The Tampa Bay Lightning locked down Anthony Cirelli on a brand new contract that will pay the forward $50 million over the next eight seasons. It's a huge deal for Cirelli, who signed on to stay in Tampa Bay for the maximum term of eight years. The deal was first reported by Jeff Marek, who indicated that Cirelli will pocket an average annual value of $6.25 million throughout the course of his contract with the Lightning.

Cirelli is one of the best defensive forwards in all of hockey, having placed in the Top 5 of Selke Trophy voting in two of the past three seasons. He's been a big part of Tampa's two Stanley Cup championships over those past three years, too.

In addition to Cirelli's deal, the Lightning also extended the contracts of Mikhail Sergachev and Erik Cernak, both also on eight-year deals. Nick Paul also recently extended his stay in Tampa through the 2028-29 season.

Last year for the Lightning, Cirelli featured in 76 games. He registered 43 points, including 17 goals and 26 assists while averaging 18:19 of ice time per night. His 43 points were the second-highest mark of his career, just one shy of his career-high set in 2019-20.

Across 23 playoff games this season, Cirelli registered 8 points and skated an average of 19:16 per game. Despite getting more playing time in the postseason this year, Cirelli was less productive, having had 12 points the 2020-21 postseason.

The 24-year-old was Tampa Bay's third-round draft pick in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft, and will now see his stay with the Lightning extended through the 2030-31 season.