Ondrej Palat Signs Five-Year Contract
The Tampa Bay Lightning continue to lock up their core pieces, signing Ondrej Palat to a five-year contract worth $26.5MM. The contract will have an average annual salary of $5.3MM, but the breakdown of the deal is as follows: 
- 2017-18: $5.6MM
- 2018-19: $6.855MM
- 2019-20: $5.3MM
- 2020-21: $3.445MM
- 2021-22: $5.3MM
This comes on the heels of a seven-year extension for linemate Tyler Johnson, that will see him earn $5MM per season. The fact that Palat comes in a tick ahead of him in terms of salary is a direct result of the length of the contract, as the two have very similar rates of production (though admittedly at different positions).
In the past twelve months (and change), Lightning GM Steve Yzerman has given out long-term deals to Palat, Johnson, Alex Killorn, Victor Hedman and Steven Stamkos, while also getting Nikita Kucherov and Andrei Vasilevskiy under decently priced bridge deals that will keep them restricted free agents after they expire. All that, plus a heck of a lot of work to clear enough room for it all has the Lightning locked in to this group for quite a while, and will allow them to compete together for the Stanley Cup.
Palat, 26, is giving up four unrestricted free agent years in the deal and will do so at a reasonably priced cap hit. His production since joining the team full time has been excellent, with 218 points in 307 games. During that time he’s also received Selke votes as the league’s top defensive forward three times, and has registered excellent possession numbers throughout. With Jonathan Drouin gone to Montreal, the team will rely on Palat even more as a top offensive weapon and will give him ample powerplay time.
One of the best seventh-round picks in recent history, Palat has come a long way since his humble beginnings in the draft. Passed over completely after his first year in the QMJHL, the Czech winger was taken with the third last pick in 2011 even after scoring 96 points for Drummondville. In what has turned into arguably Yzerman’s best draft, Palat joined Vladislav Namestnikov, Kucherov and Nikita Nesterov on the Lightning’s board that day.
Palat was set to have a hearing on July 25th after filing for player-elected salary arbitration, but was always expected to sign a long-term deal beforehand. With all of the key RFAs now dealt with, Tampa Bay has just over $3.2MM left in cap space—an amazing feat considering the trouble they were in just a few months ago.
Craig Morgan of AZ Sports was first to report the deal, and give the salary breakdown.
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Carolina Hurricanes Sign Jaccob Slavin To Seven-Year Extension
The Carolina Hurricanes have made a huge commitment to one of the best up-and-coming defensemen in the league, inking Jaccob Slavin to a seven-year, $37.1MM contract extension. The deal will kick in for the 2018-19 season, and carries an average annual value of $5.3MM. Hurricanes’ GM Ron Francis released a statement on the deal: 
Jaccob is one of the cornerstones of our team moving forward, and it was important to secure him with our organization long term. We believe he is one of the top young defensemen in the NHL today, and are thrilled that he and his wife, Kylie, have made their home in Raleigh.
Slavin, 23, has come a long way since being selected in the fourth round of the 2012 draft. He notably wasn’t even included in the NHL’s Central Scouting rankings that season, but has done nothing but succeed at every level. The prototypical NHL defenseman these days, Slavin can do it all. Skating the puck out of the zone, and contributing once in the offensive end of the rink, he registered 34 points and was nearly unbeatable in his own end.
On the last season of his entry-level deal, getting Slavin under contract long-term was obviously a priority of both sides. While the $5.3MM salary will be quite an increase next season, he seems destined to become one of the most underpaid players should his development continue. He won’t turn 24 until near the end of next season, and is already a top-pairing player. Logging over 23 minutes a night last season he played in all situations for the Hurricanes.
Going forward, Carolina will rely on their deep defense group to try and start competing with the top teams in the Metropolitan division. All of them though (save for Justin Faulk) will need new contracts sooner or later, with Noah Hanifin, Brett Pesce, Trevor van Riemsdyk and Klas Dahlbeck all set to become restricted free agents next summer. Carolina obviously won’t need to hand out this kind of extension to all of them, but the group will get expensive quickly and may need to be broken up in the near future.
With several defensive prospects knocking on the door to the NHL, Carolina remains in perfect position to move some of their depth for help up front. Though it is unclear if they’re still involved in discussions for Matt Duchene or other offensive upgrades, they certainly have the pieces to jump back into the fray at any point.
