Several important signatures have been made in the NHL this morning!
Three restricted free agents have come to an agreement with their respective team this morning. It all happened in a short period of time. They all avoided arbitration.
Juuse Saros, the Nashville Predators' starting goalie, signed a four-season contract extension. The deal will pay him $5 million per year. A great deal for both parties. Saros is one of the best young goaltenders in the NHL at only 26 years old. With Pekka Rinne now retired, Saros is ready to take over the reins of the team. Last year he got a total of 21 wins in 36 games, maintained a 2.28 goals-against average and had a .927 save percentage. A real bargain for the Predators. He was a fourth round pick of the Predators in the 2013 Draft.
The Wild finally agreed to terms with forward Kevin Fiala for one season at $5.1 million. The 25-year-old Swiss had a split season last year, as he started very slowly, before finishing as a lion. Perhaps his lack of consistency is why the Wild are hesitant to offer him a long-term deal. He had a total of 94 points in his last 114 games, which was over the previous two seasons. The left winger was the 11th player selected in the 2014 NHL Draft by the Nashville Predators. Now that Fiala is signed, the Wild will get into Kirill Kaprizov's situation.
The Chicago Blackhawks have extended the contract of young Swedish forward Alex Nylander for one season, worth approximately $874,000. William Nylander's brother missed the entirety of last season with a left knee injury. In 2019-2020, he had a good first full season in the NHL, with a total of 26 points, including 10 goals, in 65 games. This young man has a lot of potential, hopefully his knee injury won't slow him down... The Sabres had set their sights on him with the eighth overall pick in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft. He was once traded for defenseman Henri Jokiharju.
