On Thursday, the Ottawa Senators signed Shane Pinto to a cap-friendly four-year, $30 million deal and one that will make fans of the Detroit Red Wings and those across the Atlantic Division do a double take. The Senators, third in the Atlantic with 20 points, have a team loaded with stars who are in town for the long term.
Now that Pinto is locked into a deal, he joins Brady Tkachuk, Tim Stutzle, Dylan Cozens, Fabian Zetterlund, and Ridly Greig in Ottawa until at least 2027-28. All of the above names are either 26 or younger, and it shows how well general manager Steve Staios has built the forward group.
Not to mention, they have Jake Sanderson and Thomas Chabot at the blue line inked until 2032 and 2028, respectively, and Linus Ullmark will be in town until 2029. This is the blueprint the Red Wings need to emulate if they finally want to get out of this mess, especially when they see how tough the Senators will make life for Detroit and the rest of the Atlantic.
Detroit Red Wings' rival is going to be very good for a long time
What's been amazing about the Senators already is that they proved they can win without all their star players on the ice. Brady Tkachuk is still out with a thumb injury, and Chabot suffered an upper-body injury on Nov. 11. While the Senators have struggled defensively, with 61 goals allowed in 17 games, they are one of the league's most high-octane teams with 57 goals.
Now that Pinto no longer needs to worry about his contract situation, look for the Senators to be an even more cohesive unit. That dark cloud of looming uncertainty has been pushed back another four seasons, and it's a sigh of relief for the Senators, who won't need to worry about another star forward's contract again until the summer of 2026, when Drake Batherson becomes available.
With the Senators showing that they're interested in locking their star players into deals early, it's almost a guarantee that Batherson will get his deal sometime between the summer and fall of 2026. If you're the Red Wings, and you're slowly seeing a changing of the guard in the Atlantic Division, you need to do all you can to keep up with a team that will be a playoff contender for years to come.
Red Wings must take on a new sense of urgency as Senators solidify core
The two core forwards in Detroit eligible for extensions in 2026-27 are Marco Kasper and Alex DeBrincat. If the Wings want to keep pace with teams like the Senators and also the surging Montreal Canadiens, then keeping DeBrincat around must be the first menu item to take care of once he's eligible. As for Kasper, he needs to prove that he can be consistent with his productivity.
Defensively, it's time for Simon Edvinsson to show everyone why he was worthy of being the sixth overall pick in 2021. Edvinsson is due for an extension this season, and consistent play at the blue line is the fastest way to keep him in town for another five to seven years. Albert Johansson, eligible next season, must show that he can be a top-four player in the rotation.
More urgency should equal better results in Hockeytown, and it could ultimately match anything that the Senators have been doing. If they want to be competitive for years on end, what the Senators have done so far to claw their way back into contention, extending players like Shane Pinto, is the only way to go about it. Keep an eye on players like DeBrincat, Kasper, Edvinsson, and Johnansson, as solidifying the core with them will be a direct answer to the Senators' long-term strategy.