Oilers News: Ryan Nugent-Hopkins Signs A Contract Extension

Ryan Rishaug of TSN tweeted this morning that Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and the Edmonton Oilers have reached an 8 year, 41 million dollar deal, with a no-movement clause. Something the team confirmed earlier today. 

I think that Nugent-Hopkins took less money than he would have got on the open market to stay with the Oilers for the 8 years. Nugent-Hopkins’ stats last year were (52GP-16G-19A-35PTS) which may have played into his lower AAV.

Drafted first overall in the 2011 NHL entry draft, Nugent-Hopkins has played every NHL game of his career with the Edmonton Oilers. After signing this 8-year contract with a no-movement clause, it is likely he will finish his career here.

I believe this is a good move for the Oilers who have locked up a top 6 left-winger. In the 2019-2020 season, he got 22 goals with 39 assists in 65 games. Which was just under a point a game, this is the type of numbers you would expect to see from a top 6 winger. I hope the contract year nerves were the cause of his poor numbers this year.

Nugent-Hopkins can play both winger and center. This is helpful for when the Oilers want to put McDavid and Draisaitl on the same line, he can play that second-line center role. He also is one of the top penalty killers and he is one-fifth of the players on the NHL’s best powerplay.

Being the longest-standing player on the roster, Nuge has seen it all. From the decade of darkness to a couple of playoff appearances. His expertise in these scenarios will be good as he helps mentor this next group of Edmonton Oilers coming through. This will be a good asset near the end of his contract when he likely will not be producing as much offensively.

Signing this contract also means it is another player the Edmonton Oilers will need to protect from the Seattle Kraken. This being said I would much rather have to protect a Nugent-Hopkins than a lesser player cause I need to protect someone.

At the end of the day, I think the Oilers are taking a risk on the length of the contract and I think Nugent-Hopkins gave up a bit on the amount he is getting. This just goes to show that both sides were willing to make a deal. This is a very solid first move in this off-season by Ken Holland, and hopefully, there is a lot more by the time next season starts.