Tampa Bay’s signings of Group II, salary arbitration-filers Tyler Johnson and Ondrej Palat have set a bar that should inform Mika Zibanejad’s negotiations with the Rangers in advance of No. 93’s scheduled hearing on July 25.
Johnson, the center who will turn 27 before the end of the month, signed a seven-year deal worth $5 million per season. Palat, the 26-year-old winger, signed a five-year contract worth $5.3 million per.
In the world of comparables, that should set the number around $4.8 million per for the 24-year-old Zibanejad — who, somewhat strangely, is using his half-brother, Monir Kalgoum, to represent him in his talks with the Blueshirts after leaving the powerhouse Newport Sports Agency following the season.