One by one, the NHL’s top RFAs are starting to sign as we get closer to puck drop on the 2019-20 NHL season. According to Sportsnet’s Eric Francis, it looks like Brayden Point might be next to sign on the dotted line.
Just last week, Point’s agent, Gerry Johannson, said the team and player were “not that close” to putting pen to paper on a new deal.
“We’re a ways apart right now. Like I say all the time, you can do a deal in a day if you’re so inclined. Things can move quickly but we’re not that close frankly,” Johannson told Sportsnet 650 on Thursday.
“It’s just I’m a little surprised we’re this far apart this late, but on the other hand every negotiation is a bit different and there’s different pressures and different circumstances and all sorts of different things,” he added.
Johannson said he and Point are open to several different options, including a bridge deal, with the Lightning, whose busy summer also included trading away J.T. Miller and Ryan Callahan and signing Kevin Shattenkirk, Pat Maroon and Curtis McElhinney.
Point, 23, took his game to another level in 2018-19, tallying 41 goals and 92 points in 79 games as the Lightning’s most promising young star.
[relatedlinks]
