Senators sign Zub to 4-year extension with $4.6M AAV

The Ottawa Senators and defenseman Artem Zub agreed to a four-year contract extension worth $4.6 million per season, the team announced Wednesday.

He was set to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the 2022-23 campaign. When his new deal kicks in next season, he'll be Ottawa's second-highest-paid blue-liner behind Thomas Chabot, who earns $8 million per campaign.

"Artem's transition to North American hockey has been remarkable," general manager Pierre Dorion said. "He has worked hard to establish himself as an excellent NHL player and a strong defender. He consistently helps make us a better defensive team while he's on the ice."

Zub has only appeared in 14 games this season due to injuries. He managed two goals and two assists while averaging over 22 minutes per night. The 27-year-old is most valuable in his own end and posted solid defensive metrics this season.

Artem Zub, signed to a 4x$4.6M extension by OTT, is a second-pair defensive defenceman who doesn't do much with the puck but also isn't asked to. Particularly good rush defender, although he takes more penalties than you'd like. #GoSensGo pic.twitter.com/7Rhc6WDchf

- JFresh (@JFreshHockey) December 21, 2022

The Senators signed Zub to a one-year contract in 2020 after he played seven seasons in the KHL. After a strong debut campaign in the NHL, Ottawa inked the Russian to a two-year deal featuring his current $2.5-million cap hit.

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