Lightning re-sign Braydon Coburn to three-year, $11.1 million deal
The Tampa Bay Lightning bolstered their veteran defensive depth for the next three years by re-signing blueliner Braydon Coburn.
According to ESPN’s Pierre LeBrun, the contract is worth $11.1 million total for a $3.7 million salary cap hit per-year over the next three seasons. The deal includes a no-trade clause for the first two years of his deal, and a limited no-trade clause in the third year of his contract.
The 30-year-old Coburn was acquired by the Lightning last season from the Philadelphia Flyers for defenseman Radko Gudas and a first and third round pick in the 2015 NHL Draft. Coburn played 26 games in Tampa's run to the 2015 Stanley Cup Final. This season with the Lightning, Coburn has averaged 16:39 of ice-time and notched one goal and eight assists in 60 games. He leads the team with an average of 2:11 of ice-time per-game on the penalty kill
The Lightning are in second-place in the Atlantic Division.
According to War on Ice, Coburn has a 50.82 CF% and a minus-2.18 CF%Rel 5-on-5. This means when Coburn is on the ice even strength the Lightning possess the puck more than their opponent, but not more relative to the rest of the team.
Coburn is in the final season of a four-year $18 million contract that carried a $4.5 million salary cap hit. He would have been an unrestricted free agent on July 1. It’s a bit of a pay-cut for Coburn, but as LeBrun notes, there’s lack of clarity with next year’s salary cap so it may be better to sign a deal now in case the cap stays flat and squeezes teams’ salary structures.
Tampa has four important members of their defensive core signed through next season, between Coburn, Victor Hedman, Anton Stralman and Jason Garrison.
Lightning general manager Steve Yzerman will likely be a busy man leading up to Monday’s trade deadline. He has stated a preference to trade suspended forward Jonathan Drouin “sooner than later.”
The Lightning still have yet to re-sign pending unrestricted free agent Steven Stamkos, who will likely want a raise from his $7.5 million yearly contract. Yzerman has said he will not deal Stamkos at the trade deadline.
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Josh Cooper is an editor for Puck Daddy on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @joshuacooper
