Trevor Zegras signed a three-year deal with the Anaheim Ducks, leaving Jamie Drysdale as their remaining RFA. Ryan Kennedy and Mike Stephens react to the contract. Jamie Drysdale [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MjAxMjU3NDkxMzQ0OTI1OTY3/usatsi_18159729_168400847_lowres.jpg] Jamie Drysdale The Anaheim Ducks finally agreed to a three-year contract [https://thehockeynews.com/news/ducks-and-trevor-zegras-end-contract-stalemate-agree-to-three-year-deal] with RFA center Trevor Zegras on Monday. That leaves Zegras' teammate Jamie Drysdale and Ottawa Senators center Shane Pinto as the only noteworthy RFAs still awaiting new deals. Both players are coming off their entry-level contracts with annual base salaries of $925,000 before performance bonuses. They don't have arbitration rights and lack the necessary number of games played required to receive offer sheets from other clubs. Drysdale, 21, is further hindered by being sidelined last season for all but eight games. His representatives will point to his 32-point rookie performance in 2021-22 to justify their asking price. For now, there's little word on Drysdale's situation. He'll likely end up with a bridge deal for less than Zegras' new average annual value of $5.75 million. Pinto, meanwhile, has been the frequent subject of recent media chatter [https://thehockeynews.com/news/senators-still-attempting-to-resolve-shane-pintos-contract-situation]. On Saturday, Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman [https://www.sportsnet.ca/nhl/article/gap-widens-between-senators-shane-pinto-in-contract-talks/] reported the gap had grown in negotiations between Senators management and Pinto's camp. Sources told him the 22-year-old center was disappointed by a one-year, $1-million contract offer. Friedman said Pinto hasn't requested a trade, and the Senators want to keep him. Meanwhile, Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun [https://ottawasun.com/sports/hockey/nhl/ottawa-senators/garrioch-ottawa-senators-and-shane-pinto-need-to-find-common-ground] wondered if either side would bend before the Senators' final pre-season contest on Saturday. He also noted the offer mentioned by Friedman came with the proviso that the two sides would meet in January, which is the earliest a team can open contract extension talks with a pending RFA once the season begins. Garrioch claims the Pinto camp seeks a deal with a cap hit of $2.5 million. However, the Senators reportedly prefer something closer to the $2.1 million annually that Morgan Frost is getting from the Philadelphia Flyers.
