Oilers sign Yamamoto to $6.2M contract days before arbitration date

Kailer Yamamoto has signed on the dotted line.

The 23-year-old signed a two-year contract extension with the Edmonton Oilers today, worth $3.1 million per season. The move comes just four days before Yamamoto and the Oilers were scheduled to head to arbitration.

YAMS! 🍠🍠🍠

The #Oilers have signed Kailer Yamamoto to a two-year contract extension with an AAV of $3.1 million. The right-winger set new career highs in games played (81), goals (20), assists (21) & points (41) last season.@kailer_yamamoto | #LetsGoOilers pic.twitter.com/qNakfpNtIH

— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) August 4, 2022

Avoiding arbitration is always a preferred route to take, given the process has been known to fracture relationships between players and teams.

Yamamoto had the finest season of his young career in 2021-22, scoring 41 points (20-21-41) in 81 games. The native of Spokane, Washington added seven points (2-5-7) in 14 playoff games.

The new contract makes Yamamoto Edmonton’s sixth-highest paid forward, slotting in just ahead of Jesse Puljujarvi, who signed a one-year, $3 million deal last week.

The 5-foot-8 forward has proven to be big enough to succeed at the NHL level, tallying 93 points in 186 career regular season games since being selected 22nd overall by the Oilers at the 2017 draft.

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