Brock Nelson, Islanders agree to three-year, $7.5 million extension
The New York Islanders report for physicals on Thursday morning and Brock Nelson will indeed be there with his teammates.
Nelson and the Islanders agreed to a three-year, $7.5 million extension late Wednesday night, hours before a team-imposed deadline would have kept the 23-year old forward off the ice for the entire 2015-16 season.
Earlier this week it appeared as if a deal wouldn’t get done after Nelson’s agent told Arthur Staple of Newsday that he and Islanders general manager Garth Snow hadn’t talked for six weeks. With Nelson a restricted free agent his leverage was limited, and so another Islanders player complies by owner Charles Wang’s rule: any RFA who isn’t signed by the time camp begins sits for the entire season.
Nelson rejected his qualifying offer in July and later a two-year deal — offers his agent claimed were “nowhere near commensurate” to comparables — after coming off a 20-goal, 42-point season. The deal is a bargain for the Islanders if he keeps up his production and overcomes inconsistencies over the next three seasons. Then he’ll be set him for a much-desired bigger deal.
Now with Nelson signed, Snow’s picture for the Islanders’ cap structure going forward gets a little clearer. All eyes now turn to pending UFA Kyle Okposo.
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Sean Leahy is the associate editor for Puck Daddy on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Sean_Leahy
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