, but he is arguably one of its more popular players. Thanks to an exceptional last name and an ability to defend on a blue line characterized by its defensive struggles, Zub’s developed into a cult-like figure. Losing him would have been an unpopular move representing a significant blow to the team’s roster.
After using the 2022 offseason to supplement an excellent young forward core with a few strong and established talents, losing Zub would have undermined a lot of the good work that has been done by exacerbating the roster’s biggest weakness.
The Senators do not have any long-term pieces on the roster or in the system that they can comfortably project to play on the right side of one of their top two pairings. Perhaps there is a chance that prospects like Lassi Thomson or Jacob Bernard-Docker can get there eventually, but both defenders are already 22 years old and have yet to establish themselves as NHL regulars.
Had Zub left as an unrestricted free agent or been traded because the Senators could not agree to terms on an extension, it would have left the Senators with a significant hole without any internal candidates who could reasonably be expected to replace him capably.
The Senators bought up four of Zub’s unrestricted free agent-eligible seasons while bolstering their long-term outlook at the right defence position. To accomplish these goals while doing so at a relatively inexpensive cost is impressive. Considering some of the contracts being thrown around to right defencemen in the unrestricted free agent market — like Erik Gudbranson’s four-year, $16 million deal this past summer — it is not a stretch to suggest that Zub would easily have surpassed the deal he took now.
The $4.6 million average annually seems reasonable now and by the end of it, its cost should look even better. This is important because the four-year length of Zub’s deal coincides nicely with this core’s young prime. By agreeing to a relatively team-friendly deal, it should conceivably give the organization and its new (and hopefully rich) ownership group more financial flexibility to supplement and improve the talent on the roster — say, by adding another top-four right defenceman.
In buying up Zub’s age 28 through age 31 seasons, the Senators should essentially get the best remaining years of the defender’s career. Historically, an NHL player’s prime years are between 22-27 years of age. At that point, performance tends to plateau or trend down slightly to their age 31 seasons when players typically begin to experience a sharper decline.
Given Zub’s defensive abilities and there being enough quantitative evidence to reflect that he is an excellent insulator who helps make his teammates perform better, there are reasonable reasons to believe that Zub will age well. If for whatever reason Zub experiences any decline in his game, the Senators are not committed to the player beyond that 31-year-old season.
For a player to commit to the Senators when he simply could have waited out the season to sign with any other organization in the league and probably command more money and term, it speaks positively about what is going on in Ottawa.
With new ownership and downtown arena news around the corner, today’s announcement was another positive step toward bolstering a prideful brand and competitive product.
The next is to get a DeBrincat extension in place. Time to get that done too.