After 13 years of calling San Jose home, Joe Pavelski is on his way to Dallas.
According to TSN's Bob McKenzie, the 34-year-old center is expected to sign a three-year contract with an AAV of $7 million. Pavelski led the Sharks with 38 goals and completed his eighth year with at least 60 points last season en route to a Western Conference Finals appearance.
As @TheFourthPeriod reported, it’s believed to be a three-year deal for Pavelski with an AAV around $7M: https://t.co/cNiOw1CXvU
— Bob McKenzie (@TSNBobMcKenzie) July 1, 2019
A former seventh-round pick by the San Jose, the Plover, WI native will receive the highest AAV of his career and join Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn on the Stars' roster of high-priced forwards. The reported value of the contract would absorb more than half of Dallas' available cap space as they look to improve upon a 2018-19 campaign that resulted in a wild card playoff berth, which ended at the hands of the St. Louis Blues in the Westerns Conference Semifinals.
NHL free agency tracker 2019: Full list of signings, best available players
The Sharks decided to put most of their free agency money towards giving Erik Karlsson his eight-year, $92 million contract and with Kevin Lebanc and Timo Meier set to become restricted free agents there wasn't enough in the budget to keep Pavelski.