Oilers signed Ryan Nugent-Hopkins for eight-year contract extension

One of the best free agents this summer is no longer on the market.

The Edmonton Oilers announced on Tuesday this Ryan nugent hopkins accepted an eight-year contract extension valued at $ 5,125,000 per year.

Nugent-Hopkins is coming off a seven-year contract worth $ 6,000,000 per year that was signed in 2013. He is said to have been one of the biggest names in the free agent market in terms of forwards, with Taylor Room and Gabriel Landeskog.

In 52 games in 2020-21, Nugent-Hopkins scored 16 goals and 35 points, a slight drop in production from the 61 points he scored in 65 games in 2019-20.

The former No.1 pick in the 2011 draft is Edmonton’s longest-serving player and the deal, which includes a lock-in clause, will likely see him end his career with the Oilers. Nugent-Hopkins currently ranks 12th in all-time games played for the Oilers with 656.

Edmonton will also need to protect Seattle’s Nugent-Hopkins in the next expansion draft.