Predators lock up captain Roman Josi with 8-year, $72.4M extension
Contract has annual average worth of $9.05M per season
The Nashville Predators have signed captain Roman Josi to an eight-year, $72.4 million US deal worth $9.05 million a season.
The Predators announced the deal Tuesday, which will take Josi off the free agent market next July. The deal starts with the 2020-21 season and keeps the captain under contract to 2027-28.
General manager David Poile believes Josi will be like one of the 29-year-old Swiss' heroes, Roger Federer — and only improve with age.
"Roman Josi is one of the top defencemen in the National Hockey League and our team leader as captain," he said. "As he enters his prime, we look forward to Roman continuing to showcase his elite skills in Smashville and guiding our team in pursuit of the ultimate goal, the Stanley Cup."
The 38th pick in the 2008 draft, Josi became Nashville's eighth captain in September 2017. Now he is one of only four defencemen with at least 40 points in each of his last six seasons for Nashville. He was an All-Star last season and played for Switzerland at the 2014 Sochi Olympics
He currently is tied for second with five goals and 13 points among NHL defencemen and tied for 12th among all skaters.