According to reports, the Tampa Bay Lightning have signed Brayden Point to an eight-year contract extension.
Hearing @TBLightning attention closing in on an 8 yr extension with Point. @espn @NHL @NHLNetwork #TSNHockey #HockeyTwitter
— Kevin Weekes (@KevinWeekes) July 28, 2021
Brayden Point Signed Extension with Tampa Bay Lightning
Over his five-year NHL career, Point has played only for the Lightning so far. The club originally drafted him in the third round, 79th overall of the 2014 NHL draft. Now, the 25-year-old will be staying put for the foreseeable future.
Across his career Point has scored 139 goals and 171 assists for 310 total points in 351 games. Last year, he scored 23 goals and 25 assists for 48 points in 56 contests. His career-high came back in 2018-19, the league’s most recent full campaign prior to COVID-19. Point posted 41 goals and 92 points in 79 games. He’s broken the 30-goal plateau in one other instance, and in both COVID-shortened seasons still managed to break the 20-goal plateau. He has been a key piece to why the Lightning have won back-to-back Stanley Cup Championships.
What This Means for the Future
The Bolts signed Brayden Point because he is not only arguably one of the best players on their roster but in the entire league. He received Calder votes in his rookie season. He received Byng votes in the four seasons since then. Oh, and he received Selke votes in three consecutive years, All-Star votes twice, and even Hart Trophy votes. The centre does it all, and at the highest level.
In the flat-cap environment teams face currently, Point still stands as an exception to the “salary shedding” strategies. Even the Lightning can’t afford to let a player of this magnitude slip through the cracks. They already watched plenty of faces change this summer, some via free agency and others via trade and the Seattle Kraken expansion draft. Those moves became necessary to fit under the league’s salary cap. Point remains a cornerstone for their franchise, someone who the team had to clear cap space to be able to retain. This contract would not have been possible otherwise.
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