Ottawa Senators re-sign defenceman Jordan Spence to four-year deal

Ottawa Senator Jordan Spence talking to the media at the Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa Monday. Photo by Tony Caldwell /Postmedia

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The contract talks between Jordan Spence and the Ottawa Senators turned to action on Friday.

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The Ottawa Citizen was first to report on Friday that the Senators were closing in on a four-year deal with the defenceman that will pay him $5 million US per-season. He was scheduled to become a restricted free agent and had the right to file for arbitration.

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Spence made $1.5 million last season and was two years away from becoming an unrestricted free agent. That’s a pretty tidy raise for Spence after suiting up for 73 games with Ottawa in his first year with the club, finishing with seven goals and 31 points.

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Spence was acquired from the Los Angeles Kings for a third-round pick on Day 2 of last year’s NHL draft plus a sixth-round selection this spring. The Senators confirmed the signing — which takes him through the 2029-30 campaign — during the lunch hour.

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It took a while for Spence to find his place on the blue line, but he emerged as a strong contributor down the stretch, especially in the playoffs following injuries to Artem Zub and Jake Sanderson when he emerged as a reliable playmaker. He played 39 minutes in the double-overtime Game 2 loss of the club’s sweep against the Carolina Hurricanes.

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He spent a large part of the season on the club’s third pairing, but his role increased when the Senators lost veteran Nick Jensen to knee surgery midway through the campaign. Spence also saw time on the second power-play unit.

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A tough negotiation

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Getting to this point wasn’t easy for Steve Staios, the club’s president of hockey operations and general manager, or Spence’s Ottawa-based agent, Peter MacTavish of Quartexx Management.

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But both were happy to get it done.

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“Jordan was an excellent addition to our hockey club and proved to be a valuable asset on our blue line and stepped up when it counted last season,” said Staios. “We’re excited to have him as part of our core group.”

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The Senators and Spence had a gap to bridge when the discussions on a new deal first started. The Citizen reported earlier this month that three league executives told this newspaper that Staios had been gauging the trade market to see what he might get in return for Spence.

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As noted at the time, that didn’t mean the Senators wanted to trade him, but if they couldn’t get a contract in place, that would have been the only option. In reality, if they’d gone to arbitration, the two sides could have postponed an extension of this nature.

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In the end, both sides acted in their own best interests.

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There was some talk on Thursday that Spence may have been part of a deal that would have landed the club forward Mason McTavish of the Anaheim Ducks, but the Senators pulled out of those talks because they weren’t able to meet the asking price.

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It’s believed the Senators were offering the Ducks the No. 25 overall selection in the first round of Friday night’s National Hockey League draft plus another asset. We’re not convinced that was Spence and, in fact, they may have offered a prospect as the other piece.