As contract extensions start to pour in over the next few weeks, the Montreal Canadiens have jumped into the fray. Today, the team announced a one-year contract extension for Andreas Martinsen, one of the trade deadline acquisitions this season. The one-way deal is worth $675K, a slight raise over his $640K salary last season.
The Norwegian winger came over from the Colorado Avalanche in exchange for Sven Andrighetto as the Canadiens tried to get bigger and tougher at the deadline. Suiting up for just nine games down the stretch and two in the playoffs, Martinsen was held scoreless for the Canadiens but did record 36 hits without drawing a single penalty.The 6’4″ forward will likely hold a place on Montreal’s fourth line next season.
As he came over from Europe in just 2015-16, Martinsen will be ineligible for the upcoming expansion draft. He’ll provide a solid physical presence for relatively low cost, and actually has some offensive upside. Though he hasn’t shown much in the NHL, he did score 41 points in 50 games in his last season in the DEL and could likely hit 10 goals if given a bit more upside. His shooting percentage so far in the NHL is extremely low, and while it will likely never reach very lofty heights should improve a bit in the future.
Montreal has four remaining unrestricted free agents to decide on up front, with Alexander Radulov, Brian Flynn, Bobby Farnham and Dwight King all hitting the open market July 1st. While Radulov has had conversations with Montreal on a long-term deal, it is unclear where the two sides stand regarding the other three players. King, who was also acquired at the deadline, is coming off a three-year contract that saw him earn just under $2MM per season.
Pierre LeBrun was first to report the financial details of the deal.
Love it. Martinsen is a great bottom 6 guy who has underrated/under utilized offensive talents.