SENSNEWS

Recently, we received an update on where things stand with a Shane Pinto contract extension. The Ottawa Senators have not had the start to the season they hoped for, but the same cannot be said about Pinto.

Shane Pinto Contract Extension Update

This article was written prior to Saturday afternoon’s game against the New York Islanders.

At this time, Shane Pinto is sitting on six goals and an assist for seven points in five games. His six goals have him tied for first in the NHL with Pavel Dorofeyev of the Vegas Golden Knights.

For Ottawa Senators fans, this breakout was to be expected. Shane Pinto has been stuck in a third-line role for the past few seasons, which has limited his offensive production.

But now, Pinto has received the ice time of a top-six player. Although he may be on the third line on paper, he is playing just under 19 minutes per game.

Shane Pinto Contract Extension Update

With what Shane Pinto has shown, the Senators are willing to pay him on a long-term extension. Bruce Garrioch provided an update on where things stand with Pinto and the Senators in a recent article:

“One league insider believes the Senators were likely thinking of a lengthy deal in the $5 million to $5.5 million range. If that’s the case, the club likely felt that it wanted to lock up Pinto as the club’s third-line centre for years to come. You can never have enough depth in the middle, and he has fit in nicely.”

“A league executive told me that Pinto probably feels his contract should be somewhere between the $7.1 million that Dylan Cozens is making on a deal he signed with the Buffalo Sabres before being traded to Ottawa and the $8.35 million that Tim Stützle is pulling in.”

Bruce Garrioch

This would be quite the raise for Shane Pinto if a contract comes in between these numbers. However, it’s important to consider the percentage of the cap that this value would take up.

Meet In The Middle On A Contract

So let’s split the difference. A deal coming in at $7.725 million would give Pinto exactly what he is looking for.

Now, in any negotiation, there is give and take, so it would be fair to assume that a deal would actually come in lower than this number.

Salary Cap Circumstances To Consider

This season, the salary cap is $95.5 million at its upper limit. A $7.725 million cap hit would take up approximately 8.1% of the salary cap.

If we look at the projected cap for the 2027–2028 season, a $7.725 million deal would equate to 6.8% of the cap. To make this information more digestible, a $6.5 million deal would take up approximately 6.8% of the salary cap this season.

So only one season into his extension, Shane Pinto would be making a deal that pays him the equivalent of $6.5 million this season.

It’s a deal that is more than fair given what Pinto has shown this season. However, we need to see him continue to produce at this rate.

I also want to return to what I stated earlier: that projected deal would give Shane Pinto exactly what he is looking for.

If Steve Staios is able to negotiate Pinto down to a number right around Cozens’ $7.1 million cap hit, the deal looks even better.

Term On A Contract

This deal would solidify the Ottawa Senators’ centre depth until 2029–2030. Then consider Ridly Greig as an option to move to the middle, and the centre position is of no concern for the Ottawa Senators.

So let’s play the dangerous game of projecting Shane Pinto’s next contract. For cap hit, we have already done a lot of the work in determining a value.

Considering the Senators likely view Cozens as the more proven second-line centre, let’s say Pinto’s cap hit comes in at a nice even $7 million per season.

The Senators have several contracts expiring at the end of the 2029–2030 season, with Tim Stützle, Dylan Cozens, and Jake Sanderson all up for renewal.

For Pinto to end a deal that same offseason would mean signing a five-year contract.

It seems likely that Ottawa would not want to have yet another player to re-sign that offseason.

So, I project a long-term deal for Pinto to come in around six or seven years. To get the dollars down on the AAV, I would expect the Senators to settle on six years.

Shane Pinto Contract Extension Projection

To tie it all together, I am projecting Shane Pinto’s next contract to come in at $42 million over six seasons. This would be a $7 million cap hit and would most certainly involve some level of trade protection.

Considering Pinto’s hot start, it wouldn’t be surprising to see negotiations accelerate quickly.

If he continues this level of play, it’s only a matter of time before the Ottawa Senators make a long-term commitment to one of their most reliable and consistent young centres.

Edit*

We have since got further news that the Ottawa Senators have offered Shane Pinto an 8-year extension. This is per Elliotte Friedman, who reports there is currently nothing imminent.

However, the Senators want to show Pinto they are serious about signing him long-term.