For Slavin, giving away four years of free agency may seem like he’s selling himself short, but getting a deal of this amount after just a season and a half of performance is quite a feat. There is no guarantee his play continues, and even if it does he’ll be hitting free agency still with several years of high level play remaining in his career.
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Lightning Re-Sign Tyler Johnson To A 7-Year Deal
The Tampa Bay Lightning and forward Tyler Johnson have agreed to a seven-year/$35MM deal. The cap hit is $5MM. Johnson had 45 points last season, 19 of those points being goals. It’s a $1.7MM AAV increase from the $3.3MM he was previously making. Johnson saw his increase thanks to his scoring prowess and clutch playoff performance.
Johnson emerged as a scoring threat during the 2014-15 playoffs when he lit up the Detroit Red Wings for six goals in the first round while finishing with 24 points (13-11) in 26 playoff games. His Conn Smythe caliber numbers turned a number of heads and made Johnson a bonafide star in Tampa. The following season, Johnson again had a dominant performance, being a point-per-game contributor in 17 playoff games.
Regular season success was strong for the 26-year-old forward who had 50 points (24-26) in his first full season during the 2013-14 year. A season later, Johnson had his career high of 72 points (29-43) and continued his torrid performance into the playoffs. Injuries since have limited his performance, and he dipped to 38 points (14-24) in 2015-16.
With the signing, the Lightning have approximately $8.88MM remaining via CapFriendly. This allows general manager Steve Yzerman to turn his attention to Ondrej Palat, who according to the Tampa Bay Times’ Joe Smith, is hoping to lock him up prior to an arbitration hearing. Smith quoted Johnson as saying he was “super excited” about the contract extension.
Connor McDavid Signs Eight-Year, $100MM Extension
Number 97 will be in Edmonton for quite some time. The Oilers announced today at a press conference an eight-year, $100MM extension for the reigning Hart Trophy winner, keeping Connor McDavid in Edmonton until the summer of 2026. The extension, which kicks in for the 2018-19 season and carries a $12.5MM cap hit, will make McDavid the highest paid player in the league. $86MM of the deal will be paid out in signing bonuses, making the deal essentially lockout-proof.
While the contract isn’t the biggest in the league in terms of total dollars—that goes to Alex Ovechkin and his 13-year, $124MM deal—it is still a huge number for a player who won’t turn 21 until January of next year. Eight years is the maximum a player is allowed to be signed to under the new CBA, and $15MM would have represented the maximum dollar amount he could have received. Teams are not allowed to have an average annual value (AAV) surpass 20% of that year’s cap ($75MM). Had they waited to sign the contract until next season, any increase in the salary cap would have also changed the maximum a player is allowed to earn.
With a new deal on the books, the Oilers will turn their attention to Leon Draisaitl‘s next contract which must be resolved this summer. The second superstar on the club, Draisaitl is coming off a 77-point season and could easily get a contract that pushes their combined cap hit over $20MM. That’s a hefty price to pay, but not all that different than the scenarios in Chicago and Pittsburgh, where Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane earn $21MM per season, while Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin combine for $18.3MM.
That big number locked up into two players is hard to work with, but not impossible. As Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet wrote when the deal was first reported:
You can win with two huge deals. I will bet on McDavid and Draisaitl being the right players. Growth is the key. If the cap rises, Edmonton rises with it.
While a raising cap is not guaranteed by any means, the Oilers couldn’t afford to sign McDavid to anything less or shorter and risk that he’d hit free agency earlier. This deal will buy out four UFA seasons from age 25-28, years which likely would have earned him a max contract if his career continues the way it has so far. In two years, McDavid has recorded 148 points in 127 games, won the Art Ross, Hart, and Ted Lindsay trophies and led the Oilers back to the playoffs for the first time in more than a decade.
With one year left on his entry-level deal, the Oilers are hoping to compete for the Stanley Cup once again before both contracts kick in, but have already started to feel the pinch. They dealt Jordan Eberle to the New York Islanders, and bought out Benoit Pouliot to clear some room. That kind of thing will continue, but with McDavid leading the way they’ll always be a dangerous team to play.
This deal will have ramifications across the league, with players like Auston Matthews and Jack Eichel surely taking note of it’s length and salary. Though it’s unlikely any of the other young players in the league will match McDavid’s impact in his first few years, it will certainly be a mark for those who come anywhere close. It’s certainly not inconceivable for Matthews in particular to have more points through his first two years, after McDavid lost half his rookie year to injury.
