The Tampa Bay Lightning and 26-year old centerman Tyler Johnson have come to terms on a contract. The contract is a seven-year deal worth $5 million per season. Johnson, while inconsistent, has proven to be a useful center for the Lightning that can perform in both the top six and bottom six.
🎶 GO JOHNNY GO 🎶
It's official! We've re-signed Tyler Johnson to a seven-year contract worth $5 million AAV.
📝: https://t.co/I9jwcmIsxN pic.twitter.com/rAIGYuKL2w
— Tampa Bay Lightning (@TBLightning) July 10, 2017
Tampa Bay Lightning Re-Sign Tyler Johnson
Johnson has been with Tampa Bay since the 2012-13 season, at the NHL level at least. Before making his debut at the NHL level he had two 65-plus point seasons in the AHL with the Norfolk Admirals and Syracuse Crunch.
In his first season in the AHL with the Norfolk Admirals, during the 2011-12 season, he had 31 goals and 37 assists over the course of his 75-game season. After moving to Syracuse, when the Lightning changed their AHL-affiliate, he had 37 goals and 28 assists in 62 games. 133 points over two seasons were enough to see Johnson make the leap to NHL hockey in 2012-13, and he hasn’t looked back since.
Despite not being drafted he has proven to be a solid point producer for the Lightning over the last four-plus seasons. Johnson has played in 308 games since he made his debut in 2012-13, scoring 89 goals and adding 122 assists to his tally during that time.
Johnson’s best season came back in 2014-15 when he had 29 goals and 43 assists in 77 games. His 29 goals and 43 assists that season were both career highs for Johnson. And despite the slight downturn in production since then, his 45-point season last year wasn’t anything to be ashamed of.
For a player that was previously carrying a yearly cap hit of $3.333 million, that is fantastic production. Over the course of that three-year contract, he had 62 goals and 155 total points. The Lightning will be hoping he can keep his 50-point per season average as a benchmark for the remainder of this contract as well.
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