Latvian forward Zemgus Girgensons has signed a three-year contract with the Tampa Bay Lightning of the National Hockey League (NHL), the club announced.
Girgenson spent the previous 11 seasons with the Buffalo Sabers, who selected him in the 2012 draft with number 14.
In total, the Latvian striker played 688 games in the regular season for Sabres, in which he collected 188 (89+99) points, but the team never entered the Stanley Cup with a Latvian player.
Last season, Girgenson played in 63 matches in which he scored 14 (8+6) points, which was his lowest-scoring season in his career.
“Sabres” announced on Monday that an offer was made to Girgensons to stay in the team and conclude a new agreement, however, the experienced Latvian forward did not accept it.
In the “Lightning” unit, the 30-year-old Girgenson’s average salary per season will be $850,000. In the previous season, the striker’s salary was 2.5 million US dollars.
“Lightning” has undergone significant changes in its lineup in recent days, including the departure of long-time captain Steven Stemkos, who moved to the “Predators” of Nashville.
Forward Antoni Duclair and defenseman Matt Dumba also left the team, but Jake Guentzel from the Carolina Hurricanes joined the team, signing a seven-year contract worth $63 million on Monday.
29-year-old Guentzel played eight and a half seasons for the Pittsburgh “Penguins”, where he also started last season, accumulating 52 (20+32) points in 50 games. In March, the striker moved to “Hurricanes”, in whose ranks he collected another 25 (8+17) points in 17 games of the regular championship, but in the Stanley Cup competition he had nine (4+5) points in 11 matches.
During his career, Guentzel has played 520 matches in the regular season, scoring 491 (227+264) points, while in the Stanley Cup, the forward has collected 69 (38+29) points in 67 games. With the “Penguins” he won the Stanley Cup in the 2016/2017 season, and also became the best goal scorer in the playoffs.
The Tampa team is a three-time Stanley Cup winner, winning the trophy for the last time in 2021. Last season, the Lightning finished sixth in the Eastern Conference in the regular season, but stopped in the first round of the Stanley Cup, where they lost 1-4 in the series to the future champion Florida Panthers.
