The Anaheim Ducks didn’t waste any time locking in Kevin Bieksa.
Acquired yesterday from Vancouver in exchange for a 2016 second-round pick, Bieksa today agreed to a two-year, $8 million extension with the Ducks -- keeping him in Anaheim through 2018.
The 34-year-old has one year left on his current deal (at $4.6M per), so this latest extension won’t kick in until the 2016-17 campaign. While the new deal is a slight pay cut, it’s still a pretty healthy salary for a guy that looked to be slowing down last season, especially in Vancouver’s opening-round playoff loss to Calgary.
Still, Bieksa can be an effective player both offensively and defensively when healthy, and he did miss extensive time last year to a broken hand. He’ll also add some veteran know-how and grit to the Anaheim blueline, especially with Francois Beauchemin likely to sign elsewhere in free agency.
The move to Anaheim will, as has been mentioned earlier, re-united him with former Canucks teammate and roommate Ryan Kesler.