With Seattle selling, it was a matter of Jordan Eberle either signing an extension or being traded today. It will be the former as CapFriendly reports (Twitter link) that the two sides have agreed to a two-year, $9.5MM extension. The deal contains a full no-trade clause.
The 33-year-old had been believed to be seeking a third year on this deal but instead, he winds up with a bit more than the originally reported offer of $4.5MM per year and full trade protection, something he didn’t have before; his current deal only carried a 16-team no-trade clause. Even with that, the contract represents a small dip in pay by $750K per season.
Eberle was originally picked by Seattle in the expansion draft in 2021 and has been one of their top scorers since then; he’s tied for second in franchise scoring history with defenseman Vince Dunn and behind center Jared McCann. He had one of his best outputs last season, notching 20 goals and a career-high 43 assists, giving him some leverage heading into offseason extension discussions.
However, his numbers have been down this year, as has been the case for several of Seattle’s top players. Even so, Eberle sits fourth in team scoring with 14 goals and 23 assists in 58 games while logging a little over 17 minutes a night. That type of production made him an attractive target for teams looking to bolster their secondary scoring leading into the trade deadline, especially with 76 playoff games under his belt. Instead, he’ll be staying put and staying in a top-six role for the Kraken for the next couple of years.
With the signing, Seattle has a little under $65.5MM in commitments to 16 players for next season, per CapFriendly. With Kailer Yamamoto and Eeli Tolvanen headlining their RFA list and Justin Schultz their lone higher-priced UFA of significance, GM Ron Francis looks set to have considerable cap space heading into next summer to add to his roster to try to get his team back into playoff contention.
Sportsnet’s Jeff Marek was first to report that contract talks had resumed earlier this morning.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Talk about throwing money away! Of course Francis is not exactly a winning executive.
What is your beef with Francis? Did he trade away a favorite player of yours? He built a good foundation for Carolina and he will build one for Seattle too.
No beef, Just stating hockey facts! Eberle should have been extended at 1 year and 3 million tops!
Some people are just miserable fans. Don’t resign him “Francis doesn’t care about leadership or the fans.” They do resign Eberle and it’s “throwing money away.”
Sorry, man. I’m sorry Francis didn’t resign the guy you like for the dollar amount you, with your limited knowledge of the market and zero insight into the negotiations, believed it should have been. But I’m sure you’re right, with all the profession sports front office experience you have.
Francis and Hakstol have never won anything, And Seattle will miss the playoffs in the WORST division in hockey. How’s that for limited hockey knowledge? You are welcome!
All that proves is you have a subjective opinion, and can read the standings. Helen Keller could regurgitate information and spew an opinion, doesn’t mean you have intimate knowledge of Eberle’s value to other teams in the league/the Kraken, or their negotiation process.
Big win for the Kraken. Now let’s go catch Vegas!