NHL Rumors: Insider claims Senators' $29,850,000 star Drake Batherson drawing interest from teams ahead of trade deadline

The Ottawa Senators are looking to make the postseason for the first time since 2016-17. Ottawa has missed the playoffs for seven straight seasons, the third longest active drought in the NHL, behind only Detroit (eight seasons) and Buffalo (13 seasons).

The Senators have shown improvements this year. With a 30-25-5 record (65 points), they're still in the mix for a playoff spot, just one point behind the New York Rangers (66 points) and Detroit Red Wings (66 points) for the last wildcard spot in the Eastern Conference. Moneypuck.com has the Senators with a 54.9% chance of getting playoff hockey back to the Nation's Capital.

However, close won't be good enough, and since the Sens remain on the outside looking in, teams are calling on their players ahead of the trade deadline. One name in particular has been garnering attention: star forward Drake Batherson. Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Citizen wrote an article about the recent interest in the Senators' right-winger.

"We're told one significant name teams have been kicking tires on is Senators winger Drake Batherson as the club weighs its options on the trade front," Garrioch wrote. "League executives insist that Staois isn't in any hurry to trade the 26-year-old Batherson, but he's an attractive option for teams looking to get younger at the deadline."

Batherson is in the fourth season of a six-year, $29,850,000 contract with the Sens, at a reasonable $4.975 million average annual value. It makes sense that teams around the league would covet the 26-year-old.

The Ottawa Senators need Drake Batherson to regain his consistency

After a tremendous start to the season, Drake Batherson's production has stalled.

Through 30 games, Batherson was among the top 25 in the league, scoring 33 points (13 goals, 20 assists), producing over a point-per-game. Since then, he's struggled to the tune of 14 points (three goals, 11 assists) in 30 games. It's been a tale of two halves for the star winger.

In his article, Bruce Garrioch wrote that teams have been calling about Drake Batherson because he struggled to play well. Ottawa will need Drake Batherson to be more consistent and regain his form from the first 30 games of the year.

Batherson and the Senators continue their playoff push on Wednesday night as they're in Chicago to take on the Blackhawks. The puck drops at 7:30 p.m. at the United Center.