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.
Alex Killorn 4x$6.25M in Anaheim
– Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) July 1, 2023
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.
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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.