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The New York Islanders secured a huge piece of their future on Wednesday by agreeing to a six-year, $33 million contract extension with John Tavares. The deal will be signed on Thursday in time for a press conference at 2 p.m.
Tavares was entering the final season of his three-year entry-level deal and was due to become a restricted free agent.
Lighthouse Hockey has a breakdown of how the money in Tavares' contract will be allocated:
2012-13: $4 million
2013-14: $5 million
2014-15: $6 million
2015-16: $6 million
2016-17: $6 million
2017-18: $6 million
Considering how important the 20-year old is to the Islanders finally becoming relevant again, that seems like an absolute bargain. It's also a great sign to the fan base that the team is going to stay active.
Tavares' new deal wraps up a busy off-season for the franchise. The Islanders also locked up Matt Moulson, Michael Grabner and Kyle Okposo
With the Islanders surrounded by questions about their finances and time on Long Island, this is great news for a team in need of as much of that as it can get.