The Oilers have signed Ryan Nugent-Hopkins to an eight-year contract extension

One of this summer’s top free agents is off the market.

The Edmonton Oilers announced on Tuesday that @Ryan Nugent-Hopkins has agreed to an eight-year contract extension worth $5,125,000 annually.

Nugent-Hopkins is coming off of a seven-year contract worth $6,000,000 annually that was signed all the way back in 2013. He would have been one of the biggest names on the free-agent market in terms of forwards, along with @Taylor Hall and @Gabriel Landeskog.

In 52 games in 2020-21, Nugent-Hopkins scored 16 goals and 35 points, a bit of a decrease in production from the 61 points he scored in 65 games in 2019-20.

The former No. 1 overall pick from the 2011 draft is Edmonton’s longest-serving player and this deal, which features a no-movement clause, will likely result in him finishing his career with the Oilers. Nugent-Hopkins currently ranks 12th in all-time games played for the Oilers with 656.

Edmonton will also have to protect Nugent-Hopkins from Seattle in the upcoming Expansion Draft.