Zibanejad is entering the final year of a five-year, $26.75M contract and is now signed through the 2030 season. The $8.5M AAV cap-hit represents a $3.15M AAV raise for the 28-year-old centre, who has registered 199 points (95G / 104A) in 195 games over the last three seasons.
Korpisalo will miss at least the first few days of training camp but is expected to be ready before the start of the regular season. Korpisalo had some struggles during the 2021 season, so he enters this year as the projected No.2 netminder in Columbus.
Veleno selected No.30 overall in 2018 and will centre the third line in his debut on Tuesday. The 21-year-old had 11 goals and 12 assists (23 points) in 54 AHL games in 2020. In 2021, he stayed in Sweden after the delayed start in North America due to COVID-19, scoring 11 goals with nine assists (20 points) in 46 games with the Malmo Redhawks (SHL).
Korpisalo suffered a lower-body injury in the third period of Sunday's loss in Tampa. With Korpisalo out for the rest of the season, Elvis Merzlikins will become the No.1 netminder and Matiss Kivlenieks comes up from the AHL to serve as the No.2.
