Lightning Re-Sign Alex Killorn

1:02 pm: The Lightning have officially announced the signing.  The contract contains a full no-trade clause in years two, three, and four plus a modified no-trade clause in the final three years, according to Cap Friendly.

11:26 am: Elliotte Friedman reports this morning that the Tampa Bay Lightning and restricted free agent Alex Killorn have come to terms on a seven-year deal worth about $31MM. Killorn had filed for arbitration earlier this month, but the two sides appear to have reached a mutual agreement. The 26-year-old joins Steven Stamkos, Victor Hedman, and Andrei Vasilevskiy as core players that the Lightning have extended this off-season. The Lightning still have to find the cap space to re-sign fellow RFAs Vladislav Nemestnikov (who also filed for arbitration), Nikita Kucherov, and Nikita Nesterov. As of now, it appears that the Killorn deal has left them $8.53MM to do so.

Killorn, who was drafted by Tampa Bay in the third round of the 2007 Draft, is Canadian, but took an unusual path to becoming an NHL prospect. Instead of playing junior hockey in Canada, Killorn instead played prep school hockey for Deerfield Academy in Massachusetts. He then took his talents to Harvard University, where he played for four years. Killorn jumped right into the NHL out of college, splitting his first pro season in 2012-13 between the Lightning and their AHL affiliate, the Syracuse Crunch, who he helped lead to the Calder Cup finals. He became a full-time NHLer the next season, and has cemented himself as part of a strong young core that has led the Lightning to back-to-back deep playoff runs the past two seasons.

Some may be surprised by the seven-year term for a player about to turn 27 who has averaged about 40 points a season in the NHL, but with all of the players that the Lighting have to re-sign this summer and next summer, the longer term allows the team to keep the cap hit down. Also, Erik Erlendsson adds that Killorn’s contract does carry a no-movement clause, but it does not kick in until after the 2016-17 season, allowing the Lightning to keep Killorn exposed to the Expansion Draft next summer if they so choose. However, Killorn has proved to be a valued member of the Lightning, and management seems content to keep his toughness and hockey sense in Tampa Bay for another seven years.