Senators, left wing Michalek in contract talks: report

The Ottawa Senators and left wing Milan Michalek are in discussions about a new contract for the 29-year-old impending free agent, the Ottawa Citizen reported Tuesday.

Michalek played in all 82 games this season, bouncing back after a slow start to score 17 goals and 39 points. He had seven goals and five assists in his final 19 games while playing on a line with Jason Spezza and Ales Hemsky.

Michalek can become an unrestricted free agent on July 1 after completing a six-year contract, which carried an average annual value of $4.33 million (according to capgeek.com), including a salary of $6 million in 2013-14.

Michalek, taken by the San Jose Sharks with the sixth pick in the 2003 NHL Draft, came to the Senators in the summer of 2009 in a trade that sent forward Dany Heatley to San Jose. His best season with the Senators came in 2011-12, when he scored a career-high 35 goals and finished with 60 points. However, he missed much of the 2012-13 season with knee problems and finished with four goals and 14 points in 23 games.