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Ryan S. Clark, NHL reporterApr 11, 2024, 05:13 PM ET
CloseRyan S. Clark is an NHL reporter for ESPN.
Noah Hanifin and the Vegas Golden Knights have agreed to an eight-year contract extension worth $7.35 million annually, the team announced Thursday.
Re-signing Hanifin, who was set to become a pending unrestricted free agent at the end of the season, to a long-term deal comes a little more than a month after the defending Stanley Cup champion Golden Knights acquired the 27-year-old defenseman in a three-team trade with the Calgary Flames and the Philadelphia Flyers just days before the NHL trade deadline.
Getting a new deal done for Hanifin means the Golden Knights now have nine players on their roster who have more than two more years remaining on their current deals. It’s a group that includes center Jack Eichel, captain and left winger Mark Stone and forward William Karlsson, among others.
Hanifin’s time with the Golden Knights has led to him scoring two goals and nine points in 16 games while averaging more than 23 minutes per contest.
What he’s done with his new team has also added to a season that could finish being the strongest of his nine-year career. This season has seen Hanifin score a career-high 13 goals while his 44 points are four shy of tying the personal best he set back in the 2021-22 campaign.
Attempting to become the fourth team since 1990 to repeat as Stanley Cup champions was part of the motivation for why the Golden Knights got Hanifin. It also came with the potential they could sign him to a long-term contract and take what would have been one of the most sought-after players in free agency off the market.
Hanifin’s arrival was one of three significant trades the Golden Knights executed just days before the NHL trade deadline. It began by getting forward Anthony Mantha from the Washington Capitals and ended with them stunning the hockey landscape by pulling off a deal to get forward Tomas Hertl, who has six years left on his contract after this…
Source link : https://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/39923181/golden-knights-lock-defenseman-noah-hanifin-8-year-extension
Author : Ryan Clark
Publish date : 2024-04-11 22:13:30
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