Mathew Barzal, who helped lead the Kent-based Seattle Thunderbirds to the Western Hockey League Championship in 2017, has signed an eight-year contract extension with the New York Islanders.
The contract is worth $73.2 million, according to cbssports.com and other media sources. Barzal signed the contract Tuesday, Oct. 4.
Barzal, 25, recorded 59 points (15 goals, 44 assists) in 73 games in 2021-2022 during his fifth NHL season with the Islanders. He tied for the team scoring lead, marking his fifth straight season atop the Islanders leaderboard in points.
“There’s so much excitement,” Barzal said, according to NewYorkIslanders.com. “It’s one of those days you’re never going to forget. I called my parents last night when I got done, and anytime your mom’s got a tear in her eye, it means you’ve either done something really good or something really bad. It’s a special day for me and my family.”
In 362 career regular season games with the Islanders, Barzal has 311 points (91 goals, 220 assists). He ranks 23rd on the Islanders all-time points list. The Coquitlam, B.C., native has 38 career playoff points (13 goals, 25 assists) in 49 postseason games. Barzal represented the Islanders at two NHL All Star games (2019 and 2020) and won the fastest skater competition in 2020 in St. Louis (13.175 time).
“I love it here, I genuinely do,” Barzal said. “Anyone who’s played here knows it’s one of the top places to play in the league. The lifestyle is elite, I have loved it here literally every minute. There’s no place I’d rather be.”
Barzal still has one year remaining on the three-year contract he signed in 2020, but he and the team elected to sign his extension this offseason instead of waiting another year for a long-term deal, according to NewYorkIslanders.com.
The Islanders selected Barzal in the first round (16th overall) of the 2015 NHL Draft. In his rookie season (2017-18), Barzal led all NHL rookies in scoring and became the fifth Islander to win the award the Calder Memorial Trophy, given to “the player selected as the most proficient in his first year of competition in the National Hockey League.”
Barzal also joined former Islanders Hall of Fame member, Denis Potvin as the only rookies in franchise history to lead the team in both assists (63) and points (85). Barzal’s 85 points were the third most of any Islanders rookie behind Bryan Trottier (95 points in 1975-76) and Mike Bossy (91 points in 1977-78).
Barzal played junior hockey with the Thunderbirds of the Western Hockey League. He capped his WHL career with a WHL Championship in 2016-17. On the international stage, Barzal represented Canada at the 2022 and 2018 World Championships, the 2016 and 2017 World Junior Championships and the 2014 and 2015 Under-18 World Junior Championships.
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