Vancouver Canucks, Alexander Edler agree to six-year, $30 million -NHL Update
It was rumored to happen at some point or another but both sides are just happy that they got it done before the National Hockey League (NHL) regular season kicked off as the Vancouver Canucks signed top level defenseman, Alexander Edler, to a six-year,
$30 million contract on Friday.
The Vancouver Canucks General Manager announced the deal through the media as one day remains till the season kicks off following a four-month long lockout which had seen the league losing out on nearly half of the season.
“It’s a tremendous thing for our club to have a player like Alex signed,” said Canuck assistant GM Laurence Gilman, who is the team’s chief negotiator. “He was the seventh highest scoring defenceman in the league last season, he plays nearly 24 minutes a
game, he plays on the power play and kills penalties and he is only getting better. Alex has not yet reached the prime of his career.” – According to the Vancouver Sun.
The 26-year-old is a native of Ostersund, Sweden, and was picked up by the Vancouver Canucks as the 91st overall back in round-three of the 2004 NHL Entry Draft. He has played in six seasons up until now and accumulated a total of 184 points (43
goals, 141 assists) in 386 games played and 200 minutes in penalty time.
“Having him signed means our defence is going to be stable for years to come,” Gilman added.
Last season was his biggest as he potted 49 points (11 goals, 38 assists) in 82 games played and 34 penalty minutes. The new deal is a major boost from his previous deal which gave him $3.25 million every year and will now be giving him $5 million annually.
His current contract will continue going on till the end of the 2012-2013 regular season, bringing into effect his new deal after that.
It will be interesting to see what happens in the upcoming season as Edler will also be a major player in the race for teams to get to the Stanley Cup Playoffs in a shortened 48-game regular season which will have many teams making all sorts of sacrifices
to get to the top.
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