Nov 4: The Senators have officially announced the Jaros contract, confirming the details reported yesterday. Senators GM Pierre Dorion released a statement on the young defenseman:
Despite being limited by injury last season, Christian proved to be a reliable defensive defenceman. He’s a big body who’s rangy and who skates well. With his considerable professional experience, we’ll look for him to challenge for a roster spot in Ottawa when camp begins.
Nov 3: The Ottawa Senators have wrapped up their RFA class, coming to terms on a new contract with defenseman Christian Jaros. CapFriendly reports that Jaros has signed a one-year, two-way extension to avoid an arbitration hearing that had been scheduled for Saturday. The deal carries a $750K NHL salary and a $250K AHL salary.
Jaros, 24, may not have landed the one-way deal he might have hoped to land in arbitration, but accepted an offer that works out nicely for both sides. Coming off an entry-level deal that carried an $802K AAV including performance bonuses, Jaros takes a slight pay cut at the NHL level, but a major raise in the AHL. Whether he cracks the NHL roster or ends up spending the majority of the season in the AHL as he did last season, Jaros will walk away with a greater paycheck in 2020-21.
There is a path for Jaros to be a regular for the Senators this season. The club has only six defensemen signed to one-way deals, so there is at least one if not two positions open for their two-way players. Jaros has the most experience of that group, having played 76 NHL games, including 61 in 2018-19. With that said, top prospect Erik Brannstrom will certainly challenge for an NHL gig, while KHL import Artem Zub will also be expecting a chance at a spot in Ottawa.