Anton Khudobin has signed a three-year contract extension with the Dallas Stars. The deal is worth a total of $10 million and breaks down as follows:
- Year 1, $2.5 M
- Year 2, $3.75 M
- Year 3, $3.75 M
Khudobin shot up the free agency charts over the past few weeks thanks to some stellar play in the 2019-20 postseason for the Dallas Stars. With Ben Bishop on the shelf due to injury, Khudobin settled and backstopped the Stars all the way to the Stanley Cup Final. With every win, his earnings potential went up, as did the number of teams potentially interested in signing him during free agency.
The Stars wanted him back. GM Jim Nill said he’d wished he’d offered him a five-year deal based on the way he was playing in the playoffs and Nill made an effort to try and re-sign Khudobin before the free agency period opened. But, Khudobin understood his value, even in a flooded goalie market and wanted to test the market.
It was a smart move, but in the end, he wound up staying put and signed a three-year deal with the Stars.
Khudobin Has Proven He’s a Starter
A 34-year old career backup goalie has shown he’s now a starter. Even though this career high is 41 games, he should get the bulk of the starts as he heads back to the team where he played so well. Khudobin became famous for saying, “We’re not going home!”. Now, he kind of is.
When he arrived with the Stars, he had a .923 save percentage and this past season it was .930. This is the third season where his numbers have increased. He’s a player that seems to get better with age.
Whether he can stay consistent and play out the value of this deal as he gets older will be interesting to see. On the surface, it appears he’s going to be just fine.
Next: Everything You Really Need to Know Heading Into Start of NHL Free Agency 2020
