Lawson Crouse has signed a five-year contract extension with the Arizona Coyotes. The deal is worth $4.3 million per season and comes just as the club’s arbitration hearing with the player was about to begin. Craig Morgan writes, “Am told that Lawson Crouse’s camp and the Coyotes contingent were in the room to start the arbitration hearing when this deal was struck. Talk about the 11th hour…”
The two sides had exchanged arbitration figures over the weekend. The Coyotes filed for $2.5 million and Crouse asked for a $4.0 million contract. The reason the deal comes in higher is because of the term. An arbitration ruling would have been capped at a one or two-year deal.
General manager Bill Armstrong released a short statement saying, “We are very pleased to sign Lawson to a long-term contract. He is a big, strong, skilled power forward and we look forward to him being a big part of our future.”
Crouse has improved in his past three seasons but there hasn’t been a lot there offensively. 2021-22 was easily his best offensive season to date, scoring 20 goals and adding 14 assists in 65 games. The immediate reaction to this contract is that the deal is pricey for what he is now, but the potential is there for him to becomes a reliable middle-six forward and be worth the money per season, perhaps even out-perform his annual pay. If he doesn’t up his game, the Coyotes may regret overpaying, but the team has a ton of cap room to make these types of mistakes.
His comparables were considered to be Marcus Foligno, Tom Wilson, and Boone Jenner.
Next: Patrice Bergeron Signs 1-Year Deal With Boston Bruins
