Just two hours after the Philadelphia Flyers traded Radko Gudas to the Washington Capitals, the New York Islanders suddenly became active, signing forward Jordan Eberle to a five-year contract extension.
The agreement comes into play just two days after the playoffs concluded which resulted in the St. Louis Blues defeating the Boston Bruins for their first Stanley Cup championship. The deal, worth $27.5 million, was announced by the Islanders on Friday morning, meanwhile, as reported by Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic Toronto, it will include an annual average value of $5.5 million per season.
Eberle, a Regina, Sask. native, was scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1st after having completed a six-year deal worth $36 million between the Oilers and Islanders. Eberle, 29, was originally selected by the Edmonton Oilers in the first round (22nd overall) of the 2008 NHL Entry Draft.
Prior to joining the Islanders in a trade that sent Dylan Strome to Alberta, the Canadian right-winger spent seven years with the Oilers before being traded in a one-for-one deal. The agreement had come to fruition back on June 22nd of 2017.
Eberle, a two-time All-Star in 2010-11 and 2011-2012, is headed into his third season on the Western end of Long Island after having compiled 44 goals and 52 assists, making for 96 points in 159 games played.
In taking a quick look now at his 2018-2019 regular season, the nine-year veteran of the National Hockey League, scored 19 goals and 18 assists, making for 37 points in 78 games played. He also added four goals and nine points in eight games played through the Stanley Cup playoffs.
As for the entirety of his nine-year tenure at the NHL level, Eberle has scored 209 goals and 269 assists, making for 478 points in 666 career NHL games played. In addition to that, as noted by TSN.ca, Eberle has topped the 20-goal mark in six seasons, all of which he spent with the Edmonton Oilers. He also managed to score a career-high 34 goals in 2011-2012.
In taking a deeper look at Eberle who originally hails from Western Canada, the right-handed shooter has represented Hockey Canada at six World Championships and is a gold medal recipient. He also took part in the World Junior Championships on two separate occasions with Team Canada as well. On the international stage, he won a gold medal back in 2009, a medal in which he received while playing alongside teammate and defensemen Thomas Hickey.
Speaking of big moments during his time representing Team Canada, Eberle scored one of the biggest goals in the tournament’s history, tying the semi-final game against Team Russia with just five seconds remaining. As TSN goes on to make mention, Eberle would eventually net the puck in the shootout, sending Team Canada to the gold medal game where they would successfully take down Team Sweden. Eberle also played for Team Canada in 2010, earning a silver medal and being named MVP for his performance.
The Islanders most recently played in the Eastern Conference quarterfinal series against the Penguins where Eberle contributed four goals and five assists, making for nine points registered in eight games played. Amongst the goals, he netted the winner in game two at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
As noted by CapFriendly, Eberle will receive $5.25 million in 2019-20 which is in addition to a $2 million signing bonus which he will receive for his new contract as well. In 2020-2021, Eberle will make $4.75 million while the following year, he will earn a base salary of $7 million. In 2022-23, Eberle will make $4.75 million while in the final year of the deal, he will receive $3.75 million in 2023-24 to bring things to a close.
With this deal now under wraps, Eberle becomes the second player to sign with the Islanders, following the signing of Tanner Fritz, another forward, to a two-year contract. Eberle’s deal will include a full no-trade clause in years one and two, meanwhile, it will then become modified with 16 teams listed in years three through five.