The Colorado Avalanche signed defenseman Samuel Girard to a seven-year, $35 million contract extension – a $5 million salary cap hit. He has one year left on his entry-level contract.
The 21-year old Girard was draft 47th overall in the 2nd round of the 2016 draft by the Nashville Predators. He was acquired in the three-team trade with the Predators and Ottawa Senators that involved Matt Duchene and Kyle Turris.
Colorado Avalanche: Avs GM Joe Sakic on Girard.
“Samuel has been one of our best all-around defensemen since joining the Avalanche,” said Avalanche Executive Vice President / General Manager Joe Sakic. “He plays important minutes and is someone our coaches count on to play against other teams’ top lines. He has an exceptional ability to skate and move the puck. As a member of our core, we felt it was important to sign him to a long-term deal and we are excited to announce this extension.”
Jesse Montano: “Boy oh boy could that deal look reeeeeeal sweet in two years.”
MoneyPuckSystems: “Honestly I like when teams do this. Make a bet on the player getting better and hopefully end up with a great value contract for a long time (like the Josi deal). Also, I much prefer them betting on a young player getting better than a 30 year old defying age…”
The news of Sam Girard signing his extension today reminded me of a few things about him:
– 12 defenseman were picked before him in the draft because “he isn’t tall.”
– His draft year offensive #’s were absurdly good
– He’s been a one-man breakout for years
– “Spin move” pic.twitter.com/OsRXrgoMr3— Ted (@ThatGuy11920) July 31, 2019
Samuel Girard signed to 7 yr $5M Cap Hit Extension (begin. ’20-21). Covers 3 UFA years. Acquired in Duchene trade
-4G 27P in 82GP
-55% 5v5 GF
-47.5% Expected GF
-49% Corsi
-Scored 0.73 P/60Rep’d by Pat Brisson @CAAHockey https://t.co/e8EeHgNuOe
— PuckPedia (@PuckPedia) July 31, 2019
The #GoAvsGo have signed one of the best puck moving defensemen in the league to a 7-year extension. Nobody dumped the puck out less than Sam Girard, who also ranked top-5 in successfully moving the puck out of the defensive zone last season. pic.twitter.com/uEAUoSY4TY
— The Point (@ThePointHockey) July 31, 2019