The Blackhawks made a signing official this morning, but it was not the one that we had all reported this weekend. It was announced that 25-year-old Slater Koekkoek has re-signed for another season in the Indian head.
Koekkoek was due to become a restricted free agent this summer, after being acquired Jan. 11 (with a 5th round pick this year) from the Tampa Bay Lightning for Jan Rutta (and a seventh round pick this year). The terms for the deal are $925,000, which is a slight raise from last season’s $865,000.
After coming to the Blackhawks, Koekkoek played 22 games, scoring one goal and four assists. The 6-foot-2, 195-pound (mainly) seventh defenseman also put together some positive possession numbers (51.8 Corsi / 51.9 Fenwick) during his stretch run with the team.
After getting drafted in the first round of the 2012 NHL entry draft, the Winchester, Ontario, native found a pretty full Lightning defensive corp tough to crack. Koekkoek provides a more cost effective option for head coach Jeremy Colliton. Rutta fell out of favor with Colliton and was re-assigned to Rockford on Dec. 14 prior to the trade.
Rutta signed a one-year extension with the Lightning for $1.3 million on May 3, nearly half what he made in 2018–19.