Toronto Maple will sell one of two strikers this summer amid surprise interest from…
The Dallas Stars have signed defenceman, Ilya Lyubushkin to a new contract. His contract is a two-year deal at 3.25 million AAV. This is Lyubushkin’s sixth contract of his career, he’s never signed a contract where the term lasted longer than two years.
Over the last year, Lyubushkin has been traded twice. Before the beginning of last season, the 30-year-old was moved from the Buffalo Sabres to the Anaheim Ducks in an off-season deal. Lyubushkin started the season with the Anaheim Ducks and played 55 games for them. Eventually, he was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs before the trade deadline and finished his season there. This was the second time the Russian defenceman was traded to the Leafs and he was solid for them once he moved there.
He played 19 games in the regular season and provided four helpers along the way. Last season he hit his career-best in terms of time on ice, with Toronto he averaged 17:03. However, Lyubushkin really earned his money in these past playoffs despite the Leafs being eliminated by the Boston Bruins in seven games.
In that series, the defensive defenceman put up three assists, which equals a team-high. Impressive while on a roster with immense talent such as Auston Matthews, William Nylander and Mitch Marner. On top of that, he led the team in the plus-minus department with a plus-4. While Lyubushkin has only featured in two playoff series in his career – both with the Leafs – he’s shown that he thrives in that environment.
