The Anaheim Ducks have announced the signing center Adam Henrique to a
five-year contract extension. The deal carries an average annual value (AAV) of
 $5.825 million per year.

UNCLE RICO IS STAYING IN ANAHEIM!

We've signed @AdamHenrique to a five-year contract extension through the
2023-24 season: https://t.co/9eVSOD7LC7 pic.twitter.com/gTGNVLA270

- Anaheim Ducks (@AnaheimDucks) July 16, 2018

The 2018-19 season will mark the final year of a contract that pays Henrique an
 average of $4 million per season. His new five-year pact will kick in
beginning with the 2019-20 season.Ducks Lock Up Henrique

Henrique, who came over this past season from the New Jersey Devils in the
first half of the season in a trade that involved defenseman Sami Vatanen being
 shipped out of Anaheim, fit in with the Ducks seamlessly upon his arrival. He
provided Anaheim with solid center depth, which was especially key with Ryan
Kesler clearly not operating at 100 percent at any point during the season.

The Ontario native scored 20 goals in just 57 regular-season games with the
Ducks following the trade while adding 16 helpers. That equates to 29 goals
over a full 82 games, which is some scoring the Ducks would welcome for the
next six seasons. Between the Devils and the Ducks, Henrique reached 50 points
in 81 games in 2017-18 (24 goals and 26 assists). It was the third time in his
seven-year career that he hit that threshold.Adam Henrique is now under
contract with Anaheim for the next six seasons. (Photo by Norm Hall/NHLI via
Getty Images)

Henrique formed noticeable chemistry in the latter half of the season centering
 a line with Nick Ritchie and Ondrej Kase on his wings. The trio managed a
5-on-5 Corsi-for percentage of 52.99 percent on a team that posted a mark of
just 48.62 percent in total. They also managed an incredible goals-for
percentage of 77.27 percent at 5-on-5. While a number that high certainly has
some luck involved, Henrique';s line was on the positive side of the expected
goals for (xGF%) metric, at 51.21 percent.

Beyond the noticeable on-ice chemistry Henrique had with his linemates, the
pivot pointed to an overall chemistry and comfort level he felt as soon as he
arrived in Anaheim.

"I felt like I had been there for years with some of those guys," Henrique said
 in a statement released by the Ducks. "It';s one of the reasons I wanted to
stay. I';m excited it';s done, I';m excited for what';s ahead and I';m excited
for hopefully bringing a Cup back there."Implications for Ducks

As solid of a player as Henrique is and as well as he fit in with the Ducks,
the terms of his contract do bring up some questions.

First of all, Henrique is 28 years old now, which means he will be 34 by the
time the contract expires. It';s quite reasonable to question if he can keep up
 this level of production throughout the full duration of the contract. After
all, Anaheim has already seen diminishing returns on the mega-contracts of
33-year-olds Corey Perry and Ryan Kesler. On a team that needs to get younger
and faster, committing to Henrique for such a long-term does not totally jibe
with that vision.

Furthermore, Henrique';s AAV of over $5.8 million further complicates the
Ducks'; salary cap situation for next year. His raise of nearly $2 million per
year seems to increase the likelihood that an important role player like Jakob
Silfverberg will eventually leave town, either via trade or unrestricted free
agency next summer.Could Henrique';s extension be a factor in spelling the end
of Jakob Silfverberg';s tenure in Anaheim? (Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports)

Henrique was always going to get a raise from his $4-million AAV, but his new
figure is arguably a bit high. Matt Cane of Hockey Graphs, for instance, has a
model that saw Henrique making $5.5 million per season on a five-year deal.

Bringing back a good player like Henrique, who thrived immediately in Anaheim,
makes sense. The number of years and amount of dollars involved, though, could
handcuff the Ducks somewhat in their effort to gradually remake their team.

In any event, Henrique should in the short term be a 20-plus-goal player for
the Ducks and add value like he did in 2017-18. Beyond that, his role will only
 be more important if Kesler misses part or all of the 2018-19 season.

The post Ducks Sign Henrique to Contract Extension appeared first on The Hockey
 Writers.

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