Canadiens agree to terms on a three-year entry-level contract with defenseman Gianni Fairbrother
MONTREAL (March 1st, 2021) – Montreal Canadiens general manager Marc Bergevin announced today that the team has agreed to terms on a three-year, entry-level contract (2021-22 to 2023-24) with defenseman Gianni Fairbrother.
The agreement, which has an AAV of $848,333.33, will see Fairbrother earn $750,000 at the NHL level in both 2021-22 and 2022-23 and $775,000 in 2023-24. The deal also contains signing bonus payments of $92,500 in both 2021-22 and 2022-23 and $85,000 in 2023-24. Fairbrother is set to make $70,000 per season at the AHL level.
Fairbrother, 20, tallied 25 points in 37 games in 2019-20 with the Everett Silvertips in the WHL. The 6’01’’ and 200 lbs defenseman missed the second half of the season due to an upper body injury which needed an operation.
This season, Fairbrother made his professional debuts in the American Hockey League, playing three games with the Laval Rocket. The left-handed defenseman, a North Vancouver, BC native registered an assist in his first game with the Rocket. This year, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, junior-eligible players were granted the possibility to play with the AHL affiliates while waiting for the different junior leagues to start their respective seasons.
Fairbrother was selected in the third round (77th overall) by the Canadiens at the 2019 NHL Entry Draft.
