A Report from Craig Morgan indicates that the Arizona Coyotes have agreed to a contract extension with defender Niklas Hjalmarsson. It is a two-year deal worth $10M. This contract begins in 2019-20 and carries him through the 2020-21 season. As Hjalmarsson has one year remaining on his current contract, this deal can not be made official until July 1st.

Hjalmarsson extension in ARIZ (starting in 2019-20) is two years, $10M

— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) June 30, 2018

Niklas Hjalmarsson Signs Extension With Arizona Coyotes

Over his eleven-year NHL career, Niklas Hjalmarsson has played for the Chicago Blackhawks and the Arizona Coyotes. He has put up 24 goals and 128 assists for 152 career points in 671 career games. Hjalmarsson has also added two goals and 26 assists for 28 points in 128 career Stanley Cup Playoff games while winning three championships. He was originally drafted in the fourth round, 108th overall of the 2005 NHL draft by the Chicago Blackhawks.

Last season he scored one goal and eight assists for nine points. He also added 18 minutes in penalties. His possession numbers were a 47.1 percent Corsi-for and a relative Corsi of -4.1.

After spending ten years with the Blackhawks, Niklas Hjalmarsson was traded to Arizona on June 23rd, 2017.

What This Means for the Future

Unfortunately, Hjalmarsson didn’t have a great 2017-18 campaign. But the same can be said about a lot of the Coyotes players last year. While also not being able to produce, Hjalmarsson was only able to suit up for 48 games. An injury bug that definitely derailed his season and slowed him down when coming back. He ranked sixth in defensemen scoring for the Coyotes, behind second-year defender Jakob Chychrun.

Hjalmarsson will look to capitalize on coming into next year healthier than he was at the end of this season. A fresh start heading into camp might be what he needs to revamp his game. The Coyotes acquired Niklas Hjalmarsson to provide stability at their blueline, and he’ll look to provide that going into the new season.

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