The New York Rangers signed winger Alexis Lafrenière to a seven-year contract extension Friday.
The deal is worth $52.15 million, according to a person with knowledge of the contract. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because terms were not disclosed.
Lafrenière will count $7.45 million against the salary cap annually from when the new contract kicks in next NHL season through 2032.
The No. 1 pick in the 2020 draft set career highs with 28 goals, 29 assists and 57 points last season. Lafrenière, 23, is off to a point-a-game start to this one, as well, with seven in seven.
He has 178 points in 348 regular-season and playoff games for a team that has made two trips to the Eastern Conference final since he made his debut.
Lafrenière’s cap hit is just below the $7.6 million Montreal annually committed to 2022 top pick Juraj Slafkovsky. New Jersey’s Jack Hughes, No. 1 in 2019, is making $8 million a year through 2030 and Buffalo’s Rasmus Dahlin, who was atop the draft in ’21, $11 million through 2032.
While Lafrenière would have been a restricted free agent this summer, the Rangers still have a major re-signing to take care of. Goaltender Igor Shesterkin is a pending unrestricted free agent who, without a new contract, could hit the open market July 1.
Shesterkin could sign the most lucrative contract of a goalie in the two decades of the salary cap era, surpassing the eight years and $84 million Carey Price got from the Canadiens in 2017. Within the past several weeks, Dallas signed Jake Oettinger and Boston signed Jeremy Swayman to matching deals of $66 million over eight years.
The Rangers sent forward Matt Rempe to Hartford of the American Hockey League on Thursday night. Rempe played just over 11 minutes combined in two games and was a healthy scratch in the others.
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Stephen Whyno, The Associated Press