On Friday, the Anaheim Ducks announced a five-year contract extension for defenseman Simon Despres. Despres' new deal will carry him through the 2020-21 NHL season. Per ESPN's Pierre LeBrun, the extension has a total value of $18.5 million with an AAV of $3.7 million. The breakdown of Despres' new deal is as such:
$2.6 million
$3.1 million
$4.7 million
$4.7 million
$3.4 million
A former first-round pick of the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 2009 NHL Draft, the 24-year-old Despres was acquired by the Ducks in exchange for defenseman Ben Lovejoy in one of the league's rare player-for-player trades in March ahead of the league's trade deadline. He's appeared in 160-career NHL games between the Penguins and Ducks and has 39 career points and a plus-29 career rating.
For a young player, Despres is already well-seasoned, having appeared in the Stanley Cup Playoffs three times as a member of the Penguins. He has a total of seven career postseason points. With the Ducks, Despres has found himself on the second-pairing alongside fellow promising youngster, Cam Fowler.
In 16 regular season games last year for Anaheim, Despres potted one goal and six points total. He added all seven of his career postseason points in 16 playoff contests in 2014-15.
"A native of Laval, Quebec, Despres won silver with Team Canada at the 2011 World Junior Championship after picking up three assists (0-3=3) along with a +7 rating in seven tournament games," the Ducks release announcing the move reads. "He played four QMJHL seasons with Saint John from 2007-11, collecting 25-109=134 points with a +89 rating and 245 PIM. Despres was named the league's Best Defenseman in 2010-11 after leading Saint John to a 2011 Memorial Cup title and QMJHL Championship."
