Ottawa Senators centre Chris Tierney (71) shoots on Detroit Red Wing goaltender Jonathan Bernier(45) during second period NHL hockey action in Ottawa, on Oct. 23, 2019.Fred Chartrand/The Canadian Press
The Ottawa Senators have avoided arbitration with Chris Tierney, signing the forward to a two-year contract with an average annual value of US$3.5 million.
Tierney, 26, will earn $2.8 million in 2020-21 and $4.2 million in 2021-22.
A native of Keswick, Ont., Tierney ranked sixth among Senators in scoring with 37 points (11 goals, 26 assists) in 2019-20 and was one of four players to appear in each of Ottawa’s 71 games.
In 2018-19, he set career-highs in assists (39), points (48) and games (81).
The Senators acquired Tierney in the deal that sent star defenceman Erik Karlsson to the San Jose Sharks in September 2018.
Tierney has 189 points (61 goals, 128 assists) in 436 career NHL games with San Jose and Ottawa.
“We’re pleased to reach an agreement with Chris that will see him under contract here for multiple seasons,” Senators general manager Pierre Dorion said in a statement.
“He’s a reliable veteran who has very good hockey sense and who is consistently among our best centres in faceoff success rate. That he’s accumulated significant NHL experience in a short period of time is also of considerable importance to our lineup.”
Also Tuesday, the Senators signed forward Filip Chlapik to a one-year, two-way contract worth $735,000 in the NHL and $70,000 in the American Hockey League.
The 23-year-old Prague native had six points (three goals, three assists) in 31 games with Ottawa last season and 22 points (10 goals, 12 assists) over 37 games with the AHL’s Belleville Senators.
Ottawa selected Chlapik in the second round, 48th overall, at the 2015 NHL draft.
He has 11 points (five goals, six assists) over 56 career NHL games with Ottawa and 88 points (37 goals, 51 assists) over 146 contests with Belleville.