Alex Killorn signs $25M pact with Ducks

On this opening day of the autonomous player market, we were keeping an eye on a few big names on the market. Among them was forward Alex Killorn, who was testing the autonomous market.

A return to Tampa Bay was still a possibility, but the club is tight with the salary cap and Killorn would be able to make a lot more money on the autonomous market.

And in the end, that’s exactly what happened: Killorn signed a huge four-year contract for $25 million. That’s an average of $6.25 million per season.

In fact, it’s the biggest deal of the day so far: Joonas Korpisalo comes in second at $20M, also over two seasons.

Dmitry Orlov ($7.75 per year for two years) has the highest annual salary, but Killorn has the highest total sum.

Clearly, at this price, the Lightning couldn’t afford to match the offer. We know that the Florida outfit wanted to try and keep him by offering him many years at a lower salary, but in the end, Killorn opted for a slightly shorter contract, but at a clearly higher salary.

The contract obviously comes with a large dose of risk. Killorn will be 34 at the start of next season, and he’s coming off the best two seasons of his career (59 points in 2021-22, 64 points in 2022-23). Clearly, we’re paying him at the peak of his value, and we’re paying him as he ages.

That said, Killorn is likely to be a nice supporting player in a young Anaheim line-up. He’s been a big part of the Lightning’s recent successes, and in Anaheim, he’ll provide a little help for youngsters Trevor Zegras and Mason McTavish, to name but two.

In short, a great deal for the Ducks, but a contract that seems very (and probably too) generous. Good for Killorn, though, and I wish him every success in Anaheim.

Extension

After losing Ondrej Palat last year, another product of the Lightning organization is leaving the team this summer.

Such is the reality of a salary cap that clearly won’t go up.