On Monday, the Colorado Avalanche announced the signing of Paul Stastny to a five-year, $33 million contract which will begin during the 2009-10 season. Stastny, 22, is currently leading the Avalanche with 15 points in 16 games, after leading the team in scoring with 71 points a season ago as a 21-year old.
Stastny said he was in a state of shock about the deal because just two years ago he was in college, and now he's signing a contract for $33 million to play hockey. Two years after I was in college I was sitting in a cubicle pounding out reports about product movement and how they might help promote long-term growth in the marketplace. I should have spent more time working on my skating.
Stastny's deal is worth slightly less annually than the seven-year, $47 million deal Kings center Anze Kopitar signed prior to the season. Both players are playing in their third seasons, and were selected in the 2005 entry draft, with Kopitar going No. 11 overall, and Stastny going in the second round, No. 44 overall.
Some reactions from the Avalanche blogs:
The Avslova Factor feels they ended up with a good deal for their future franchise player.
ColoradoAvalancheBlog is also quite happy with the unexpected news (unexpected because it happened so early in the season).
Mile High Hockey just couldn't imagine "Son of Stastny" wearing another logo.
Get Your Passports
Yesterday, we told you about Claude Lemieux joining Wade Flaherty as a member of the China Sharks in the Asia Hockey League. Well, he wasn't the only player to sign across the pond this past week.
... Bryan Berardsigned a deal with Vityaz Chehkov of the KHL this week. Berard, a former No. 1 overall pick of the Ottawa Senators in 1995, joins what has been the worst team in the KHL.
Berard won the Calder Trophy as the league's rookie of the year during the 1996-97 season, and made it back to the NHL after nearly losing his eye in a game against Ottawa during the 2000 season.
... Remember Niko Dimitrakos? Yes? No? Cool name, either way. He signed with Skelleftea AIK of the Swedish Elite League this past week. Here's the visual proof, if you can read Swedish. Dimitrakos spent four years in the NHL with San Jose and Philadelphia, scoring 24 goals and picking up 38 assists.
Odds and Ends... The Philippe Boucher-for-Daryl Sydor swap that Eric told you about this week is a winner for the Penguins, if for no other reason than it should assure us that Brooks Orpik and/or Mark Eaton will never again see time on the point of the team's No. 2 power play unit.
... With Marian Gaborik trade rumors reaching a frenzy this week, scouts from Tampa Bay, Ottawa and Anaheim were in attendance at last night's Penguins-Wild game. Naturally, Gaborik wasn't in the lineup, but they could have been looking at other players as part of a potential blockbuster for the oft-injured, yet extremely talented forward.
... Brendan Shanahan still hasn't signed with a team, more than a week after his agent said he would be signed by the end of the week.
Weekly Rebounds: Paul Stastny Staying in Colorado for 5 More Years originally appeared on NHL FanHouse on Wed, 19 Nov 2008 13:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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