The Anaheim Ducks are working on signing forward Alex Killorn, per Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli. According to TSN’s Pierre LeBrun, the deal carries a four-year, $6.25MM AAV. Anaheim would soon make the deal official. The contract carries a full no-trade clause in the first two seasons before dipping to a 15-team NTC in the final two.
Tampa Bay expressed a desire to keep the 11-year veteran in the fold but their salary cap situation made such a move extremely difficult to accomplish. In the end, Killorn opted to take the biggest contract given to a forward thus far in free agency.
The pricey contract is one that’s well-earned for the 33-year-old who has found a new gear offensively in recent seasons. After putting up a surprising 25-goal, 59-point showing in 2021-22, Killorn improved on those numbers last year, picking up 27 goals and 37 assists, both career highs. He followed that up with a productive playoff performance, collecting five points in their first-round exit to Toronto, good for a tie for third in team scoring. In doing so, he basically priced himself out of being able to stay with the Lightning.
Instead, Killorn joins an Anaheim team at the other end of the competitive spectrum. The Ducks have amassed one of the strongest prospect pools in the NHL and have several impact young forwards on their roster, including middlemen Trevor Zegras and Mason McTavish. GM Pat Verbeek will be counting on Killorn to provide some leadership and stability on one of their wings to help in their development. While it’s unlikely that Killorn will be able to put up the same level of production he had in Tampa Bay, they can afford to carry an above-market contract on their books for the time being as they still have nearly $29MM in cap room, per CapFriendly, with Zegras, Troy Terry, and Jamie Drysdale in need of new contracts as restricted free agents.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
“Hey, I got two Stanley Cup rings. Now it’s time for a payday. Gimme, gimme, gimme!”
The Steve Miller band getting ready to jam out to “Take the Money and Run”!
Worst contract of the day so far
Reeves has entered the chat
Orlov was just as bad
So was Holls
Orlov is 2 years at the going rate for top defenseman. Definitely not a bad deal
I disagree but to each their own
Yeah because now the Ducks are gonna win it all in 2023-2024.
Wow they paid a Stanley cup tax big time. That is not a very good deal at all.
Horrific overpay and I’m a huge Killorn fan. When a player says “it’s not about the money” you immediately know it’s absolutely about the money.
Why?
Wow to age 37 good for killer
Everyone criticizing this deal knows that there’s a salary cap floor, correct? And they know that Anaheim, as of this moment, has the lowest payroll in the league, correct? And that Anaheim, even with Killorn signed, is still $5.5 million below the cap floor, correct?
Good! Glad everyone is up to date on things. I’d hate to have to educate people.
Oops! Silly me! Anaheim is actually a neat $7 million under the cap, as of right now. They could sign a few defensemen, AND take on some bad salaries, and still be well under the cap. Maybe Washington can swing a deal for Mantha.
They should be going after cap dumps like Josh Bailey then. Get assets with your overpaid players. Don’t just give out a bad contract for the sake of giving out a bad contract.
@jd
When you’re the team with the lowest cap hit in the league, and you have to have a minimum payroll to be in compliance with league rules, there is no such thing as a “bad” contract. An actual bad contract is one that hurts the team, that impairs their flexibility, and prevents them from improving. This contract does none of those things. They obviously want to suck. Is he overpaid? Indeed. Is it a bad contract? For a two time Cup winner, who can be a mentor, and help you build a winning culture, no. Taking on players who are washed up won’t help you build that winning culture.
Sure it effects flexibility, this is not a 1 or 2 year deal. That 6 mil could be nice in 3 or 4 years.
So because the team is required to spend money they might as well spend it badly? Great reasoning there.
@Bolt
They have to overpay to get anyone to come to a rebuilding team anyway. This is a lousy free agent class. If you have to overpay, you may as well get a 2 time Cup champion, and 3 time Finalist. Great mentor for Carlsson, Zegras etc. Not a great deal by any means, but I can see why they did it. This is not spending money “badly”, when you’ll still have about $23 million in cap space, when the season opens.
Youre acting like he stood you up at the prom.
Kings get PLD and Fiala in their mid 20s while rebuilding Anaheim signs dudes in their 30s
What isn’t said in the article is that Killorn and GM Pat Verbeek worked together in Tampa when Verbeek was the assistant GM under Steve Yzerman. So a guy like Killorn isn’t just going to sign with a poor team (in the standings) like Anaheim because they are giving him bags of cash. Might be part of it but there’s that trust he has in Verbeek as well. Pat Verbeek should be in the Hall of Fame. 500 goal scorers don’t grow on trees.