Throughout the summer months, there’s been mild speculation regarding a contract extension between the Ottawa Senators and forward Shane Pinto. To this point, General Manager Steve Staios and Pinto have gone as far as to say that both sides have had positive conversations, though nothing has materialized yet. Still, if an extension is agreed upon throughout the 2025-26 season, many could be surprised by the price.
In a recent segment on TSN 1200 Ottawa, insider Frankie Corrado suggested that Pinto’s price tag begins at $7MM per season and may increase from there. That undoubtedly indicates that the two sides are prioritizing a long-term commitment, although it’s well above projections. According to AFP Analytics, Pinto is expected to command a $5.9MM salary on a long-term deal and $4.5MM if they pivot toward a bridge deal.
The minimum salary of $7MM, as Corrado suggests, would nearly double Pinto’s current salary of $3.75MM and would make Pinto the fourth-highest paid forward on the team. This may come as a surprise, considering Pinto has yet to register more than 40 points in a given season, though this could become the new norm as the upper ceiling of the salary cap increases.
Before the start of the 2023-24 season, when Pinto first signed his two-year, $7.5MM contract with the Senators, his cap hit represented 4.26% of Ottawa’s salary cap availability. Assuming Pinto signs a long-term extension at $7MM per season, his cap hit would only represent 6.16% of the Senators’ available cap total by the second year of the deal, and continue to decrease from there.
Still, it’s an objectively high dollar amount for a player whose earning power will hinge greatly on his performance this season. Outside of missing half of the 2023-24 campaign for violating the NHL’s Sports Wagering rules, Pinto has been a relatively productive secondary scorer for Ottawa, registering 50 goals and 99 points in his last 193 contests. In his lone playoff run with the Senators last season, he recorded one goal and two points in six games, averaging 19:53 of ice time.
Pinto possesses a defensive quality in his game that is often overlooked because of his goal-scoring ability. Throughout the past two years, he’s achieved a success rate in the faceoff dot higher than 50.0% in more than 1,300 draws, and an on-ice save percentage at even strength higher than 91.0%.
Regardless, although he’s eligible for arbitration next summer, Pinto isn’t eligible for unrestricted free agency until after the 2027-28 season, giving him and the Senators plenty of time to work something out. Still, given that it’s the last year a team can sign a rostered player to an eight-year extension, time is running out for Ottawa to potentially retain Pinto through his age-33 season, the prime years of his career.
is he actually worth that much???
No
He’s not worth anywhere near that much and I’m a Sens fan. We’re better suited trading him at this point if that’s what he thinks he’s worth.
Connor McMichael will see that and demand 10 million for the Caps :)
Anyone saying he’s not worth that is probably correct, in a vacuum. But there’s plenty of context in the article regarding % of the cap, rising cap and new normal.
But Pinto being the first seems awkward
I have a different take – you’re correct in general but I’m guessing this may be the new Ottawa premium needed to keep a FA as well. I can’t imagine most other teams coming close to this AAV for his current production. Might mean it takes twice this much to keep Brady out of FLA in a couple years.
How does the cap going up, Turn into inflated value of average, To above average players?
Because salaries will go up across the board?
Frankie Corrado is smoking the drapes! Pinto’s 82 game average thus far is 20-22-42, +2, And 27 PIM.
Frankie Corrado is simply a mouthpiece for TSN, He has no insight, He’s really only good at one thing, And that’s hearing himself talk, Corrado spends every waking moment trying to trend, It’s a sad existence.
So Welcome/Wilf/Sparky, what you are saying is that Frankie Corrado could be considered the TSN version of you. Nice call.