The Ottawa Senators announced on Wednesday that they have signed forward Kyle Turris to a five-year contract extension that will keep him with the team through the 2017-18 season.
The contract will pay him an average annual salary of $3.5 million per season. He will make $1.4 million this season on the last year of a two-year deal.
Ottawa acquired Turris, the No. 3 overall pick in the 2007 draft, from the Phoenix Coyotes last season in exchange for defenseman David Rundblad and a second-round draft pick after he had a lengthy holdout (and at one point asked for a trade) as a restricted free agent.
Turris and the Coyotes struggled to come to terms on a contract before finally agreeing to a two-year deal in late November. Just a few weeks later he was shipped to Ottawa.
In 49 games with the Senators he scored 12 goals and recorded 17 assists setting a new career-high with 29 points. In seven playoff games with the Senators he tallied three points, including a game-winning overtime goal in Game 4 of their opening round round series against the Rangers" data-canon="New York Islanders" data-type="SPORTS_OBJECT_TEAM" id="shortcode0">.
The timing seems a bit odd considering the uncertainty of what the next CBA might look like ($3.5 million per year over the next five years isn't exactly a small investment, no matter what the next CBA is) and the fact that in three years as a regular NHL forward Turris has never topped even 30 points in a single season.
After arriving in Ottawa Turris spent most of his 5-on-5 ice-time playing alongside Daniel Alfredsson.
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