Between the Brady Tkachuk trade, the NHL Draft, and the re-signing of Jordan Spence, the Ottawa Senators have experienced a busy few days. And there’s still work to be done.Ottawa has a few players slated to become free agents this week. There are also a handful of extension-eligible players, including winger Drake Batherson, who is entering the final year of a six-year, $29.85 million deal. Batherson, among others, can sign new contracts as of July 1.AFP Analytics has projections for the upcoming year, so we’ll use their figures as a guide for the more notable players on general manager Steve Staios’ list. Also, for those wondering, teams have until Sept. 15, the final date of the current collective bargaining agreement, to sign players to eight-year extensions.And with that, it’s time for another edition of Senators cap court. Like we did last year, we’ve enlisted the help of the original cap court judge himself, The Athletic’s Sean McIndoe.(Note: where applicable, we’ve rounded up to the nearest decimal on contract projections. Contract figures and projections from AFP Analytics and PuckPedia.)Winners and losers from the 2026 NHL DraftScott WheelerExtension eligibleMichael AmadioAge: 302025-26 statistics: 15 goals, 35 points, 81 games playedCurrent contract: 3 years, $7.8 million ($2.6 million cap hit)AFP Analytics projects: 3 years, $11.29 million ($3.76 million cap hit)McKenzie: Amadio was one of the Senators’ best defensive players in the 2025-26 regular season, earning Selke Trophy votes in the process. The 31-year-old could merit a slight raise thanks to his play, and the projected cap hit shouldn’t be too crippling to Ottawa’s cap structure in a rising cap environment if the team wanted to extend him. But the Senators can always afford to wait when it comes to a non-core, secondary player in their lineup.McIndoe: I think Julian has it right here. If a player is past his peak years and isn’t a core piece, then the approach should be to extend early if there’s an opportunity for value, or wait for a clearer picture. That does create a risk of the player preferring the UFA market, but if that’s the case, then you were likely going to have to overpay on an extension anyway.Drake BathersonAge: 292025-26 statistics: 33 goals, 71 points, 79 games playedCurrent contract: 6 years, $29.85 million (Cap hit: $4.975 million, UFA 2027) AFP Analytics projections: 6 years, $58.9 million (Cap hit: $9.81 million)McKenzie: The Senators’ winger has improved every single year since he made his NHL debut during the 2018-19 season, establishing career highs in goals (33) and points (71) in 2025-26, and adding three goals and an assist in four playoff games. On a team that could still benefit from adding another scorer in its top six, Batherson has some leverage for a significant raise. But at the risk of being nitpicky, I’d much rather see Batherson at either $9 million or $9.25 million per. Still, having a team’s best players’ cap hits fall below $10 million in a rising cap environment is a luxury. There’s a middle ground to be found with these numbers, I think.McIndoe: Batherson is a core piece, so there’s a far stronger argument to get this done now. I’ll admit that I felt some sticker shock at a nearly $10 million price, though. Having Batherson as the team’s highest-paid player feels wrong, but it’s a result of the very team-friendly deals the Sens have been able to get their core to commit to. That probably means biting the bullet on a higher AAV here, and Batherson’s still young enough to squeeze some value here. But any deal is going to “feel” high, even if it may not be.