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On the first day possible, and technically a few minutes before, the Carolina Hurricanes have come to an agreement with the newly acquired Jordan Staal on a contract extension. Jordan's current contract expires after the upcoming season and will pay him $4.5M and carry a cap hit of $4M. His new contract is for a ten year term with a total price tag of $60M. The press release mentions that the deal will pay Jordan $6M per year, so it doesn't look as if this deal is front loaded or carries a signing bonus.
The signing of this extension brings to an end the saga that started after the end of the previous season and resulted in the Carolina Hurricanes acquiring Jordan Staal on draft day for the #8 overall pick, Brandon Sutter, and Brian Dumoulin. Jordan, who is currently 23, will be 24 years old when his contract extension begins and it will carry him in to his mid-thirties.
Eric Staal's current contract has four more seasons on if, including this year, meaning Jordan has been locked up well beyond the time when Eric could become a free agent.
The official release after the break.
‘CANES AGREE TO TERMS WITH JORDAN STAAL
ON 10-YEAR CONTRACT
Forward was acquired on June 22; new contract starts in 2013-14
RALEIGH, NC - Jim Rutherford, President and General Manager of the National Hockey League's Carolina Hurricanes, today announced that the team has agreed to terms with center Jordan Staal on a 10-year contract extension. The deal begins with the 2013-14 NHL season and extends through the 2022-23 season, paying Staal $6 million per season.
"We are very pleased that Jordan has chosen to commit to the Hurricanes organization and to make North Carolina his home," said Rutherford. "At 23 years old he is just starting to come into his prime, and he now represents a cornerstone of our franchise for the long term."
Staal, 23, completed his sixth NHL season in 2011-12, posting career highs in assists (25) and points (50), and a career second-best 25 goals, despite playing in just 62 of Pittsburgh's 82 regular-season games. The Thunder Bay, Ont., native added six goals and three assists (9 points) to lead the Penguins in scoring in their six-game, first-round playoff series against Philadelphia.
In six NHL seasons with Pittsburgh, Staal (6'4", 220 lbs.) has scored 120 goals, earned 128 assists and posted a plus-53 plus/minus rating in 431 regular-season games. The Penguins have qualified for the playoffs in each of his six seasons, and he captured the Stanley Cup withPittsburgh in 2009. In 73 career Stanley Cup playoff games, he has scored 23 goals and earned 13 assists (36 points). The Penguins selected Staal in the first round, second overall, in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft. He is the younger brother of Hurricanes captain Eric Staal.
Jordan Staal's career statistics are below.
The Carolina Hurricanes will open their 2012 exhibition schedule on Sept. 26 at Columbus, and play their first exhibition home game on Sept. 28 against the Nashville Predators. For information on 2012-13 Carolina Hurricanes ticket packages, please visitwww.CarolinaHurricanes.com, or call 1-866-NHL-CANES.