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2017 Arbitration Tracker
The deadline to file for player-elected salary arbitration comes in at 4pm this Wednesday, July 5th, while the next day brings the deadline for team-elected filings. To understand the entire arbitration process, make sure you read Mike Furlano’s Capology 101 posts on the process (part 1, part 2).
Below, you can find a complete list of arbitration eligible players broken down by team, and their decisions as they come in. Refresh this page often as new information will be added as it comes in.
Joe Thornton Re-Signs With San Jose Sharks
July 2: The Sharks have officially announced the signing. His agency, Top Shelf Hockey, reports via Twitter that Thornton will earn $8MM in 2017-18. TSN’s Pierre LeBrun adds (Twitter link) that the base salary is $6.75MM while he gets a $1.25MM signing bonus as well.
July 1: After all of the rumor and intrigue surrounding “Jumbo” Joe Thornton seeking a three-year deal and speaking with many teams other than the San Jose Sharks, NBC Sports’ California correspondent Kevin Kurz is reporting that Thornton has actually re-signed in San Jose for just one year. According to Bob McKenzie, the deal is worth more than $6 MM, and Fox Sports Northwest’s Andy Strickland has the exact total at $6.5 MM. This is nowhere near the paycut many experts expected from his previous $6.75 MM. In a weak UFA class, however, he ended up getting more AAV than many of the larger names out there.
The probable future Hall-of-Fame center has 1007 career assists, good for 13th all time. He only had 7 goals last season make up his 50 points in 2016-17, however, his lowest total in a full season. It was anticipated by many that perhaps fellow long-time shark Patrick Marleau would sign first, but the offer from San Jose and the allure of home was too much to keep Thornton from signing on the dotted line.
Thornton is obviously slowing down a step, but he is still one of the best playmakers in the game. His work on the powerplay is masterful and he has jump-started many younger players’ careers. On a one-year deal, there seems to be little downside to the Sharks, as he can still be a productive member of a top-9 offensive unit while providing solid defensive play. The price is a bit high, and it remains to be seen whether that will affect any potential negotiations with Marleau.
Devils Acquire Marcus Johansson From Capitals
After re-signing Evgeny Kuznetsov earlier tonight, the Capitals had to make some cap-clearing moves. They’ve gone ahead and made one of them, announcing that they’ve dealt forward Marcus Johansson to New Jersey for Florida’s 2nd round pick in 2018 and Toronto’s 3rd round pick in 2018.
Johansson had spent his entire NHL career with the Capitals, spanning 501 games after being a first round pick (24th overall) in 2009. This past season, he set a career high in goals (24) and points (58) while playing in all 82 games for the first time in his career. He also was productive in the postseason, collecting eight more points (2-6-8) in 13 games.
The 26 year old has two years remaining on his contract with a cap hit just under $4.6MM, a good price tag for a player who has had at least 44 points in each of the last four seasons. However, the Kuznetsov signing forced them to clear out some salary and New Jersey becomes the beneficiaries.
With the Devils, Johansson should comfortably slot in as a top line forward; his point total would have led all New Jersey skaters. He has experience at all three forward positions so head coach John Hynes will have plenty of flexibility in assembling his top six for next season.
Even with the trade, the Caps will still have some work to do on their salary cap. They now sit with $9.2MM in cap space per CapFriendly but now only have 14 players under contract. As for the Devils, they still have $20MM in cap room to work with but are expected to have a budget somewhat below the $75MM upper limit.
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Capitals Re-Sign Evgeny Kuznetsov To Eight Year Deal
The Capitals have locked up one of their core players for the long haul, announcing the re-signing of restricted free agent center Evgeny Kuznetsov to an eight year, $62.4MM contract ($7.8MM AAV). Isabelle Khurshudyan of the Washington Post adds (Twitter link) that the deal contains a modified no-trade clause in the final six years of the contract; he is ineligible to receive one in the first two due to his age.
Kuznetsov has spent the past four seasons with Washington and was a first round pick (26th overall) of the team back in 2010. GM Brian MacLellan had the following to say about the 25 year old in a team release:
“Evgeny is a premier center in the NHL and we are pleased that he will remain in Washington for at least the next eight years. It is difficult to find a player of his caliber, who is in his prime and makes his teammates better. Evgeny plays with a tremendous skill, speed and tenacity needed to win in the NHL.”
Last season, Kuznetsov saw his production dip a little although he still posted a solid 19 goals and 40 assists while playing in all 82 games for the second straight season. He followed that up with a strong postseason effort, collecting five points and five helpers in 13 playoff contests. That came off the heels of a career year in 2015-16 where he posted 77 points (20-57-77), a career high.
