Golden Knights closing in on three-year contract extension with Alec Martinez
It looks like one of the top free-agent defenders won’t reach the open market.
According to Frank Seravalli, the Vegas Golden Knights and Alec Martinez are closing in on a three-year contract extension worth north of $5,000,000 annually.
Hearing Vegas @GoldenKnights are closing in on an extension to keep D Alec Martinez off the market.
Expect Martinez to come in around $5 million, perhaps a little more, on a three-year deal.@DFOHockey
— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) July 26, 2021
Martinez, a two-time Stanley Cup winner with the Los Angeles Kings, was acquired by Vegas ahead of the 2020 trade deadline in exchange for a pair of second-round picks.
With the Golden Knights, Martinez has found more offense in his game. He scored eight points in 10 games for Vegas in 2020 after the trade and then posted 32 points in 53 games in 2021, which would have put him on pace to shatter the 39-point career-high he set back in 2016-17 with Los Angeles.
With Martinez off the market, there isn’t really a big-name, shutdown defender available in free agency this summer. @Dougie Hamilton remains the top name out there among defenders, but Seravalli’s Top-75 Free Agents list has @Ryan Suter, who was recently bought out by the Minnesota Wild, as the next best name for a team in need of somebody to play a defensive role.