The Anaheim Ducks continued today’s trend of last-minute contract extensions, locking up speedy defenseman Cam Fowler to a five-year contract extension.
The deal will be worth $20 million overall and $4 million per season according to Curtis Zupke. That means Fowler is under contract through the 2017-18 campaign.
Fowler replaces Lubomir Visnovsky in two significant ways: being the teams go-to skating blueliner and becoming Anaheim’s highest-paid defenseman once that extension kicks in.
The 20-year-old still has a year left on his entry-level contract. He fell to the Ducks as the 12th pick in the 2010 NHL Draft after many believed he would go third overall.
Fowler has shown offensive flair so far in his career, but a -53 rating in two seasons also highlights significant room to improve in his own end.
Matt Reitz reports that Ducks GM Bob Murray described Fowler as “a character kid with a great chance to become an elite defenseman.”