NASHVILLE, Tennessee –
The Nashville Predators have re-signed Filip Forsberg to a $68 million, eight-year contract with an annual salary cap of $8.5 million.
The team announced the deal Saturday and had Forsberg locked up before he could go on the open market when NHL Free Agency opens next week. He is now under contract until 2030.
Forsberg, who turns 28 in August, has had the best season of his career. With 42 goals, 42 assists and 84 points in just 69 games, the Ostervala native in Sweden achieved career bests. Forsberg had eight game-winning goals, one fewer than the nine he had in the 2016-17 season.
He placed third in the standings for the Predators, behind captain Roman Josi and Matt Duchene, who set the franchise record with 43 goals in a season.
The Predators felt close enough to an extension with Forsberg that general manager David Poile decided to keep him rather than trade him.
Poile said in June he and Forsberg’s camp are continuing negotiations, although the GM also had several backup plans. That included Forsberg potentially testing the free hand, knowing Nashville could offer him an eighth year compared to seven other teams if a contract was finalized before July 13.
The 10-year veteran has played 566 games with Nashville after being acquired on April 3, 2013 in a trade that sent Martin Erat and Michael Latta to the Washington Capitals for an 11th pick overall in the 2012 draft.
Forsberg has 220 career goals and 249 assists for 469 points. He’s coming off a season in which he’s played his most games since 2016-17, when he played all 82 for the third straight season. Forsberg previously signed a six-year, $36 million extension in June 2016.
He finished fourth in the 2014-15 Calder Trophy pick and was named to the NHL All-Rookie Team after leading Nashville with 26 goals and 63 points. He became the first Nashville player to score in the 2015 NHL All-Star Game and had the franchise’s first hat-trick in the playoffs that season in Game 5 against Chicago in the first round.
Forsberg had two natural hat-tricks in three games between February 23 and February 27, 2016 against Toronto and St. Louis. He became the first to do so in three or fewer games since Petri Skriko in consecutive games in 1986 with Vancouver.