Hurricanes retain Pitkanen with three-year deal
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The Carolina Hurricanes signed Joni Pitkanen to a three-year contract extension Tuesday, plucking a potentially sought-after defenseman out of the impending free-agent market.
Pitkanen, who was set to become an unrestricted free agent on Friday, will earn $4.5 million per year in his new deal. The 27-year-old led all Hurricanes defensemen in assists (30) last season and was second in points (35).
"Joni has been a very important part of our defense as he plays in all situations," Hurricanes General Manager Jim Rutherford said in a statement. "He plays a lot of minutes, and is one of the top puck-movers in the league. We are very pleased that he wanted to return to the Hurricanes."
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The Oulu, Finland native ranked 13th in the NHL in average ice time per game (25:01) last season and the Hurricanes earned points in 26 of the 30 games in which he had a point (21-4-5).
The 6-foot-3, 200-pound defenseman was originally drafted by the Philadelphya Flyers as the No. 4 overall pick in the 2002 NHL Entry Draft.
In 483 career NHL regular-season games with Philadelphia, Edmonton and Carolina, he's accumulated 51 goals, 205 assists and 456 penalty minutes. In 39 career Stanley Cup playoff games, he's recorded 13 assists.
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Pitkanen was acquired by the Hurricanes on July 1, 2008 in exchange for Erik Cole -- who is now a Carolina teammate, but is set to become a UFA on Friday. He won a bronze medal at the 2010 Winter Olympic Games with Finland.