Rick DiPietro signs new 15-year deal with Islanders
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by cityhockeyfever
ArmchairGM writer
In what has been a very quiet summer for the NHL following the first two to three weeks of July, the New York Islanders have made some headlines today with the signing of goaltender Rick DiPietro to get this... a new 15-year, $67.5 million contract. The deal is intended to keep DiPietro in an Islanders uniform for his entire NHL career.
As much as this contract will get hockey fans talking, it is not the longest contract in NHL history. Wayne Gretzky signed a 21-year deal when he entered the league in 1979 with the Edmonton Oilers. The longest in North American professional sports was when the Los Angeles Lakers signed Earvin "Magic" Johnson, Jr. to a whopping 25-year, $25 million contract in 1981. Johnson played his entire career with that National Basketball Association club before it was cut short on November 7, 1991 due to being diagnosed with HIV.
More to come in a revision of this article, including coverage of the Islanders press conference to officially announce the signing.
Source
- The Associated Press
Date
Tue 09/12/06, 9:40 am EST
