The Colorado Avalanche have signed Matt Duchene to a five-year contract extension that will run through the 2018-19 season, the team announced on Thursday.
Financial terms of the deal were not released by the team, but Stephen Whyno of the Canadian Press reports the contract is worth $30 million over the five years. That comes out to a salary cap hit of $6 million per year. He will be eligible for unrestricted free agency when he's 28 years old.
He's set to make $3.5 million during the 2013-14 season as part of the two-year contract that he signed last year as a restricted free agent.
Duchene, the No. 3 overall pick in the 2009 draft, is coming off a bounceback season that saw him score 17 goals to go with 26 assists in 47 games. It was his most productive season to date in the NHL, and he did it while playing against the other team's best players on a nightly basis.
"Matt already is and will be a big part of our team's nucleus for the long term," Joe Sakic, vice president of hockey operations, said in a team statement. "We all felt that it was important for us to secure his rights for several seasons. With his great skills, speed and character, he represents the identity we want the Avalanche to be."
In 266 career games, he has scored 82 goals and recorded 111 assists.
Duchene, 22, is part of an impressive collection of young forwards in Colorado that also includes Gabriel Landeskog, Ryan O'Reilly and 2013 No. 1 overall draft pick Nathan MacKinnon.
