Headlines

  • Latest On Nikolaj Ehlers
  • Hurricanes Acquire K’Andre Miller In Sign-And-Trade With Rangers
  • Alex Delvecchio Passes Away At Age 93
  • Sabres Sign Ryan McLeod To Four-Year Deal
  • Rangers, Will Cuylle Agree To Two-Year Deal
  • Kings Sign Cody Ceci, Brian Dumoulin, Anton Forsberg
  • Previous
  • Next
Register
Login
  • MLB Trade Rumors
  • Hoops Rumors
  • Pro Football Rumors

Pro Hockey Rumors

  • Home
  • Teams
    • Atlantic
      • Boston Bruins
      • Buffalo Sabres
      • Detroit Red Wings
      • Florida Panthers
      • Montreal Canadiens
      • Ottawa Senators
      • Tampa Bay Lightning
      • Toronto Maple Leafs
    • Central
      • Chicago Blackhawks
      • Colorado Avalanche
      • Dallas Stars
      • Minnesota Wild
      • Nashville Predators
      • St. Louis Blues
      • Utah Mammoth
      • Winnipeg Jets
    • Metropolitan
      • Carolina Hurricanes
      • Columbus Blue Jackets
      • New Jersey Devils
      • New York Islanders
      • New York Rangers
      • Philadelphia Flyers
      • Pittsburgh Penguins
      • Washington Capitals
    • Pacific
      • Anaheim Ducks
      • Calgary Flames
      • Edmonton Oilers
      • Los Angeles Kings
      • San Jose Sharks
      • Seattle Kraken
      • Vancouver Canucks
      • Vegas Golden Knights
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • Partners
    • MLB Trade Rumors
    • Hoops Rumors
    • Pro Football Rumors
Go To MLB Trade Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Edmonton Oilers Extend Zack Kassian

January 29, 2020 at 5:49 pm CDT | by Gavin Lee 3 Comments

Before Zack Kassian takes the ice to confront Matthew Tkachuk and the Calgary Flames later tonight, he’ll be the subject of some other news. The Edmonton Oilers forward has signed a four-year contract extension according to Bob McKenzie of TSN, which will carry an average annual value of $3.2MM. Kassian was scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent this summer.  McKenzie adds that the deal does not contain any trade protection and that the breakdown of the contract is as follows:

2020-21: $2.5MM salary, $1MM signing bonus
2021-22: $2.5MM salary, $1MM signing bonus
2022-23: $3.5MM salary
2023-24: $2.3MM salary

Kassian, 29, signed a three-year, $5.85MM deal with the Oilers back in 2017, meaning he’s getting quite the raise after logging some tough minutes with the club. A reclamation project by the time he ended up in Edmonton, Kassian has steadily developed into a real contributor for the team and has 13 goals and 28 points while often skating beside Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl.

While some will argue that his offensive production is entirely dependent on those superstars, other players have struggled when given those minutes. Kassian’s above-average skating ability isn’t common in a player who plays such a physical game, and even before he came to Edmonton he had shown some goal-scoring promise around the net.

Still, at four years, the length of the deal comes with some significant risk. The Oilers aren’t exactly in a situation where they can throw around $3.2MM, given they have so much committed to McDavid and Draisaitl. The team is getting out from under some other bad contracts over the next few seasons, but that doesn’t mean they can afford to sign new ones. While Kassian certainly isn’t guaranteed to decline over the length of the deal, he also doesn’t offer a ton of upside as a top-six option.

Edmonton does have a huge number of decisions to make on their forward group for next season however. Even after signing Kassian they still have six forwards on the roster that will become unrestricted free agents at the end of this season. At the very least they know that the power forward can slot somewhere into the NHL lineup next year.

From Kassian’s point of view, it’s easy to understand why he would want to sign long-term in Edmonton. Originally drafted 13th overall by the Buffalo Sabres in 2009, he has been open about his battle with addiction and alcohol abuse in the early years of his professional career. Not only has he found a place among some of the best forwards in the world, but sobriety and a new chapter in his hockey playing story. Now he’ll get to spend the next several years trying to show why he was picked so high in the first place.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Share 0 Retweet 0 Send via email

Edmonton Oilers| Newsstand Bob McKenzie| Zack Kassian

Minor Transactions: 01/29/20
Main
West Notes: Ellis, Sissons, Hayton, Hintz
View Comments (3)

