The St. Louis Blues and defenseman Jay Bouwmeester have agreed to terms on a five-year contract extension.
Bouwmeester, set to become a free agent next season, will make $27 million and earn an average value of $5.4 million per season once his current contract expires next year. He has one year remaining on his current deal that will pay him $6.5 million in the 2013-14 season.
Bouwmeester was traded to the Blues from the Calgary Flames on April 1 for a minor-league defenseman, a goalie prospect, and a first-round pick in the 2013 NHL Draft, and has opted to stay in St. Louis for the long-term.
"[The Blues] mentioned something at the end of the year that at some point over the summer they'd be in touch, throw things around and see where everyone's at," Bouwmeester told NHL.com. "It helped that we got on a pretty good roll and won a bunch of games. That makes things more fun and easier for everyone."
Bouwmeester, 29, was brought in to help the Blues defensively on its top unit by pairing with Alex Pietrangelo, who is still in negotiations with the team on a new deal. Bouwmeester scored seven goals and had 22 points in 47 games last season in his time split between the Flames and the Blues. After coming to the Blues, the Edmonton, Alberta native played in 14 regular season games and netted a goal and seven points.
Blues general manager Doug Armstrong credited Bouwmeester for being loyal to the team instead of testing free agency next season.
"The credit on this deal goes to Jay Bouwmeester for stepping up and leaving the potential of free agency and not worrying about that," Armstrong said per NHL.com. "He's excited about our team, he's excited about where we're headed and he wants to be a part of it. You take the money and the years out of the conversation, here's a good player that wants to be a part of our team, and that's exciting for me."
Bouwmeester was there for St. Louis down the stretch last season, eventually leading the team to the fourth seed in the Stanley Cup Playoffs with a 29-17-2 record in the 48 game lockout-shortened season. The team finished with 60 points before it stalled out in the first round. After going up two games to none on the No. 5 Los Angeles Kings, St. Louis lost four straight games and was eliminated.
Next up for the Blues is signing Bouwmeester's partner Pietrangelo.
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