The Pittsburgh Penguins have locked up one of their young defensemen, agreeing to a deal with Brian Dumoulin on a six-year, $24.6 million contract to avoid arbitration.
Dumoulin, 25, has played in all 49 of the Penguins' playoff games the past two seasons, helping Pittsburgh win back-to-back Stanley Cups.
He had six points (one goal, five assists) this postseason and averaged 21.59 minutes of ice time, the most of any Penguins player in the playoffs. His plus-9 in the postseason was best among the Penguins' defensemen.
Dumoulin was a second-round pick of the Hurricanes in 2009 but was traded to Pittsburgh along with Brandon Sutter and a first-round pick for Jordan Staal in June 2012.
According to CapFriendly.com, the Penguins now have $6.28 million in projected cap space, but they still have to sign restricted free agent Conor Sheary. The 25-year-old forward had 23 goals and 53 points last season, often skating on Sidney Crosby's line. But Sheary's production fell in the postseason.