The Colorado Avalanche and captain Gabriel Landeskog agreed on an eight-year contract extension, taking the most coveted forward off the market on the eve of NHL free agency.
The contract carries a $7 million average annual value. It has a full no-movement clause in the first four seasons and then a modified no-trade clause in the final four years.
Landeskog and the Avalanche negotiated down the wire. They had until 11:59 p.m. ET on Tuesday night to agree to a contract with a maximum eight-year term; otherwise, the maximum term would have been seven years.
They were also facing a ticking clock ahead of the NHL's free-agent signing period, which officially begins Wednesday. The expansion Seattle Kraken were among the teams expected to ante up for his services if he hit the market. The negotiation between Landeskog and the Avalanche was prolonged and intense, with many speculating that they wouldn't find common ground on contract term.
Instead, Landeskog remains with the only NHL team he has played with. The 28-year-old left wing was drafted No. 2 overall in 2011 by the Avalanche. He has played 687 games for them, with 218 goals and 294 assists. A frequent member of the team's potent top line with Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen, Landeskog had 20 goals and 32 assists in 54 games last season. He also won 56.6% of his faceoffs.
Landeskog won the Calder Trophy as a 19-year-old and never looked back. He has scored 20 or more goals in seven of his 10 seasons. That production came at a great price for Colorado since he was playing on a seven-year deal that had a cap hit of $5.6 million per year.
Landeskog has also endured lean years in the beginning of his career to see the Avalanche become a power in the Western Conference -- taking home the President's Trophy last season.
Landeskog is now the third-highest paid Avalanche player against the salary cap behind Rantanen ($9.25 million AAV) and defenseman Cale Makar ($9 million), the 22-year-old defenseman who signed a six-year extension last week.
The contact puts the Avalanche $12.4 million under the salary cap, with just 16 players under contract for next season. Their attention now turns to their goaltending, where Vezina Trophy finalist Philipp Grubauer is an unrestricted free agent.