Lou Lamoriello and Brendan Shanahan aren't wasting any time ticking off their Summer of 2016 wish-list.
Less than a week after the Leafs played the final game of their 30th-place finish season, the team has announced that centre Nazem Kadri has been signed to a six-year contract extension.
According to TSN's Bob McKenzie, Kadri's deal will total at $27-million and carry a $4.5-million cap hit. The contract carries a limited movement clause, according to both McKenzie and Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman.
The deal makes Kadri the Leafs' third highest paid forward, behind Joffrey Lupul and Nathan Horton.
The contract is comparable to several other 25-year-old signings, including Loui Eriksson, James Neal, Bryan Little, and Andrew Ladd.
Some comparables for Kadri 6 yr @ $4.5M:
— General Fanager (@generalfanager) April 13, 2016
Neal 5 yr @ $5M
Little 5 yr @ 4.7M
Ladd 5 yr @ 4.4M
(All signed at age 25)https://t.co/R69f61FFrl
Little, the most recent of the contracts to Kadri's, signed in 2013 for $4.7-million annually after posting three seasons with more than 45 points in four years and a 32-point season in the lockout shortened campaign.
Kadri, the team's leading scorer this season, registered 45 points (17 goals, 28 assists) in 76 games. The 25-year-old centre, drafted seventh overall by the Leafs in 2009, has registered 197 points in 326 regular season games with the Leafs.
Two years away from unrestricted free agency, the six-year extension will allow the Leafs to eat four years of Kadri's UFA status and retain him through the prime of his career.
Kadri finished the 2015-2016 season with 260 shots on goal, good for 12th in the NHL. Despite converting on just 6.5 per cent (and riding a PDO of 96.74) of his shots, well down from his career average of nearly 11 per cent, Kadri managed to put together a strong season with a depleted Leafs team.
Through the better part of the last four seasons, Kadri has become one of the Leafs' best offensive weapons and a positive possession player on poor possession team.
He has also been among the NHL's league leaders in drawn penalties. This season, Kadri played his way to a plus-14 penalty differential.
In his first season under head coach Mike Babcock, the London, Ont., native was frequently tasked with matching up against the opposing team's top line.
