Breaking Down the Fabian Zetterlund Extension

The Ottawa Senators have just made another important signing, giving Fabian Zetterlund a new three year extension. The contract will come with a cap hit of $4.275 million per season. Zetterlund, of course, came from the San Jose Sharks at the trade deadline. Let’s dive into the details on his new contract.

READ MORE: Breaking Down Tyler Kleven’s New Contract

By the Numbers

Zetterlund was sent to the Sharks from the Devils as part of the Timo Meier trade in 2023. From there, he developed into a solid point producer. Here were his more recent numbers with the Sharks:

• 2023-24: 82 games, 24 goals, 44 points
• 2024-25: 64 games, 17 goals, 36 points

Zetterlund averaged almost 19 minutes a game during the 2023-24 season. Last season with the Sharks, he averaged about 17 minutes per game. Then came his time with the Senators. Here were his numbers:

• Regular Season: 20 games, 2 goals, 5 points
• Playoffs: 6 games, 0 points

His ice-time fell off dramatically with the Sens, as he averaged just 14:17 of ice-time in the regular season game, and 13:29 in the playoffs. A decent amount of his 26 games with the Sens saw him on the fourth line. It also didn’t help that his shooting percentage fell to just 4% with the Sens, as he scored on just 2 of his 49 shots in the 26 games he played.

A Look Ahead

Here are the wingers currently signed for next season with the Sens:

• Brady Tkachuk, Drake Batherson, Ridly Greig, David Perron, Fabian Zetterlund, Michael Amadio

The hope is that Claude Giroux will also return, giving the Senators seven wingers who want to all play on the Sens top three lines. This was the same group from a year ago that Zetterlund joined, and he was unable to consistently crack into that top six group of wingers, leaving him on the fourth line quite often.

The reality is, this is a good problem to have. It’s now up to Zetterlund to earn his spot in Ottawa’s top nine. He should also push to be a part of the Senators power play, most likely on the second unit. With his style of play, as someone who doesn’t shy away physically, plays with speed and has shown solid offensive capabilities, there’s no reason that he can’t at least be a solid middle six winger. With his contract set to take up 4.5% of the rising salary cap, Zetterlund just needs to produce similar numbers to what he did in San Jose to be worth the new deal.

Final Thoughts

Steve Staios made a smart trade when he acquired Fabian Zetterlund at the deadline. The Senators weren’t likely to go on a Stanley Cup run, having just returned to the playoffs for the first time since 2017. That’s why bringing in Zetterlund, at just 25 years old and approaching RFA status at the end of the year, made sense. He wasn’t just a one year rental. Now, it’s about making the most of these next three years, for both Zetterlund and the Senators.

As for the rest of the offseason, the next priority will be figuring out Claude Giroux’s new contract, assuming he’s coming back to the Sens. From there, the Sens will have to decide if they want to pursue a big move this offseason, or just fill out their roster with depth pieces, thus going into next season with a very similar team as this past year. What is certain is that these next few weeks will be a fun time filled with signings, draft picks, and plenty of speculation. Buckle up!