Tampa Bay Lightning forward Ondrej Palat will test free agency
Add Ondrej Palat to the growing list of star players heading into free agency.
TSN Pierre LeBrun announced Monday night that the Tampa Bay Lightning forward will be coming to the open market.
Palat, 31, has spent his entire career with the Lightning after being drafted by the club in the 7th round of the 2011 draft. This past season was among his most productive where he scored 18 goals and 49 points in 77 games.
He was always an important player for the Bolts and always raised his game in the playoffs. This last year was no other where in 23 playoff games, he scored 11 goals and 21 points.
Last year, Palat signed a five-year deal that netted him an AAV of $5.3 million. According to Evolving Hockey, he is expected to get a three-year contract paying him an AAV of $5.566 million.
There are a number of teams looking for help in their top six, so Palat should have no problems finding a new team in short order when free agency opens Wednesday morning.
Zach Laing is the News Director and Senior Columnist for the Nation Network. He can be followed on Twitter at @zjlaingor attached by email to [email protected]
