Spector: Oilers, Kassian finding common ground in contract negotiations

The @Edmonton Oilers and @Zack Kassian appear to be making common ground in contract talks, Sportsnet’s Mark Spector reported Friday.

Spector said his sense is that the club will announce a multi-year deal prior to the NHL trade deadline.

@Zack Kassian is on pace for career highs in every offensive category this season having posted 13 goals and 15 assists in 44 games this year. He’s playing a career-high of 16:15 per game this season and is shooting at 18.1 per cent at the time of writing, well above his career-high of 11.9.

“I’ve had a number of conversations with his agent, Rick Curran,” Oilers GM Ken Holland told Spector. “The hope is that we can keep him in an Oilers uniform. I love his passion, his physicality. He’s a presence, and I am aware of the big playoffs he had three years ago. There is still five months before free agency. I believe Kass loves it in Edmonton, so hopefully we can find a solution that works for him and us.”

He’s found himself a nice home on the Oilers top line alongside @Connor McDavid providing a physical presence that has clearly chipped in well offensively, too.

There’s no denying that Kassian should be a member of the Edmonton Oilers moving forward, but the team needs to tread carefully in contract discussions. If Kassian, for example, were to be shooting his career-average of 11.9 per cent, the rugged winger would have 8.5 goals this season down from the 13 he has scored.

I’d argue maybe a bit more than others that Kassian can be an effective player away from McDavid, but there’s not denying his numbers have seen a significant boost playing with the superstar.

It’ll be interesting to see if a deal does formulate ahead of the Feb. 24 trade deadline.

On Twitter: @zjlaing