Alex Killorn, Lightning avoid arbitration, agree to 7-year deal

The summer of Steve Yzerman continues as the Tampa Bay Lightning and forward Alex Killorn avoided arbitration and settled on a seven-year, $31.15 million extension, per CBC’s Tim Wharnsby.

Killorn, 26, had filed for arbitration earlier this month and a hearing was scheduled for Wednesday. He now joins Steven Stamkos and Victor Hedman, who both recently inked long-term extensions, as Lightning players signed through at least 2023.

Yzerman told Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times that the deal includes a modified no-trade clause.

A 2007 third-round pick by Tampa, Killorn made his mark in his first full season in 2013-14 when he scored 17 goals and recorded 41 points. He really entered the radars of many during the Lightning’s run to the 2015 Stanley Cup Final when he finished third on the team with nine goals and 18 points.

Killorn’s extension means that Yzerman has only Nikita Kucherov, Nikita Nesterov and Vladislav Namestnikov has RFAs to deal with. Namestnikov is the only player left from the Lightning who elected arbitration. His hearing is currently set for July 29.

Tampa now has a little over $8.5 million in cap space, per General Fanager, which likely means in order to sign that RFA trio, someone will have to be moved. Valtteri Filppula, who has two years left on a deal carrying a $5 million cap hit, has been a popular name to be heading out of town. Goaltender Ben Bishop will be dealt at some point, either before the start of the 2016-17 season or before next season’s trade deadline.

With Killorn, Stamkos and Hedman locked up, and Nikita Kucherov likely joining them shortly, Yzerman has kept a handful core players together to ensure the Lightning continue to remain contenders. Ondrej Palat, Jonathan Drouin, Andrej Sustr and Tyler Johnson are set to become RFAs next summer, which will mean more changes are in store.

Depending on how the salary cap changes by the summer of 2017 it will be difficult to keep the entire core together, but Yzerman has laid groundwork this summer that should help keep the Lightning among the handful of perennial Cup contenders.

– – – – – – –

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