sports
Nashville Predators Sign Mavrik Bourque to Six-Year Contract After Trade with Dallas
The Nashville Predators signed center Mavrik Bourque to a six-year, $33 million deal on Saturday. The 24-year-old forward had been acquired from the Dallas Stars three days earlier. He posted 20 goals and 21 assists in 82 games last season.
Jul 7, 12:49 PM·1m read1 source
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The Nashville Predators signed center Mavrik Bourque to a six-year, $33 million contract on Saturday, ESPN reported. The 24-year-old had been acquired from the Dallas Stars three days earlier in exchange for Nashville's 2027 second-round pick and a 2028 third-round pick originally belonging to the Vegas Golden Knights.
Bourque recorded 20 goals and 21 assists in 82 games during his second full NHL season with Dallas, averaging 15:29 of ice time per game.
He had earned $950,000 on a one-year contract the prior season. The new deal carries a $5.5 million salary cap hit through the 2031-32 season, after which Bourque becomes an unrestricted free agent. The trade also brought veteran defenseman Ilya Lyubushkin to Nashville.
Lyubushkin carries a $3.25 million cap hit. Dallas had obtained the 2028 third-round pick earlier this year from Vegas in exchange for forward Cole Smith. Dallas general manager Jim Nill said the team drafted Bourque 30th overall in 2020 but could not retain him as a restricted free agent.
"You have to be cap compliant, and those decisions have to be made. He bet on himself last year," Nill said. "Where his contract was going, it was something that we wouldn't be able to fit in. " Bourque is tied with Jonathan Marchessault for the third-highest cap hit among Nashville forwards.
The signing represents the largest move to date by new Predators general manager Chris MacFarland, who replaced Barry Trotz after arriving from the Colorado Avalanche.
