Lightning sign Point to 8-year extension with $9.5M AAV

The Tampa Bay Lightning locked up a key piece of their core Wednesday, signing forward Brayden Point to an eight-year extension with an average annual cap hit of $9.5 million.

Point has one more year left on his current deal, which carries a $6.75-million cap hit. His new contract begins in 2022-23 and runs through the 2029-30 campaign.

The 25-year-old is one of the game's premier centers, tallying 23 goals and 25 assists in 56 games last season without Nikita Kucherov on his wing. Point exploded for 14 goals and nine assists in 23 postseason contests after Kucherov returned for the playoffs.

Point is a complete player, with exceptional underlying numbers over the last three seasons:

Point's new $9.5-million cap hit will tie him with Kucherov and goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy as the highest-paid members of the Lightning. All three are tied for the 15th-highest cap hit in the NHL.