Cam Ward signs six-year extension

By Brian LeBlanc
NCSportsTalk.com - Puck Drops
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Last offseason, the Canes made a statement that they were committed to keeping their important players in place for a significant length of time by signing Eric Staal to a seven-year contract extension just before the season began.  This year, they made another statement by sending a Brinks truck to Cam Ward's house.

Ward today signed a six-year extension that kicks in next summer.  The new deal will pay Ward a total of $37.8 million, and it will keep him in a Hurricanes uniform until 2016, when he'll be 32.  In 2010, when the new deal begins, Ward and Staal will be the two top-paid players on the Canes' roster, and by 2011 Ward will be the third-highest paid goaltender in the NHL, trailing only Henrik Lundqvist and Roberto Luongo.

It might be a stretch to say that Ward deserves Luongo-type money, but the record shows that if there's any NHL goalie that deserves over six million dollars a year, it's the Conn Smythe and Stanley Cup champion Ward.  In his four NHL seasons, he's improved his numbers year-over-year each season, and each improvement has been significant; his goals-against average has dropped from 3.68 his rookie season to 2.44 last year.  Ward had a run of six straight playoff series victories until the Canes' loss to the Penguins in the Eastern Conference finals, and entering his fifth NHL season he's already within ten victories of Arturs Irbe on the Canes' all-time wins list despite playing 84 fewer games than Irbe.

Ward said repeatedly at his press conference that he and his wife love the area, and he said that this deal came together quickly given his intention to stay with the Canes long-term.  GM Jim Rutherford said it was important to the stability of the franchise to have both Ward and Staal on lengthy deals, since now they can build a continuous run of success around two franchise players who will both be in place for a long time.

Ward's press conference is attached.  Click for audio from Ward meeting the media after the press conference.

League predictions will be up later tonight.