NASHVILLE - The Nashville Predators have re-signed Filip Forsberg to a $68 million, eight-year contract with an $8.5 million annual salary cap hit.
The team announced the deal Saturday, getting Forsberg locked up before he could hit the open market when NHL free agency opens at noon Eastern on Wednesday. He's now under contract through 2030.
Forsberg, who turns 28 in August, is coming off the best season of his career. The native of Ostervala, Sweden, set career highs with 42 goals, 42 assists and 84 points in just 69 games. Forsberg had eight winning goals, one shy of the nine he had in the 2016-17 season.
He ranked third in scoring for the Predators, trailing captain Roman Josi and Matt Duchene, who set the franchise record for goals in a season with 43.
The Predators felt close enough to an extension with Forsberg that general manager David Poile chose to keep him rather than attempt a trade.
Last month, Poile said he and Forsberg's camp had continued negotiations, though the GM also had several backup plans. That included Forsberg possibly testing free agency, knowing Nashville could offer him an eighth year compared to seven by other teams if a contract was agreed to before July 13.
The 10-year veteran has played 566 games with Nashville since being acquired on April 3, 2013, in a trade that sent Martin Erat and Michael Latta to the Washington Capitals for the 11th pick overall in the 2012 draft.
Forsberg has 220 career goals and 249 assists for 469 points. He is coming off a season in which he played his most games since 2016-17, when he played all 82 for a third consecutive season. Forsberg previously signed a six-year, $36 million extension in June 2016.
In 2015, he was fourth in voting for the Calder Memorial Trophy, which is presented to the league's top rookie, and was named to the NHL All-Rookie Team after leading Nashville with 26 goals and 63 points that season. He became the first Nashville player to score in the NHL All-Star Game in 2015 and had the franchise's first hat trick in that year's playoffs in Game 5 against the Chicago Blackhawks in the first round.
Forsberg had two natural hat tricks in the span of three games from Feb. 23 to Feb. 27 in 2016 against the Toronto Maple Leafs and St. Louis Blues. He was the first NHL player to do so in three or fewer games since Petri Skriko in consecutive games in 1986 with the Vancouver Canucks.