Lightning sign Calder Trophy finalist Ondrej Palat to 3-year contract extension

The Tampa Bay Lightning have signed forward, pending restricted free agent and Calder Trophy finalist Ondrej Palat to a three-year contract, the team announced on Tuesday. 

TSN's Pierre LeBrun reports that the deal is worth $10 million over the life of the contract, so Palat's cap hit will come in at roughly $3.33 million annually.

During the 2013-14 season, Palat completed his first full NHL campaign and competed with the Czech Republic at the 2014 Winter Olympics. The 23-year-old, a 7th-round draft pick in 2011, managed 23 goals and 36 assists for 59 points in 81 games played with the Lightning.

While Palat logged second-line minutes at even-strength and wasn't a regular on Tampa Bay's first power-play unit, he produced offense like a first-liner and helped the Lightning weather a devastating injury to star forward Steven Stamkos in the fall. His production, however, was probably inflated by a sky-high on-ice shooting percentage that he's unlikely to repeat.

Even factoring in some probable regression, $3.33 million is an excellent sticker price for a skilled 23-year-old forward who more than kept his head above water as a rookie while facing top-six competition.