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Capitals investment: Holtby signs five-year, $30.5M deal

Braden Holtby

Braden Holtby

AP

Braden Holtby received a huge raise on Friday, but it was more than reasonable considering his breakout season with the Washington Capitals.

The team signed him to a five-year, $30.5 million contract, which makes him the seventh-highest paid goalie in the NHL.

“Braden emerged as a top NHL goaltender and we are pleased to sign him to a long-term contract,” GM Brian MacLellan said. “We feel Braden is just entering his prime and in his young career has already established himself as one of the best goaltenders in the history of our franchise. He is an athletic goaltender with a tremendous work ethic and is a big part of our future.”

Holtby’s cap hit comes in at $6.1 million, placing him here among netminders:

This is how the contract reportedly breaks down from a year-to-year perspective:

The 25-year-old came into 2014-15 with very nice career averages, but this was the season where he proved that he could be a big-time work horse, logging a ridiculous 73 games played. It wasn’t quantity over quality, either, as he went 41-20-10 with nine shutouts and a .923 save percentage.

His playoff work has been great, too, especially from an individual standpoint. Holtby bumped his career postseason save percentage to .936, up from his already-impressive regular season average of .921.

In many regards, Holtby is worth every penny of this deal, especially considering those numbers. It’s a nice situation for him, too, as this buys some RFA time at a healthy price. He was a steal at his previous cap hit of $1.85 million, yet his rate is pretty reasonable right now, too.

Washington has an estimated $4.22 million in cap space remaining after the deal, according to General Fanager.