The Nashville Predators have re-signed forward Austin Watson to a three-year contract extension. It's worth $4.5 million and carries an AAV of $1.5 million.
Watson, 27, was set to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of this season. He's finishing up a contract that paid him $1.1 million per season for three years. Nashville is the only NHL team he's over played for, as he was selected by the team in the first round, 18th overall, in the 2010 entry draft. The six-foot-four, 204 pound winger has played 266 regular season NHL games so far in his career, netting 33 goals and 69 points, with six of those points coming this season (three goals, three assists).
Watson served a suspension for the first 18 games of last season after pleading no contest to a domestic assault charge in July of 2018. His girlfriend, Jenn Guardino, issued a statement in October taking blame for the incident in the parking lot of a gas station, saying she had struggled with alcoholism for years and was involved in AA. In early 2019, Watson was suspended again as part of the NHL's substance abuse program. At that time, he entered Stage Two of the league's substance abuse and behavioural health program "for treatment related exclusively to his ongoing issues with alcohol abuse." In 2018-19, he played a total of just 37 games for Nashville
Around the same time as his 2nd suspension, Watson shared a post on Instagram stating he'd been dealing with anxiety, depression and alcoholism since the age of 18. He said that he was currently sober and committed to a "healthy lifestyle."
-
