Lightning sign Cirelli to 3-year, $14.4M deal

The Tampa Bay Lightning inked forward Anthony Cirelli to a three-year deal with an average annual value of $4.8 million, the team announced Thursday.

Cirelli will remain a restricted free agent when his deal expires after the 2022-23 campaign.

The 6-foot pivot recorded 16 goals and career highs in assists (28) and points (44) through 68 games in 2019-20. Cirelli added three goals and nine points in 25 playoff games during the Lightning's Stanley Cup run.

The 23-year-old has quickly established himself as one of the top two-way forwards in the league and his play took a massive leap last season.

Cirelli finished fourth in Selke Trophy voting after driving play at both ends of the ice at five-on-five, according to HockeyViz's isolated impact. (Red/positive is good in the offensive zone, while blue/negative is good in the defensive zone).

Tampa Bay has been facing a serious cap crunch all offseason and placed Nikita Kucherov's $9.5-million cap hit on long-term injured reserve after word that the star winger will miss the 2020-21 campaign following hip surgery.

The Lightning have no outstanding restricted free agents but are still slightly above the salary cap even with Kucherov's contract temporarily off the books.