The Anaheim Ducks signed goaltender John Gibson to an eight-year contract extension through the 2026-27 season, the team announced Saturday.
While the terms weren't officially disclosed by the club, Eric Stephens of The Athletic reports the deal carries a $6.4 million average annual value, resulting in the fifth-highest cap hit of all netminders in the NHL once the extension kicks in for the 2019-20 season.
Gibson has one season left on his current deal, which pays him $2.3 million.
The 25-year-old was drafted 39th overall by the Ducks in 2011, and has become one of the best starters in the league. Gibson dealt with some injuries last season, but still managed to put together a rock-solid campaign, winning 31 games to go with a .926 save percentage and four shutouts in 60 starts.
It's been over a month since John Tavares inked a seven-year deal with the Maple Leafs, and his arrival to Toronto has caused some to measure the on-ice implications - the Leafs are now one of the deepest teams in the league - with the club's unsettling salary cap situation and how it will approach spending going forward.
General manager Kyle Dubas has over $13 million in cap space to operate with, not including the inevitable stashing of Nathan Horton's contract on LTIR. The front office will now have to carefully calculate its next moves, starting with an extension for forward William Nylander - the lone member on the Leafs' ledger without a deal for next season.
Nylander is the first of Toronto's group of young stars to have his entry-level deal expire, so his next pact takes precedence over the likes of Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner, who are also eligible to sign an extension at any point.
Many have speculated as to whether the Leafs can retain all three, and it's been Nylander's name which has thus far been tossed around as potential trade bait. But Dubas remains certain Toronto can and will keep the entire band together, while Nylander recently said he's seeking a long-term deal.
Such a long-term extension would best suit both parties involved. Bridge deals are decreasing across today's NHL, and for a player of Nylander's caliber, the safer bet for Toronto would be offering term and money now rather than facing the same problem in the near future with the possibility of him being worth even more.
Let's dive into what Nylander's contract could look like.
His role
Nylander is undoubtedly a game-breaking talent. He's an effortless skater, protects and passes the puck incredibly well, and completes his arsenal with an absolute cannon of a shot. The rub, particularly in the eyes of head coach Mike Babcock, is his commitment to a full effort on both sides of the puck, and that has led to him being bumped down the lineup.
Primarily, however, he's Matthews' running mate on the Leafs' top line, and is an integral factor in No. 34's success. Last season, Nylander and Matthews played over 700 minutes together at five-on-five, controlling 50.8 percent of the shots and over 54 percent of scoring chances, per Natural Stat Trick. Without Nylander, Matthews wasn't quite as dominant, amassing a 47.12 Corsi For percentage and 51.64 Scoring Chances For percentage, albeit it in a much smaller sample of 210 minutes.
The two are also electric together on the power play, though it remains to be seen what kind of combinations Babcock will put together with the addition of Tavares and losses of James van Riemsdyk and Tyler Bozak. Tavares' arrival also stops Nylander from moving to center, which he was forced to do as an injury replacement in the past, and keeps him on the right side.
His production
In 185 career regular-season games, Nylander's notched 135 points, good for a 0.73 point-per-game clip. However, if you eliminate the 22-game stint in which he began his tenure with the Maple Leafs to close out the 2015-16 campaign, his average goes up to 0.75, which paints a clearer picture of the company he keeps as a player.
Below is a list of every player in the salary cap era to maintain at least a 0.75 point-per-game average in their second and third seasons, aged 19-to-21 with at least 100 games played.
Over the last two seasons, Nylander is tied for 12th among all right wingers in even-strength points (84), tied for seventh in even-strength assists (56), and 12th in total points (122), despite ranking 34th in average ice time at his position (16:21).
Recent Comparables
When it comes to asking price, Nylander's agent and Dubas have a decent list of comparable players. Here are five players to recently ink extensions at the conclusion of their ELC's, and their numbers when they signed.
Player
Age
P/GP
Contract
J. Gaudreau
23
0.89
6 x $6.75M
F. Forsberg
21
0.73
6 x $6M
L. Draisaitl
21
0.72
8 x $8.5M
D. Pastrnak
21
0.72
6 x $6.66M
N. Ehlers
22
0.66
7 x $6M
Draisaitl came out the richest, though his cost was inflated by a playoff performance that included 16 points in 13 games, and his ability to serve behind Connor McDavid as the future No. 2 center for the Oilers. The others are examples of teams shelling out money sooner rather than later and subsequently benefiting from banking on their players' upside. If Gaudreau, Forsberg, Pastrnak, or Ehlers had signed a bridge contract, would any of them get the same sort of team-friendly deal a year or two from now when it would be up for renewal? Highly unlikely.
Verdict
It's reasonable to assume Nylander can slot in comfortably among the list of comparable contracts. The trend here is six-to-eight years with the cap hit somewhere between $6 million and $8 million, which is more than manageable for Toronto.
If Nylander gets the max term, taking him all the way to 30 years old, the Leafs will have to pay more annually, which could eliminate the possibility of an eight-year deal. But a six- or seven-year contract in the range of $6.25 to $7 million seems suitable for all parties, and could provide incredible value if Nylander takes his game to the next level as Toronto itself looks to do the same.
