The Ottawa Senators entered the offseason needing to sign five restricted free agents to new contract extensions. They ended up signing two of them on Thursday morning when the team announced that it has signed forwards Mark Stone and Mika Zibanejad to new contract extensions.
Stone's new deal will pay him $3.5 million per season with a total value of $10.5 million over the entire contract, while Zibenajad's deal is a two-year contract worth a total of $5.3 million ($2.65 million per season).
A sixth-round pick (No. 178 overall) in the 2010 draft, the 2014-15 season was Stone's first full campaign in the NHL and he ended up playing a significant role in the team's second half turnaround. He didn't get as much attention as goalie Andrew Hammond, but he was just as important to the team's push to the playoffs.
He finished the season with 64 points (26 goals, 38 assists) in 78 games, but was especially productive after January 1 when only three players in the NHL (Jamie Benn, John Tavares and Alex Ovechkin) recorded more points than his 47.
He was the the runner up in the NHL's rookie of the year voting on Wednesday night, finishing just behind Florida Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad.
Zibanejad was the No. 6 overall pick in 2011. In 200 career games over parts of four seasons he has scored 43 goals and is coming off of a 2014-15 season that was his best one in the NHL to date, scoring 20 goals in 80 games.
