Updated

Heading off speculation that he might test his fortunes elsewhere, the Pittsburgh Penguins and defenseman Kris Letang agreed to an eight-year contract extension on Tuesday.

The deal is worth $58 million for the duration, with an average annual value of $7.25 million per season. It will supersede a four-year extension signed back in March of 2010, which carried him through the 2013-14 campaign.

The 26-year-old is coming off a season in which he was a Norris Trophy candidate, tying for the league lead among blueliners with 38 points and topping the list in assists.

In addition, he set personal postseason bests with 13 assists and 16 points over 15 appearances for the Pens, who advanced to the Eastern Conference finals.

A two-time All-Star selection and 2009 Stanley Cup winner with the franchise, Letang has totaled 44 goals and 165 assists with a plus-42 rating in 385 regular-season games since breaking into the league for the 2006-07 season.

A native of Montreal, Letang ranks second behind only Hall of Famer Larry Murphy on the franchise list for playoff goals (13) and points (47) by a defenseman.