The Tampa Bay Lightning have extended forward Brayden Point. The $9.5M AAV deal will be the third of his career and features a $2.75 million dollar pay raise. The contract locks him up until the 2029-30 season. This move solidifies the Lightning’s core for years to come.
Top-Notch Lock
Brayden Point has solidified his place as one of the top players in the League. In 2018-19 Point finished 13th in the league in scoring with 92 points. In his five-year career he’s logged 139 goals, 171 assists for 310 points in the regular season. Despite averaging under a point per game, Brayden Point has lit the postseason on fire. He’s paced the Playoffs in goals each of the last two years with 14. In 67 career postseason appearances, Point has averaged 1.08 points per game with 73 points. Not to mention he is a Two-time defending Stanley Cup Champion. Pretty remarkable considering all things.
A Draft Steal
Brayden Point was selected 79th overall in the 3rd round of the 2014 NHL entry draft. This is not exactly where one would normally expect to find a franchise centerman. However, Point has way out produced anyone picked in that round. The next closest player selected in that third round has 68 career points. In fact, Brayden Point is the second highest point producer of that entire draft. He trails only David Pastrnak who was selected 25th overall. It has been well documented at how well the Lightning develop middle round draft picks, and they hit a grand-slam with Point.
Locks up the Core
The move to extend Brayden point further locks in a star-studded core for years to come. Nikita Kucherov is signed until 2027, Stamkos until 2024, and Hedman until 2025. The move shows that the organization wants to win now and in the future. Locking up Point was a no brainer.
The Future
This deal to extend Brayden Point was a solid deal for the Lightning. However, this could affect who the Lightning keep around in the future. In 2022, 34 percent of the Lightning’s cap hit will come from 5 players. In addition, Anthony Cirelli, Alex Killorn, Erik Cernak, and Michael Sergachev will be due new contracts. How Point’s signing will affect them is tough to tell. However, Point’s track record would indicate that this is a great deal from the Lighting and worth any risks.
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