Carolina Hurricanes sign goalie Cam Ward to 2-year extension
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) The Carolina Hurricanes have signed goaltender Cam Ward to a two-year, $6.6 million contract extension.
The team announced the deal Thursday. Ward will be paid $3.5 million next season and $3.1 million in 2017-18, keeping the 32-year-old netminder with the team that selected him in the first round of the 2002 draft.
His tenure with the team includes the Hurricanes' run to the 2006 Stanley Cup, with Ward earning the Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player of the playoffs as a rookie that year.
Ward, the only remaining player from that Cup-winning team, is the team's all-time leader with 269 wins, 23 shutouts and 564 games played by a goaltender. Ward's 269 wins rank 17th in NHL history for most wins with one franchise.
His future with the Hurricanes has been a frequent topic in recent months. He finished the final year of a six-year contract that paid him $6.8 million, going 23-17-10 with a 2.41 goals-against average that was the second-best of an 11-year NHL career.
Ward said in April he was ''remaining optimistic that something can happen'' to keep him with Carolina. He also said he considered Raleigh home and his priority was ''being where I'd like to be.''
''Cam has been a major face of the Hurricanes both on the ice and in our community for more than a decade,'' general manager Ron Francis said in a statement Thursday. ''We are happy he has chosen to continue his career in Carolina.''
The Hurricanes also agreed a one-year deal with center Derek Ryan worth $600,000 on the NHL level or $300,000 in the American Hockey League with a guaranteed minimum of $350,000
