The Ducks have agreed to terms with one of their pending free agent as player agent Dan Milstein of Gold Star reports (Twitter link) that his client, winger Alexander Volkov, has signed a new one-year deal with Anaheim. PuckPedia reports (Twitter link) that Volkov will receive a $925K salary on his one-way contract. The Ducks have confirmed the extension.
The 23-year-old split last season between Tampa Bay and Anaheim after requesting a trade from the Lightning to try to find a bigger role elsewhere. He certainly received that with the Ducks, averaging nearly 14 minutes per night in 18 games with the team and certainly made the most of the opportunity, notching four goals and four assists in that span. Adding in his time with Tampa Bay, his season ended with seven goals and six helpers in 37 contests.
That didn’t give him a lot of leverage heading into this contract negotiation, even with Volkov being eligible for arbitration for the first time. Even so, he managed to get a raise of $225K from his deal from last season and if he’s able to play at a similar level with the Ducks over the course of a full season, he’ll be well-positioned for another raise next summer.
This is a move that could have some expansion implications. With this agreement, Volkov can now serve as one of Anaheim’s two signed forwards (with 27 games played this past season or 54 in the past two) to be exposed to Seattle, giving them some extra flexibility if they wind up protecting seven forwards and three defensemen.