(Photos courtesy: Getty Images) (Salary cap info courtesy: Cap Friendly)
Both sides were $3 million apart in negotiations, as Karlsson was reportedly seeking a $6.5-million salary; the Western Conference champs countered with $3.5 million. Vegas is providing Karlsson a chance to prove he's worth a long-term commitment, as he'll be a restricted free agent once again following the 2018-19 season.
Karlsson was the engine of the Golden Knights' stunning debut season, and his personal success was as unexpected as Vegas'. After recording just 50 points in the first 183 games of his career, split between the Anaheim Ducks and Columbus Blue Jackets, Karlsson took off in Sin City, notching 43 goals and 78 points with an astronomical 23.4 shooting percentage.
With Karlsson taken care of, the lone member of the Golden Knights without a contract for next season is defenseman Shea Theodore.
Former NHLer Craig Cunningham went into cardiac arrest before a game with the AHL's Tucson Roadrunners in 2016, and, after his heart stopped beating for 83 minutes, was lucky to survive. During recovery, an infection forced him to have his leg amputated.
In a true example of brotherly love, Craig's older brother, Ryan, will bike 1,600 miles (2,575 kilometers) from the Cunninghams' hometown of Castlegar, British Columbia all the way to Tucson, Arizona beginning Friday to help raise money for the All Heart Foundation - a foundation Craig created alongside Dr. Zain Khalpey, the surgeon who saved his life.
"I can’t even tell you in words what it means to me," Craig said about his brother's upcoming journey, according to ABC's Shane Dale. "It’s a huge thing he’ll do where we’ll not only promote the All Heart Foundation but the cause and the things that we're developing to try to change the game a little bit.
"I think the second part of it is just to show the resiliency of the human body and what it’s capable of when you do things the right way."
Ryan has created a GoFundMe page with a goal of raising $50,000. He's off to a good start, as it has already raised $19,600 - not including the separate $5,000 donations the Arizona Coyotes and Tucson Roadrunners will each make.
"I think he knows how close to my heart, no pun intended, cardiac screening is," Craig said of his brother. "I think he saw what I went through and saw, for lack of a better term, how much of a s--- show it was for me ... I was one of a million, and unfortunately, other people don’t end up with the same outcome as me.
"It means a lot. It’s probably next to Dr. Khalpey saving my life, the second-biggest thing that anybody has done for me in my life."
Cunningham, who is now a scout for Arizona, skated in 63 NHL games with the Coyotes and Boston Bruins.
Artemi Panarin doesn't appear to be opposed to the proposition of a Windy City reunion, as the superstar winger would seriously consider a return to the Chicago Blackhawks if he becomes an unrestricted free agent after the 2018-19 season, a source told The Athletic's Scott Powers.
Panarin told the Blue Jackets he's not ready to sign an extension in Columbus, and the club reportedly began to test the market for him in June. The 26-year-old sniper also said he won't negotiate once camp opens Sept. 13, so his future with the organization is largely up in the air at this point.
After going undrafted and spending seven years in the KHL, Panarin chose the Blackhawks as his first NHL club in 2015, finding immediate success on a line with Patrick Kane. He won the Calder Trophy on the strength of a 77-point rookie season, then followed up with 74 points in 2016-17 before Chicago sent him to Columbus in exchange for Brandon Saad.
While the Blackhawks got the cost certainty they were hoping for in acquiring Saad, the trade didn't pan out for them at all in Year One, as Saad recorded just 35 points in 82 games. Meanwhile, Panarin notched 82 points and carried the Blue Jackets to the postseason as the driving force of their attack.
Panarin has one more season remaining at $6 million before he hits the open market, where he's sure to have a litany of suitors.
The Stars previously placed Smith on waivers in July, but he ended up clearing. Dallas now has no outstanding contracts to take care of and will have a projected $5.3 million in cap space, according to Cap Friendly.
Smith, 24, appeared in 46 games for the Stars in 2017-18, recording six goals and five assists.
He'll once again be a restricted free agent with arbitration rights at the conclusion of the 2018-19 season, per CapFriendly.
Ceci's initial ask was $6 million, while the Senators countered with $3.35 million. Ottawa also locked down restricted free agent Mark Stone earlier Friday prior to his arbitration hearing with a one-year deal worth $7.35 million.
Ceci was drafted 15th overall by the Senators in 2012, and he recorded five goals and 14 assists in 82 games last season.
The Ottawa Senators and winger Mark Stone have avoided arbitration, as the 26-year-old put pen to paper on a one-year, $7.35-million contract Friday, the team announced.
The agreement makes Stone an unrestricted free agent next summer, though he could sign an extension with the club after Jan. 1. If he opts for the open market, the Senators face the possibility of losing Stone along with fellow pending UFA's Matt Duchene and Erik Karlsson next offseason.
Stone's hearing was scheduled for Friday afternoon, but both sides struck a deal before a third-party determination. His case was one of the most prominent among the 44 players to file for arbitration, and it was reported his initial ask was for a record $9 million, while Ottawa countered with $5 million.
Injuries derailed Stone's impressive 2017-18 season, as he recorded a team-best 62 points in just 58 games. With his new contract, Stone carries the highest cap hit on the Senators' roster, and the sixth-highest number of all right wingers in the NHL.
