Lars Eller, Canadiens settle on four-year, $14 million deal
Lars Eller and the Montreal Canadiens continued this summer's trend of teams and players avoiding arbitration when they agreed to a four-year, $14 million deal on Thursday.
"We are very pleased to have agreed upon a long term agreement with Lars Eller. He is an important part of our group of young veterans. He has a tremendous work ethic and a great attitude. He is the type of player you can rely on for his play at both ends of the rink. Lars can play big minutes against the opponents’ top players and still be an offensive threat. We are confident he will reach his full potential and become an impact player who will compete at a high level for many years to come”, said Canadiens general manager Marc Bergevin.
Eller was looking for $3.1 million, a raise from the $1.15- and $1.5 million he made in each of the past two seasons. The Canadiens, meanwhile, were looking for something in the $1.65 million range.
A $3.5 million AAV over four seasons is a nice win for both player and club as the 25-year old forward gets his raise and the term, while the team buys two years of unrestricted free agency. According to Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman, the contract will pay $2.5 million over the first two years, then, when he would have become a UFA, $4.25 million and $4.75 million in the final two.
It's a success for general manager Marc Bergevin, who now faces his next test and one of the off-season's most interesting arbitration cases: P.K. Subban.
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Sean Leahy is the associate editor for Puck Daddy on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Sean_Leahy
