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Ovechkin signs historic deal to stay with Capitals

Alexander Ovechkin signed one of the richest deals in NHL history on Thursday when the All-Star winger inked a 13-year contract extension with the Washington Capitals worth a reported US$124 million

"I'm happy I stay here," Ovechkin said. "It's my second home. I like the fans. I like the team. I like everything here."

It is the first contract in the history of the National Hockey League over US$100 million, but it's not the longest deal in NHL history. Rick DiPietro signed for 15 years with the New York Islanders. It also doesn't set the record for largest average salary, but it is the league's first contract to guarantee nine digits of income.

risk-taker

"I'm a risk-taker," owner Ted Leonsis said. "And if you're going to make a long-term investment, who else would you do it with?"

The contract will pay Ovechkin US$9 million per year for the first six years and US$10 million per year for the following seven. A limited movement clause begins after several years that will allow Ovechkin to select a handful of teams at the beginning of each season to which he cannot be traded.

And he won't have to pay an agent anything. Ovechkin worked out the details himself in negotiations with Leonsis and general manager George McPhee. The 22-year-old Russian was in the final season of a three-year, entry-level deal.

If he had become a free agent at the end of the season, the Capitals would have had the right to match any offer from another NHL team. Leonsis has long maintained that Ovechkin would remain with the team as the cornerstone of the rebuilding effort to get the team back to the playoffs and eventually win a championship.

goal machine

Ovechkin has scored 130 goals in his two and a half seasons, most among all NHL players over that time span entering Thursday's games. The wing had 52 goals and 54 assists in 2005-06, when he edged Pittsburgh forward Sidney Crosby in the voting for the Calder Trophy as the league's top rookie. Ovechkin followed that up with 46 goals and 46 assists last season.

He entered Thursday tied for second in the NHL with 32 goals this season, helping Washington surge to the fringe of the playoff race.
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