Comments

  1. bigdaddyt

    5 years ago

    That’s a bad deal

    Reply
  2. Connorsoxfan

    5 years ago

    What in the Justin Abdelkader is that

    Reply
  3. MacJablonski--NotVegasLegend

    5 years ago

    It’s not that bad of a deal. His production is on the rise, his ATOI is the highest of his career, and he will stand up for all of his teammates, which some guys on other teams won’t do. He is, as Gavin stated, an unusually good skater for a power forward, which is necessary when playing with 97 & 29. Is EDM banking on the cap going up big time in a couple of years? Probably – just like the other 30 teams. His deal only takes him to age 33, not past 35, which would’ve set off the cap hit alarms. By all accounts, he’s well-liked in the locker room, and even though that isn’t justification for the salary, it helps. For all of his intangibles, his deal is “almost” a bargain, but it isn’t a bad deal.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Please login to leave a reply.

Log in Register

    Top Stories

    Latest On Nikolaj Ehlers

    Hurricanes Acquire K’Andre Miller In Sign-And-Trade With Rangers

    Alex Delvecchio Passes Away At Age 93

    Sabres Sign Ryan McLeod To Four-Year Deal

    Rangers, Will Cuylle Agree To Two-Year Deal

    Kings Sign Cody Ceci, Brian Dumoulin, Anton Forsberg

    Ducks Sign Mikael Granlund To Three-Year Deal

    Islanders Sign Jonathan Drouin To Two-Year Deal

    Mammoth Sign Nate Schmidt, Brandon Tanev To Three-Year Deals

    Blue Jackets Re-Sign Ivan Provorov To Seven-Year Deal

    Recent

    Alex Pietrangelo Placed On LTIR, Unlikely To Play Again

    Flames Ink Goalie Ivan Prosvetov To One-Year Deal

    Ducks Finalize Coaching Staff

    Latest On Nikolaj Ehlers

    Hurricanes Acquire K’Andre Miller In Sign-And-Trade With Rangers

    Islanders Sign Simon Holmstrom To Two-Year Deal

    Alex Delvecchio Passes Away At Age 93

    Penguins Sign Justin Brazeau, Caleb Jones To Two-Year Deals

    Hurricanes Sign Mike Reilly

    Golden Knights Sign Dylan Coghlan, Jaycob Megna, Cole Reinhardt

    Rumors By Team

    Rumors By Team

    • Avalanche Rumors
    • Blackhawks Rumors
    • Blue Jackets Rumors
    • Blues Rumors
    • Bruins Rumors
    • Canadiens Rumors
    • Canucks Rumors
    • Capitals Rumors
    • Devils Rumors
    • Ducks Rumors
    • Flames Rumors
    • Flyers Rumors
    • Golden Knights Rumors
    • Hurricanes Rumors
    • Islanders Rumors
    • Jets Rumors
    • Kings Rumors
    • Kraken Rumors
    • Lightning Rumors
    • Mammoth Rumors
    • Maple Leafs Rumors
    • Oilers Rumors
    • Panthers Rumors
    • Penguins Rumors
    • Predators Rumors
    • Rangers Rumors
    • Red Wings Rumors
    • Sabres Rumors
    • Senators Rumors
    • Sharks Rumors
    • Stars Rumors
    • Wild Rumors

    Latest Rumors & News

    Latest Rumors & News

    • 2025’s Top 50 Unrestricted Free Agents
    • Sam Bennett Rumors
    • Nikolaj Ehlers Rumors
    • Mitch Marner Rumors
    • Marco Rossi Rumors

    Pro Hockey Rumors Features

    Pro Hockey Rumors Features

    • Support Pro Hockey Rumors And Go Ad-Free
    • 2025 Free Agent Focus Series
    • 2025 Offseason Checklist Series
    • 2025 NHL Free Agent List
    • 2026 NHL Free Agent List
    • Active Roster Tracker
    • Coaching Staff Directory
    • Draft Pick Tracker 2025
    • Key Offseason Dates
    • Offseason Trade Tracker
    • Pro Hockey Rumors On X
    • Pro Hockey Rumors Polls
    • Waiver Claims 2024-25

     

     

     

    Navigation

    • Sitemap
    • Archives

    PHR Info

    • About
    • Privacy Policy
    • Commenting Policy

    Connect

    • Contact Us
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • RSS Feed

    Pro Hockey Rumors is not affiliated with National Hockey League, NHL or NHL.com

    scroll to top

    Register

    Desktop Version | Switch To Mobile Version