Dean Lombardi wanted somebody to embody the spirit and culture of the LA Kings. Two years into his tenure as General Manager, Dustin Brown was named the team’s captain. Four seasons later they won the organization’s first Stanley Cup together.
Now, they’ve made history once again. Lombardi, already having locked up other homegrown players -like Drew Doughty, Anze Kopitar and Jonathan Quick – with long-term deals, took care of Brown today.
The two sides have agreed on an eight-year contract extension, with a cap-hit of $5.875 million ($47M total).
As MayorsManor first reported a few weeks ago, Brown opted to negotiate this deal on his own, without the services of long-time agent Scott Norton.
His new extension will begin with the 2014-15 NHL season. This coming year he’ll be playing out the final year of a six-year deal that features a very ‘cap-friendly’ hit of just $3.175M.
Hear what Lombardi and Luc Robitaille had to say about Brown’s new extenstion here.
The following is from the Kings press release…
Brown, 28, has played his entire nine-year NHL career with the Kings and became the first player in team history to hoist the Stanley Cup when the Kings eliminated the New Jersey Devils in the Stanley Cup Final in June 2012. He’s been the club’s team captain since Oct. 8, 2008 (15th team captain in team history, only American-born team captain and youngest to ever wear the “C” in team history).
During his NHL tenure with the Kings, Brown has accumulated 388 points (181-207=388) and 452 penalty minutes in 641 regular season games. Among the franchise all-time leaders he ranks eighth in games played, 10th in goals, 17th in assists, 12th in points, seventh in power play goals (69) and tied for seventh in game-winning goals (25).
The 6-0, 212-pound native of Ithaca, N.Y. has also appeared in 50 postseason games with the Kings, recording 31 points (13-18=31), 54 penalty minutes and a plus-8 rating. Among the franchise all-time playoff leaders he ranks tied for seventh in games played, tied for eighth in goals, 13th in assists, tied for 11th in points, tied for fourth in plus-minus, tied for seventh in power play goals (five), tied for first in short-handed goals (two) and tied for fifth in game-winning goals (three).
Brown, who was an NHL All-Star in 2009, has consistently been a league leader in hits throughout his career. From 2006-07 to 2011-12 Brown ranked either first, second or third in the league in hits, while ranking eighth in hits last season.
Brown is also an integral part of the Kings community relations programs throughout Southern California. He’s received the clubs yearly Community Service Award three times (2008-09, 2009-10 and 2010-11) and was awarded the NHL Foundation Player Award in 2010-11. Brown has also been named the Kings Most Popular Player four times (2007-08, 2008-09, 2009-10 and 2012-13) and Most Inspirational Player (“Ace Bailey Memorial Award”) in 2007-08.
Internationally, Brown has represented the United States several times, most recent at the 2010 Winter Olympics, where Team USA earned a silver medal. Brown was also a member of Team USA at the World Championships four times (2004 – bronze medal, 2006, 2008 and 2009) and the World Junior Championships twice (2002 and 2003).
Brown was drafted by the Kings in the first round (13th overall) in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft. He made his NHL debut Oct. 9, 2003 at Detroit and at the time was the fifth youngest player in Kings history to play in the NHL.
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Does the new contract include a no-trade clause?