With training camps getting underway, it was a busy week around the NHL, particularly on the transactions front with plenty of notable contracts being handed out. Those are among our key stories from the past seven days.
Red Wings Sign Three: Detroit came into the week with three players left to sign and they ended it with zero. First, they signed winger Jonatan Berggren to a one-year, $825K contract. After spending most of last season in the minors, it’s expected he’ll be a full-timer on the Red Wings this season. Next, winger Lucas Raymond received an eight-year, $64.6MM agreement, one that buys up four extra years of club control. The fourth-overall pick in 2020, Raymond had by far his best showing last season, notching 31 goals and 41 assists in 82 games. Lastly, blueliner Moritz Seider inked a seven-year, $59.85MM deal. The sixth-overall selection in 2019 quickly emerged as a key all-situations blueliner in his rookie year and has played at a similar level since then. The $8.55MM AAV on this deal checks in just below the $8.7MM for captain Dylan Larkin which was viewed as a ceiling in negotiations.
Utah Makes Another Splash: It has been a busy offseason for Utah HC in their inaugural year after moving from Arizona. The team swung two big moves to shore up the back end with Mikhail Sergachev and John Marino and now, they’ve handed out one of the richest deals in franchise history to winger Dylan Guenther. The 21-year-old reached an agreement on a seven-year, $57.14MM extension ($7.142MM AAV), one that puts him just behind Clayton Keller ($7.15MM) for their highest-paid forward. Guenther started last season in the minors but was quite productive following a midseason recall, notching 18 goals and 17 assists in 45 games. He has just 78 career NHL games under his belt and has one year remaining on his entry-level contract.
Crosby Finally Signs: It was widely expected that Penguins captain Sidney Crosby would sign a contract extension over the offseason. Many felt it’d be early on which wasn’t the case. However, the deal got done as Crosby signed a two-year, $17.4MM deal which kicks in next season. The deal carries a $8.7MM AAV, meaning that this amount will have been his exclusive cap charge since the 2008-09 season. Crosby is a franchise icon, leading the team in games played (1,272) while sitting second to Mario Lemieux in goals (592), assists (1,004), and points (1,596). While he easily could have made a case to command a higher price tag coming off a 42-goal, 94-point season, he’ll remain at the number that’s familiar to him, keeping him on a team-friendly agreement for a little while longer.
Calling It A Career: One of the more prominent remaining unrestricted free agents was veteran winger Kyle Okposo. However, he has decided to go out on top, announcing his retirement at the age of 36. The winger played in 17 NHL seasons (notching 614 points), splitting time almost identically between the Islanders and Sabres. Buffalo flipped him to Florida at the trade deadline, giving him a chance to play for a contender and it worked out well for Okposo with the Panthers winning the Stanley Cup. Meanwhile, while Jaromir Jagr left the NHL in the 2017-18 season, he hasn’t stopped playing, suiting up for Kladno in his native Czechia, the team he owns. However, he has revealed that this will be his final year at age 52. Between the regular season and playoffs, Jagr is closing in on 2,500 career professional appearances and is the second-leading scorer in NHL history.
Stars Sign Two Defensemen: Dallas went into the week with a blueliner to sign although their first contract went to a different one as they agreed to terms with Esa Lindell on a five-year, $26.25MM extension. The deal actually represents a small pay cut as he’ll make $5.8MM this season in the final year of his current pact. Lindell has averaged more than 22 minutes a night over his career with Dallas, serving as a reliable defender at that time. He now won’t be UFA-eligible until the age of 36. Meanwhile, the Stars reached an agreement with the other blueliner they needed to sign later in the day, signing Thomas Harley to a two-year, $8MM deal. The 23-year-old only recorded 15 goals and 32 assists in 79 games last season while averaging just over 21 minutes a night, earning himself a significant raise from his entry-level deal in the process. The deal is slightly backloaded, resulting in Harley requiring a $4.5MM qualifying offer with arbitration rights in 2026.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.