Jordan Eberle signed a two-year, $9.5 million contract with the Seattle Kraken on Friday. It has an average annual value of $4.75 million.
The 33-year-old forward is in the final season of a five-year contract he signed with the New York Islanders on June 14, 2019, and could have become an unrestricted free agent after this season. He is scheduled to play his 1,000th NHL game when Seattle hosts the Vegas Golden Knights on Tuesday and is five points from 700.
"It's a relief," Eberle said. "Obviously, I've mentioned quite a bit that I wanted to be here. My family loves it here. More than anything, I'm just kind of happy that it's over with, and we can get back to what we're doing and get back to trying to win some games and put ourselves in position to get in [the Stanley Cup Playoffs]."
Eberle has 37 points (14 goals, 23 assists) in 58 games this season. He was chosen by Seattle from the Islanders in the 2021 NHL Expansion Draft, and his 144 points (55 goals, 89 assists) are tied with defenseman Vince Dunn for second in Kraken history behind Jared McCann (172).
"We are thrilled to have Jordan remain with the Kraken for the next two years," Kraken general manger Ron Francis said. "The extension is well-deserved and getting it done was a priority for us. Between his leadership in the locker room and his on-ice performance Jordan has been an important part of our franchise from Day One. We are looking forward to many memorable moments with him on ice."
Kraken coach Dave Hakstol said Eberle's leadership is as important as his on-ice play.
"I believe he's a really good role model for young guys coming in, and he's able to calm things down when maybe a younger guy needs an ear and able to give a little bit of advice from past experiences," he said. "And more importantly, he has a real good ability to show the pathway, just in terms of competing and being at your best when the intensity rises a little bit.
"He's playing his best hockey when we need it the most, and I think that probably speaks a lot to his mental make-up."
Selected by the Edmonton Oilers in the first round (No. 22) of the 2008 NHL Draft, Eberle has 695 points (296 goals, 399 assists) in 998 regular-season games and 47 points (19 games, 28 assists) in 76 Stanley Cup Playoff games.
Seattle (28-23-11), which hosts the Winnipeg Jets on Friday (10 p.m. ET; ROOT-NW, TSN3), trails Vegas by six points for the second wild card into the playoffs from the Western Conference.
NHL.com independent correspondent Darren Brown contributed to this report.
