Restricted free agent centre Brayden Point has agreed to a three-year bridge deal with the Tampa Bay Lightning. The contract is worth $20.25 million with an average annual value of $6.75 million.
The team confirmed the signing on Monday.
“We are very pleased to re-sign Brayden today,” Lightning general manager Julien BriseBois said in the club’s press release. “He is the consummate professional with an unwavering commitment to team success, growing as a player and improving every day. It is that mindset that makes him an outstanding role model, teammate and person, on and off the ice. We look forward to getting Brayden back on the ice with his Lightning teammates as soon as possible.”
Negotiations between Point and the Lightning spanned the entire summer, as did those of many of his high-profile RFA peers. We’ve seen several of those stalemates resolved since the opening of NHL training camps, with Mitch Marner (TOR), Charlie McAvoy (BOS), Travis Konecny (PHI), Brock Boeser (VAN) all signing within the past ten days and reuniting with their respective teams. Point’s contract follows the path taken by players like McAvoy and Boeser who opted for short-term bridge deals in the hopes of landing a bigger deal down the road.
Point’s contract came together quite quickly. Just last week, Point’s agent, Gerry Johannson, said the team and player were “not that close” to putting pen to paper on a new deal.
September 23, 2019
Tampa Bay Lightning
