The Ducks have signed unrestricted free agent Saku Koivu to a 2-year extension worth $2.5 per year, keeping the center in Anaheim at a slight pay cut. Koivu, who turns 36 in November, joined the Ducks in 2009 on a one-year, $3.25 million contract.
Ducks general manager Bob Murray said that he believes that right wing Teemu Selnne is still contemplating retirement, and the Koivu signing was not tied in his mind to Selnne’s decision. But the two Finns share the same agent, Don Baizley, and Koivu’s return certainly won’t dissuade Selnne from coming back.
Murray said that addressing Selnne is his next priority before making another foray into the free-agent market. Earlier Thursday, the Ducks signed free agent defenseman Toni Lydman.