Chicago Blackhawks left wing Brandon Saad (20) celebrates after a goal against Tampa Bay Lightning in the third game of Stanley Cup Final on June 8, 2015, in Chicago. (Chicago Tribune/TNS)
By Aaron Portzline/The Columbus Dispatch (TNS)
Breathe, Blue Jackets fans. Breathe.
After three days of negotiations with Brandon Saad, during which time he could have been poached by another club with an offer sheet, the Blue Jackets brought the left wing into the fold on Friday with one of the most lucrative deals in franchise history.
Saad, acquired on Tuesday in a seven-player trade with the Chicago Blackhawks, signed a six-year, $36 million contract that could keep him in Columbus through 2021.
“I’ve been excited since the trade happened,” Saad said. “I was really just hoping to get it done as quick as possible. I couldn’t be more excited to get something done. I’ve been sitting by the phone a little bit, waiting to get a deal done. It’s always in your mind. You want to get it done and be on a team, so that’s been a little bit stressful. But I couldn’t be more excited now.”
The deal, which carries a $6 million salary-cap hit, will pay Saad $4 million this coming season, followed by $5.75 million in 2016-17, $6.25 million in 2017-18, $6.75 million in 2018-19 and 2019-20 and $6.5 million in 2020-21.
“Both parties wanted to get a deal done, and get it done sooner rather than later,” general manager Jarmo Kekalainen said. “It took a couple of days, but it was more about the smaller details than anything else. We weren’t far apart at the start.”
The Blue Jackets acquired Saad, along with two prospects, for forwards Artem Anisimov, Marko Dano, Corey Tropp and Jeremy Morin and a fourth-round draft pick in 2016. Saad became a restricted free agent on Wednesday, meaning any of the NHL’s 29 other clubs could negotiate and sign him to an offer sheet.
The Blue Jackets would have had the right to match any offer and assume the contract —Kekalainen insists they would have — but it never came to that.
“I wasn’t really worried about it,” Kekalainen said. “We both wanted to get something done, and get it done as soon as possible. He’s a Blue Jacket now for many, many years to come.”
Saad said he left all the negotiations up to his agent, Lewis Gross, but “when I talked to him, it was strictly about Columbus and getting a deal done.”
Saad’s $6 million salary-cap hit — the annual average value of his contract — is the highest on the Blue Jackets except for goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky ($7.425 million). Forwards Brandon Dubinsky ($5.85 million), Nick Foligno ($5.5 million) and David Clarkson ($5.25 million) are close behind.
“He gives us another weapon up front,” Kekalainen said. “He plays the game the right way. He has big performance when the games really matter the most. We’ve seen that the last few years in the playoffs, where he’s really been a leader on that (Blackhawks) team.”
Saad has played in 208 NHL games, totaling 52 goals and 74 assists. Last season was his best, with 23 goals, 29 assists and 12 penalty minutes, while playing in all 82 games. He had eight goals and three assists in Chicago’s playoff run.
He will have his day with the Stanley Cup later this month, he said, and then his attention will shift directly to Columbus.
“I’m ready to get there, meet the guys and get going,” Saad said.
The Blue Jackets envision having the deepest, most dynamic collection of forwards in franchise history, with Saad likely to join the No. 1 line next to All-Star centre Ryan Johnson. Another All-Star, captain Foligno, could play on the right side.
“I know there’s a lot of talent there,” Saad said. “I’m not sure who I’ll be playing with; we’ll have to deal with that when it comes. I know how hard they work, and with the type of system they play, they’ve been hard to play against. With the talent and skill on top of that, it makes it lethal. I’m happy to be a part of the team.”
