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The Tampa Bay Lightning announced today that they have signed forward Ondrej Palat to a three-year contract extension. Palat, a finalist for the Calder Trophy this year, is coming off a season in which he tallied 23 goals and 59 points in 81 games. His deal is reportedly similar in value to the three-year, $10-million pact that Tyler Johnson signed just more than two weeks ago.
When searching for underdog stories in today’s NHL, it’s hard to look past Palat. Selected with the 208th overall pick in the 2011 draft, Palat has since developed into a dependable threat at hockey’s highest level. Given that only three players were taken after Palat back in 2011, it’s probably fair to say that nobody expected him to be an NHL player, let alone a Calder finalist. Palat’s story is something special.
After starting the 2013-14 season on Jon Cooper’s third line, Palat worked his way up into the top-six with relative ease. He found a home on the wing with Valtteri Filppula and Ryan Callahan, and then again on the wing with Steven Stamkos and Tyler Johnson. His versatility and aptitude allowed Cooper to play him in any situation, anywhere, and with anybody. You can't teach that sort of quality.
Further, and aside from the benefits that will come from keeping Palat on the ice with the Bolts for the next three seasons, it’s worth noting that Steve Yzerman has signed this player to a very fair deal. Palat was essentially a point-per-game player for the second half of the last season. To get him locked in for three years at a manageable cap hit is sound management from Yzerman.
While I did express some worry about Johnson’s $3.33MM cap hit when he signed a few weeks ago, I have a hard time feeling like Palat’s deal will turn out to be anything but a discount. I’ve even softened up on Johnson’s deal, too. These are two young players who can be anchors for the Lightning for years to come. Props to Yzerman for getting these deals done.
Congratulations to Ondrej Palat. He was in for a raise, and he deservedly got one.
As always, thanks for reading.
Michael Stuart has been the Tampa Bay Lightning writer for HockeyBuzz since 2012. Visit his archive to read more or follow him on Twitter.