Alexander Wennberg has a new contract -- just weeks before the start of training camp.
The Blue Jackets announced on Friday that they had signed the 22-year-old center to a six-year contract. The team didn’t disclose financial details, but according to Darren Dreger of TSN, the new deal has an annual average value of $4.9 million.
It’s obviously a sizable raise from the money he made in his entry-level contract, but it’s still reasonable for a center that has improved his offensive totals in each of his first three NHL seasons, including a 13-goal and 59-point campaign in 2016-17, and is part of a core group of young players on a Columbus roster looking to build off a franchise-recording breaking season.
“We are excited to have signed Alexander to a long-term contract through the 2022-23 season, " said general manager Jarmo Kekalainen in a statement.
“He has shown steady improvement throughout his young NHL career and is coming off a very good 2016-17 campaign. At just 22-years-old, he has tremendous opportunity to become an integral player for our organization for years to come.”
The Blue Jackets still have to get restricted free agent winger Josh Anderson under contract, and they have about $7.98 million in available cap space, according to CapFriendly.