The Ottawa Senators have extended young defender Victor Mete before the two parties could reach arbitration. The deal is for just the 2021-22 season and will carry a cap hit of $1.2 million. Elliotte Friedman reported the news Wednesday afternoon.
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Senators Extend Victor Mete
The 23-year-old Mete had an odd 2020-21 season. He began the year with the Montreal Canadiens, but was placed on waivers and claimed by the Sens in April. It wasn’t as though Mete was particularly bad with his 14 games in Montreal, the problem is that the Canadiens simply had too many defenders to give him consistent playing time. Mete then played in as many games in Ottawa, but their overall lack of talent didn’t help him produce anything of notable value. Overall, he scored one goal and five points in 28 games with a combined 49.8 percent Corsi For and -.8 relative Corsi.
The Canadiens originally drafted Mete in the fourth round of the 2016 Draft and he debuted in 2017-18 with seven assists in 49 games. The former London Knight appeared in 71 games in 2018-19, but that is the only year he has played in more than 51 contests. Montreal has been very aggressive in stocking its blueline in recent years. That resulted in Mete getting squeezed out each year. There should be much more opportunity for an intriguing player such as him.
What This Means
Ottawa also has numerous defensive options, but Mete should battle for a role. He should be, at worst, one of the leading left-handed options on either the second or third pairing for the Sens. He will make the team’s training camp very interesting as he plays for a bigger contract next summer.
The Senators still need to spend some money in order to meet the NHL’s salary cap floor. They have just $52.9 committed for next year and the threshold is roughly $60 million. However, they shouldn’t have trouble meeting that number with both Drake Batherson and Brady Tkachuk who need deals.
