After signing Steven Stamkos and pissing off everyone with visions of offer sheets dancing in their heads, Tampa Bay Lightning GM Steve Yzerman turned to another restricted free agent: Winger Teddy Purcell, whose arbitration hearing was scheduled for Wednesday at 9 a.m.
It was a hearing successfully avoided by the player and his team, as Purcell agreed to a 2-year, $4.725 million deal (via Nick Kypreos) — a hefty raise from the $750,000 he made last season.
Not that he didn't deserve a raise, with career highs of 17 goals, 34 assists and 51 points in 81 games last season for the Lightning. But his real value was in the postseason: For all the chatter about Sean Bergenheim being a playoff revelation, Purcell had 17 points in 18 games during the Bolts' run to the conference finals.
Purcell was a player Yzerman mentioned as being vital to the Bolts next season; at 25, he's the type of familiar young player the GM expects to step up and play a more significant offensive role in lieu of the Lightning not spending dollars on riskier free agent options this summer.
The $2.36 million cap hit makes Purcell the team's fifth-highest paid forward next season.
Kypreos also reported that Laurie Korpikoski had an "arbitration settlement" of 2 years at $3.6 million total with the Phoenix Coyotes, but the team says the deal was struck "minutes before" their hearing. GM Don Maloney said on Tuesday that he expected to go to arbitration with Korpikoski.
Looming on July 21: Brandon Dubinsky and the New York Rangers.