*Photo from NHL.com*
One thing that is important during a rebuild is to lock up your young talent. The Columbus Blue Jackets and right shot D Andrew Peeke have agreed to a 3 year, $8.25 million deal, according to an announcement by the team on Wednesday.
Prior to last season, Peeke had played in parts of two seasons. Last season was his big breakout, appearing in every game played by the Blue Jackets while setting multiple career highs in various stats. He led Blue Jackets defensemen with 191 hits, and his 169 blocked shots were good for a tie for 5th in the NHL.
This season will be the final year of a two year deal Peeke signed prior to last season, with a $787,500 AAV. His extension starts in 2023-2024 and is a significant pay raise. He'll make $2.75 million annually with no incentives, and will be a UFA when the deal expires at the end of the 2025-2026 season.
Blue Jackets GM Jarmo Kekalainen said that "Andrew is a smart, versatile defenseman who moves the puck well, added an element of physicality to his game last season and showed that he can play effectively in all situations. He arguably was our most improved player a year ago and we are excited to see what the future holds for him as he continues to develop and progress as a player."
Last season was Peeke's first full NHL season. He set career highs in goals and assists with 2 and 13 respectively. He logged a -14 plus/minus in a career high 21:29 of average ice time per game, playing in all 82 regular season games for the Blue Jackets.
Peeke has parts of 3 NHL seasons under his belt. In that time, he has 3 goals and 18 assists to his name, with a -17 plus/minus rating in an average of 19:36 on the ice per game, suiting up for 115 career regular season games. Peeke has not played in any playoff games at the NHL level.
The extension of Peeke continues what has been a big summer for the Blue Jackets. Patrik Laine was extended to a new deal, and they signed superstar Johnny Gaudreau to open free agency.
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