Two years ago, the Los Angeles Kings signed Tyler Toffoli to a contract extension, with the unspoken promise that the next one would be longer and more lucrative. Today, they kept that promise, though the term and cap hit both come in a bit smaller than expected.
The LA Kings re-sign Tyler Toffoli to a three-year contract with $4.6 million AAV.https://t.co/d51YW2soHB
— #LAKings (@LAKings) June 7, 2017
We were pretty sure that the Kings weren’t going to have to break the bank to re-sign Toffoli, and even with that expectation, his deal came in at a lower cost than those of comparable players such as Mike Hoffman, Jaden Schwartz, and Chris Kreider. However, that three-year term is a little bit of a surprise, as I think most of us expected Toffoli would at the very least get that fourth year Tanner Pearson received. But it makes sense; though I argued that the injury-plagued 2016-17 Toffoli endured wouldn’t change his value, it probably prevented him from getting the extra years a lot of guys normally get with their second or third NHL contract.
So Toffoli will get back out there next season with a cap hit that is VERY friendly for the Kings. And if he returns to the form he showed in 2015-16, he’ll certainly get more money in 2020. But we can cross that bridge in, well, 2020.
And hopefully, it is indeed a bridge, in that this is a bridge deal to another contract in Los Angeles. For now, I’m just thrilled that we get three more years of Toffoli, who’s turned into both an exciting player and a tireless community presence in his 4+ years with the Kings. We’re lucky to have him.
UPDATE, 6:00 PM: Tanner Pearson, unsurprisingly, is pleased with this news.