Breaking Down Tyler Kleven’s New Contract

In a way, it feels like Sens fans are just getting to know Tyler Kleven. He had a coming out party with his great play in the first round against the Maple Leafs. That was only a six game sample size, though. With only 100 total NHL games under his belt, he wasn’t exactly in line for a long term, big money deal. That’s why his new two year deal with a cap hit of $1.6 million per year makes sense for both sides. Let’s dive into the details on Tyler Kleven’s new contract.

READ MORE: Should the Senators Keep Their 1st Round Pick?

By the Numbers

Tyler Kleven is a 23 year old left shot defenseman that stands at around 6’4″, 220 lbs. Here were his numbers last season:

• 79 games, 4 goals, 10 points, 14:28 time on ice per game, 105 hits, 97 blocked shots

In the Senators six game first round series, Kleven saw his ice-time increase to 15:47 per game. During the season, Kleven was a true bottom pairing defenseman. He received no power play minutes and very little shorthanded ice-time as well. His main partner was Nikolas Matinpalo, who received his own two year extension about a month ago. The two showed themselves to be a solid bottom pairing, trusted to play 12-15 minutes a night.

A Look Ahead

The reality for Kleven is that he is stuck behind Sanderson and Chabot on the left side of Ottawa’s defense. With those two eating up significant minutes, Kleven will be in the same role as last season, as the Senators number three left d-man. Kleven and Matinpalo will combine to take up just under $2.5 million in cap space next year, giving the Senators a very affordable bottom pairing. With the two being just 23 and 26 years old and without a ton of NHL experience, there is still plenty of room for growth from this duo as well.

That is especially true for Kleven. He is a new age big d-man. Back in the day, big d-men typically lacked speed, but made up for it by being extremely physical. Kleven, skates quite well at 6’4″, and while he plays with physicality (he led Senators d-men in hits last season), he’s not quite bringing the toughness that old school d-men used to. Nonetheless, he showed in the playoffs that he is at his best when he is committed to finishing his checks, while also contributing up the ice with his skating ability. It’s hard to see him passing Sanderson or Chabot on the depth chart, but Travis Green showed in the playoffs that he’s not afraid to play Kleven more if he’s earned that ice-time. There are also always injuries, plus the option to play one of these d-men on their off-side.

Final Thoughts

There’s nothing to complain about with this deal. We’re talking about a young, big, physical defenseman. Kleven was an every game player last year and was at his best when the playoffs came around. To have him locked in at under two million for the next two seasons is a great deal from the Senators side. As for Kleven, he’s banking on continued growth to earn that big payday a couple of years from now. With the Tyler Kleven extension taken care of, Steve Staios can now turn his attention to figuring out Claude Giroux’s next contract.