Jamie Oleksiak and the Seattle Kraken have finalized terms on a five-year contract. The value, as reported by NHL insider Elliotte Friedman will pay Oleksiak approximately $4.6 million per season. A defenseman that was going to be highly coveted around the league as a pending unrestricted free agent, some are seeing this deal as a bit of an overpayment.
It’s a lot of of money to pay for someone coming off a $2,137,500 contract. He’s getting more than a 100% pay raise in a flat cap salary era.
Oleksiak was impressive in last year’s Stanley Cup Playoffs. He was an instrumental part of the team’s run to the Final, playing alongside Miro Heiskanen on the team’s second pairing. Oleksiak’s strong play continued into 2020-21, and while he’s not considered a top-pair defenseman, he earned a big payday.
He averaged over 20 minutes per game last season and it is expected he might play alongside also recently signed Adam Larsson. He is a top-four ready player who plays a shut down role. He and Larsson will be a formidable pair to play against. They’ll come in at a combined cap hit of $8.6 million.
Like the Oilers, the Stars will now be tasked with trying to replace a defenseman where there are few other comparable NHL players. Some are suggesting this could be the opening Dallas is looking for to go after a trade for defenseman Seth Jones.
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