Calgary Flames re-sign Forward Attacker Alex Tanguay to 5-year, $17.5 million Contract –NHL Update
In a move to retain one of the National Hockey League’s (NHL) top attacker, Alex Tanguay, Calgary Flames re-signed him to a prime, five-year, $17.5 million contract on Saturday during the second day of the 2011 NHL Entry Draft.
Calgary had to make room on its salary cap in order to re-sign Tanguay and thus, traded its veteran defenseman Robyn Regehr to Buffalo Sabres to make way.
“I think I’m hitting my prime right now. All the way until this contract ends, I feel that those are going to be my best hockey years. I’m somewhere mentally that I wasn’t before. I’ve got experience; I’ve got the knowledge to do it. My body feels good”,
Tanguay said after signing.
Tanguay was drafted in the 1998 NHL Entry Draft by the Colorado Avalanche as the 12th pick overall during the first round.
He played nearly six full seasons with Avalanche until finally being transferred to Calgary, where he spent the next two seasons.
During the 2008-2009 and 2009-2010 seasons, Tanguay played with Montreal Canadiens and Tampa Bay Lightning until ultimately returning to Calgary again the following season.
According to team general managery, Jay Feaster, the Canadian club was persuaded by Captain Jarome Iginla to keep Tanguay on the line-up due to his game-play making strategies.
“I was excited when I woke up and saw that Tangs had signed,” said Iginla, who had to do a lot of lobbying with team management and other players to encourage them to also support keeping Tanguay on the roster. “I was counting down to July 1, and you never
know how that’s gonna go.
The 31-year-old left wing played 79 games with Calgary last season in which he registered an impressive 69 points consisting of 22 goals and 47 assists.
The Canadian native from Ste-justine, Quebec, has played a total of 818 games in his NHL career for a total of 686 points, 225 goals and 461 assists, which goes to show that he really is a play maker.
Calgary might not have made the playoffs this team, but their run in the final games of the season really went to show that they are capable of being ranked as one of the top teams in the league.
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