Aleksander Barkov and Panthers agree to six-year extension
The Florida Panthers and center Aleksander Barkov have agreed to a six-year extension worth $35,400,000
The future of the Florida Panthers depends heavily on players like Aleksander Barkov. The 20-year-old has 66 points in his last 109 games over the past two seasons. The Panthers and Barkov have mutually wanted to forego the RFA process and negotiate a long-term extension. Well, the two have agreed to an extension that will buy out his RFA years and at least two of his unrestricted free agent years.
.@Barkovsasha95 #FlaPanthers sign C Sasha Barkov to a 6-year contract for $35.4m ($5.9 AAV, starts next year at 4.25, ends 2022 at $7.75)
— George Richards (@GeorgeRichards) January 25, 2016
He also broke the news to Kevin Spacey.
@KevinSpacey thanks 4 the good luck I'm in for 6 more years noon presser tomorrow @LKomarov your invited...Thanks @FlaPanthers @Dougielarge
— Aleksander Barkov (@Barkovsasha95) January 25, 2016
That’s a bit pricey to start with since Barkov will be a restricted free agent after this season. Still, considering the price down the road, that’s an extremely good deal. Barkov would likely get at least a $5,000,000 salary if he was on the open market after this season. You rarely see teams pay market value for their players before they are forced to, so props to the Panthers.
Aleksander Barkov will now be under team control until he is 26 years old. This is an excellent deal for him because it pays him fairly close to market value and he gets to stay with a team that he is clearly comfortable with. He’ll be able to cash in as an unrestricted free agent once he turns 26 years old.
Barkov was the second overall pick in the 2013 NHL Draft. The Finnish center has 36 goals and 54 assists for 90 points in his first 163 games played. He only has 30 penalty minutes during his career, which heightens his value on the penalty kill.