Oilers to sit down with Zack Kassian for possible contract extension

Elliotte Friedman and Chris Johnston discuss the latest news around the NHL, including how the Toronto Maple Leafs will replace Tyson Barrie, the Arizona Coyotes making an offer for Taylor Hall, and the future of both Ilya Kovalchuk and Pete DeBoer.

Zack Kassian is on pace for a career-best NHL season and his employer may be looking to strike a deal which would keep him around longer.

The Edmonton Oilers and Kassian are due to meet shortly to talk about a contract extension, according to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman.

“He’s happy there, the Oilers are happy with him and I believe that the Oilers and Kassian are going to sit down in the near future to see if they can get an extension done,” Friedman said Saturday on the Headlines segment of Hockey Night in Canada.

The 28-year-old from Windsor, Ont., is in his fifth season with the Oilers and is due to become a free agent next summer. He’s currently in the final year of a three-year extension with a cap hit of $1.95 million per season.

Entering Saturday’s game against the Toronto Maple Leafs, Kassian had 11 goals and 22 points in 31 games.

He’s been playing on a line this season with superstars Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl.

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