On his way to his fifth straight 20-goal season, Patric Hornqvist was rewarded by the Pittsburgh Penguins with a five-year contract extension worth $26.5 million.
When you score goals like this...
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) February 27, 2018
You get a contract extension like this: https://t.co/U9D7xWX2sD
Congratulations to Patric Hornqvist on a five-year contract extension with an AAV of $5.3 million. pic.twitter.com/7KllC801xH
"This is the city I want to be in and I'm really happy to stay here five more years," Hornqvist said. "We always have a chance to win and we have a great core group in here, so that was obviously the key situation for me, too."
Hornqvist has been a vital part of Pittsburgh's title runs. He scored the series-clinching goal in Game 6 of the 2017 Stanley Cup finals against Nashville.
The 31-year-old has 17 goals and 15 assists in 51 games this season, his fourth with Pittsburgh. The Penguins acquired him from the Nashville Predators in a trade for James Neal in June 2014.
Hornqvist is in the final year of a five-year deal that pays an average of $4.25 million per season. The average annual value on his new deal is $5.3 million.
"We are thrilled for Patric," Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. "He has been such a big part of this team and what they've been able to accomplish. He's a positive guy. He brings a dimension to our dressing room that's unique. There's no one more deserving."
The Sweden native has been remarkably consistent in his career. Besides the strike-shortened 2012-13 campaign and his rookie season, he has posted between 43 and 53 points every season.
Hornqvist plays a physical game, often putting his body in front of the net to grab loose pucks or create room for Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Phil Kessel. The signing also means a core that includes Hornqvist, Crosby and Malkin is under contract well into the next decade.
"I think we have something great here," Hornqvist said. "Just have to go out here and prove it."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