The deal makes Kuznetsov the second highest paid player on the team, only behind captain Alex Ovechkin. Nicklas Backstrom is their top pivot and plays ahead of Kuznetsov but he still has three years left on his deal with a cap hit of $6.7MM.
MacLellan will have plenty of work to do to stay under the $75MM salary cap. They currently have $4.6MM in cap space per CapFriendly and only have 15 players under contract. Among their notable restricted free agents that still need to be re-signed are winger Andre Burakovsky and goaltender Phillip Grubauer.
Mike Vogl of the Capitals’ team website reports that the contract breaks down as follows:
2017-18: $5MM salary, $5MM signing bonus
2018-19: $5MM salary, $5MM signing bonus
2019-20: $3.4MM salary, $5MM signing bonus
2020-21: $3MM salary, $2MM signing bonus
2021-22: $3MM salary, $5MM signing bonus
2022-23: $3MM salary, $2MM signing bonus
2023-24: $6MM salary, $2MM signing bonus
2024-25: $6MM salary, $2MM signing bonus
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Toronto Signs Patrick Marleau To 3-Year Deal
The Toronto Maple Leafs have announced that they have signed unrestricted free agent Patrick Marleau to a three-year deal, $18.75MM with the average annual value set for $6.25MM. Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston tweets he has a full no-movement clause included in his deal. TSN’s Pierre LeBrun tweets that the deal will include a large signing bonus, just as the case was for Carey Price‘s deal earlier today. He will receive $14.5MM in signing bonus money, split up with $7MM coming to him in the first year, followed by $4.5MM in year two and $3MM in the final year of the contract. The three-year pact means that Marleau will be 40 during the last year of his $6.25 contract.
Reported earlier on PHR, the 37-year-old wing was considering several offers, including a two-year offer from San Jose, but the rumor was that Toronto had the most impressive offer and Marleau took it. Having spent the past 19 years in San Jose, he will move on to the young, rising Maple Leafs squad and team with the young core of Auston Matthews, William Nylander and Mitch Marner to help them take the next step. With this move, it seems obvious that the Maple Leafs plan to go all-out in hopes of capturing a Stanley Cup while they have their young core under rookie contracts. It is likely Marleau will be paired with both Matthews and Nylander as their first line.
For San Jose, the veteran team loses one of its most important players in their history. Marleau accumulated 508 goals and 1,082 points in his tenure with the Sharks and was rarely hurt, having played every game for the last eight seasons and only missing a total of 31 games in his career, according to Johnston. Although the team was able to lock up38-year-old Joe Thornton yesterday to a one-year, $6.5MM deal (although that deal is not official yet), the team lost out on one of their top goal scorers and will be hard-pressed to replace him, especially after the team struggled in the playoffs and were bounced in the first round. Those two have been playing together for the last 12 years.
Montreal Signs Carey Price To 8-Year Extension
The Montreal Canadiens have announced that they have signed goaltender Carey Price to an eight-year, $84MM extension with a $10.5MM AAV, according to Elliotte Friedman. The deal won’t kick in until the 2018-19 season and will make the 29-year-old goalie the highest paid player in Montreal Canadiens history, according to Sportsnet’s Eric Engles. TSN’s Pierre LeBrun tweets that $70MM of the $84MM will come though a signing bonus, which are in place in case there is a lockout, according to Buffalo News’ Mike Harrington. It also means that’s more money for Price down the road if they choose to buy him out, according to NHL Network’s E.J. Hradek.
For Price, his $10.5MM AAV will briefly be tied for the highest in the NHL, according to Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston. He is currently tied with Blackhawks’ Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews. However, that will only last until Edmonton Oilers’ Connor McDavid signs his expected $13.25MM extension shortly.
Price will be locked up now until the 2025-2026 season with this deal. Considered by many to be the best goaltender in hockey, the goaltender has a 270-185-55 record. He boasts an goals against career average of 2.40 and has been even better in the past few years, finishing this year with a 2.23 in 62 games with a .923 save percentage. His best season was the 2014-15 year when he won both the Hart Memorial Trophy and the Vezina Trophy after a season in which he finished with a 1.96 GAA and a .933 save percentage in 66 games.
While Price wasn’t set to be a free agent until next year, locking up their franchise goaltender long-term is one less thing to worry about. While the new contract will not come into play for another year, the team will new cap concerns starting a year from now. Montreal currently has $53MM tied up in just 14 players next year.