Skip navigation
Favorites
Sign up to follow your favorites on all your devices.
Sign up

Clutter-bucks: Isles sign energy guy to five-year, $17.5 million extension

Dallas Stars v New York Islanders

NEW YORK, NY - JANUARY 03: Cal Clutterbuck #15 of the New York Islanders scores his second goal of the game at 9:53 of the third period against the Dallas Stars at the Barclays Center on January 3, 2016 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. The Islanders defeated the Stars 6-5. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

Getty Images

The New York Islanders made a splash on Friday, signing veteran forward Cal Clutterbuck to a five-year, $17.5 million extension -- one that carries a $3.5 million average annual cap hit through 2023.

Clutterbuck, 29, has two goals and nine points through 25 games this year, while averaging 15:26 TOI per night (his highest average since joining the Isles four years ago). As per usual, he leads the club in hits -- one of the staples of his game -- and serves as one of the club’s alternate captains.

This new contract represents a nice raise for the former Minnesota Wild man. His last contract, set to expire in July, was of the four-year, $11 million variety, and carried a $2.75 million cap hit.

This contract also resembles the one GM Garth Snow gave another of the club’s role forwards. This summer, Casey Cizikas signed a five-year, $16.75 million extension -- one with a $3.35 million hit -- despite the fact he’d never scored more than 30 points in a season, or averaged more than 14 minutes of ice time.

This style of spending -- along with splashes made for free agent disappointments Jason Chimera and Andrew Ladd -- is sure to raise some questions. The Isles opted not to spend that money on retaining two of their key players from a season ago, Frans Nielsen and Kyle Okposo, and the club has struggled to find its form through the first quarter of this year.