KARIYA GETS RICH THREE-YEAR DEAL
(AP) - The Mighty Ducks' Paul Kariya, who sat out part of one
season because of a contract dispute with Anaheim, has signed a
new three-year deal with the team believed to be worth at least
$10 million annually. Financial terms of the contract were not
made public, but an NHL source said the agreement was for between
$32 million and $33 million. Kariya, a first-team NHL All-Star
three of the past four years, made $8.5 million last season in
the final year of a two-year contract. He had missed 32 games
before finally signing that agreement. This time he was amazed at
the speed of the negotiations. "I'm very happy with the deal,"
Kariya said Wednesday at a news conference at Edison Field, up
the street from the Mighty Ducks' home ice. "It went so smoothly
it kind of caught me off guard how quickly it got done." Kariya,
24, said he got a call from his agent a day earlier saying the
negotiations were complete.
"I had basically told him at the end of the season that getting
this done was his deal, that I wanted to focus on getting ready
for next season," said Kariya, who had 39 goals and 62 assists
for Anaheim last season. He was named a first-team NHL All-Star
last week after finishing third in NHL scoring. Asked if he ever
thought that he might leave the Mighty Ducks, Kariya smiled and
replied: "No. In my heart, I've always known I will be here. I
love it here, and I can't imagine a better place to play hockey."
Said Ducks general manager Pierre Gauthier: "It's great to never
get into a situation where Paul was a free agent. He wanted to
stay and we wanted to keep him. Obviously it is a big day for the
franchise. We want to build this club to become a Stanley Cup
contender and a Stanley Cup champion, and this is a significantstep."
*** For the full story, see
http://www.infobeat.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=2560133217-b78
 
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Deron Treadwell - [log in to unmask]
UMaine Hockey: 1993 & 1999 National Champions
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