Oilers lock up Jordan Eberle with six-year, $36M extension

The Edmonton Oilers did indeed give Jordan Eberle a Taylor Hall-type deal today, wrapping him up with a six-year, $36 million contract extension.

(Hall’s contract calls for the same $6 million annual cap hit, but it includes an extra year and thus totals $42 million.)

Eberle is just 22 and is coming off a breakthrough 34-goal, 76 point season.

That total topped the Oilers in 2011-12, giving him fantastic leverage.

With Eberle and Hall locked up for the long-term (both still have a year left on their current, cheaper deals), the Oilers cemented the future for half of their four brightest young forwards.

The Oilers can begin negotiating with Ryan Nugent-Hopkins on his second contract next summer and this year’s top overall pick Nail Yakupov in the summer of 2014.

Eberle and Hall represent the Oilers’ only long-term deals at this moment.

Aside from Shawn Horcoff and Yakupov being on the books until 2014-15, every other contract is set to expire in the next season or two.