Late Thursday, the Hurricanes raised some eyebrows when they signed winger Jackson Blake to an eight-year, $45MM contract extension after just one professional season. It was reported at the time that the deal carries some salary deferrals; PuckPedia relays (Twitter link) that a total of $15.9MM in signing bonus money over five seasons in the agreement is deferred to July 1st, 2034, the day after the deal expires. In doing so, the cap hit goes from $5.625MM per season to $5.117MM. As part of the contract, Blake also gets a 10-team no-trade clause starting in July 2031 that will remain in place until 15 days before the 2034 trade deadline. Given that the other years of the deal cover RFA-eligible seasons, he wasn’t eligible for trade protection in those campaigns.
Elsewhere in the Eastern Conference:
- Bob Duff of Detroit Hockey Now speculates that the Red Wings might not be done with moves on the back end this summer. They added Jacob Bernard-Docker and re-signed William Lagesson but with the tendency to carry eight defensemen under GM Steve Yzerman, a bit more depth would be useful so that they don’t necessarily have to bring up a youngster from AHL Grand Rapids at the first sign of injury. Alternatively, they could stand to benefit from trying to upgrade their current top six, a group that largely struggled last season and has pretty much been untouched over the offseason.
- Islanders prospect Daniil Prokhorov has signed a tryout deal with Dynamo Moscow, the KHL team announced. The winger was a second-round pick last month, going 42nd overall after putting up 20 goals in 43 games at the MHL level. A big winger standing six-foot-six, Prokhorov is certainly a project player for New York and will need a few more years back home whether he’s able to crack the KHL roster this season or not.