According to The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun (subscription required), the New York Islanders have opened discussions with Mathew Barzal on a contract extension. The discussions are still in the early stages, but according to LeBrun, negotiations will open as early as this fall.
Barzal is in the final year of his three-year entry-level contract (ELC). He’ll be a restricted free agent when he comes to the end of that ELC.
We’ve seen post-ELC extensions go one of three ways. Either it’s a short bridge deal, like Anthony Beauvillier‘s. It could be a medium length deal like that five-year deal that Auston Matthews signed with the Toronto Maple Leafs.