Recent Contract Extensions (Jun 30)

The rumours were abound on Friday, that the Los Angeles Kings and defenseman Drew Doughty were talking about a new contract extension and then early in the evening on Friday, the Kings' Twitter account confirmed that the deal was about to be signed, which would keep the superstar defender with the team through the 2027 season.  Of course, the final signature on the deal, cannot be put on paper until July 1st, but that's a small detail, seeing as though that's tomorrow.

The confirmed reports have it at 8 years, $88 million for the duration of the deal, an $11 million cap hit per season and he will be signed on until he is 37 years old, seeing as though he is only 28 right now.  It's a massive, franchise-defining deal and one that will keep the core pair of Doughty and Anze Kopitar together for quite some time.

Last season, Doughty was 7th best among all defensemen in scoring, finishing the season with 10 goals and 60 points in 82 games, but more importantly, he's a minute-eating machine, who plays in all situations for the Kings and is a vital part of the team's success and will now feature for another nine seasons, once this extension kicks in.

July 1st will also bring a brand new contract for San Jose Sharks captain Logan Couture, who is set to sign a new 8-year, $64 million deal, which will kick in during the 2020 season.  The rumblings have certainly been about for Couture in the start of this off-season, the Sharks were keen on getting his signature on paper for the long-term and on the eve of free agency opening up, it is believed that it will be finalized, as soon as the clock strikes Noon on Sunday.

Couture has been rock solid for the Sharks in his career and his 2018 season was decent as well.  In 78 games played, Couture scored 34 goals and 61 points, ranking him 80th overall in pool scoring, 60th among all forwards.  He would be a 4th round pick in a draft redo this past season, but he should generally have some more upside to his game and he's a good guy to gamble on, if you are like-minded in that way.