The St. Louis Blues re-signed defenseman Roman Polak to a five-year contract extension, the team announced Thursday.
TSN is reporting the deal is worth $13.75 million, with an annual cap hit of $2.75 million.
In a conference call Thursday afternoon, St. Louis General Manager Doug Armstrong called the deal exciting, both for the Blues organization and for Polak.
"I have a strong belief in what he's going to be," Armstrong said. "He's going to be a primary, shutdown defenseman. There's real definition in his game right now, so to lock up someone who's going to play in the prime of his career is exciting."
The 25-year-old Polak played in 55 games this past season for the Blues, recording 12 points (3 goals, 9 assists) and 33 penalty minutes.
Polak, an Ostrava, Czech Republic native, was drafted by St. Louis in the sixth round (180th) in the 2004 Entry Draft and has played in 227 career NHL games, all with the Blues.
Armstrong called Polak one of the top defensive defensemen in the League, as well as an exceptional penalty killer.
The GM said that by giving the 6-foot-1, 227-pound defenseman a long-term deal, Polak is given security -- he knows that he will be "well-compensated and well taken care of" and can now focus solely on hockey.
"We know what he's going to do for the next five years," Armstrong said. "We ask him to play against the other team's top line … and make life miserable for them. And I think he does a really good job of that."
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