The Vegas Golden Knights have agreed to terms on a six-year, $24 million contract extension with defenseman Jeremy Lauzon, according to SportsNet’s Elliotte Friedman.
The deal will carry an average annual value of $4 million and features a full no-trade clause in Year 1 followed by modified no-trade clauses for the duration of the contract, per Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun.
The contract features a full no-trade clause in the first year and modified no-trade clauses in Years 2-6, including a 16-team no-trade list in the second year, a 10-team no-trade list in the third and fourth years and a 7-team no-trade list in the fifth and sixth years, per Puck Pedia.
Lauzon was set to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1.
The 29-year-old Quebec native’s new contract is twice as rich as his previous four-year, $8 million deal.
Most of the offseason speculation surrounding Vegas has centered around pending UFA defenseman Rasmus Andersson, so this is an unexpected move by the Golden Knights. That’s particularly true since it comes just hours after the Golden Knights shipped out Kaedan Korczak and his $3.25 million cap hit to the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for Parker Wotherspoon.
Nevertheless, the Golden Knights have locked up Lauzon through 2032.
Lauzon was originally acquired from the Nashville Predators last summer in the Nicolas Hague deal, which also involved Colton Sissons. Lauzon played 68 games with the Golden Knights this past season, recording one goal and 13 points along with 89 penalty minutes and 251 hits while averaging 17:11.
The physical blueliner finished 10th in the NHL in hits despite missing 14 games. He was pointless while averaging 16:37 in 12 postseason games with the Golden Knights, finishing with a minus-five rating.
The Golden Knights now have approximately $2.46 million in cap space with 10 forwards, five defensemen and two goalies signed. If Alex Pietrangelo’s contract is, once again, designated for season-ending long-term injured reserve, that will clear an additional $8.8 million, leaving Vegas with roughly $11.26 million.
While Andersson is still expected to sign a long-term deal in the $7-9 million range, defensemen Dylan Coghlan and Ben Hutton — along with forwards Reilly Smith, Brandon Saad, Sissons and Cole Smith — are expected to hit free agency tomorrow at 9 a.m. PT.
Photo courtesy of the Golden Knights