Brayden Point signs new deal worth just over $20 million.

The Tampa Bay Lightning have got their man.

Although we are still awaiting the official announcement at the time of this writing, Sportsnet National Hockey League insider Eric Francis is reporting that Tampa Bay Lightning star forward Brayden Point has just signed a brand new deal with the organization. According to Francis this is going to be a 3 year bridge deal between Point and the Lightning, and it will be a deal that will carry an average annual value of $6.75 million per season, a significantly lower cost that some of the other high profile deals we have seen signed this summer. 

That contract will work out to a total of $20.25 million over the next 3 years and, although the Lightning do have some big tax benefits when in comes to signing players to cheaper deals due to state that they operate in, this has to feel like a major win for Tampa Bay Lightning general manager Julien Brisebois.

Of course this deal will immediately draw comparisons to the contract recently signed by Toronto Maple Leafs star forward Mitch Marner, a deal that many were already criticizing for being too lucrative too soon. There is little doubt in my mind that the deal signed by Brayden Point today will only serve to further fuel that already heated topic of debate. 

Point is coming off of an insane season in which he appeared in 79 games for the Lightning, recording 41 goals and 51 assists for a total of 92 points on the season. Those are crazy numbers from a 23 year old center and it is hard to walk away from this story without thinking that the Lightning have once again managed to secure one hell of a deal for themselves.