DiPietro's record 15-year deal will pay him $67.5M
UNIONDALE, N.Y. -- The New York Islanders have become the NHL's version of a three-ring circus -- and the spotlight keeps shining on the guys in net.
"I guess it's pretty beneficial to be a goaltender on Long Island right now," Rick DiPietro said Tuesday, moments after signing the longest playing contract in NHL history.
One week shy of his 25th birthday, the brash netminder from New England grabbed a pen and confidently inked his name to a 15-year deal that will pay him $4.5 million each season until 2021, totaling $67.5 million.
"Well, 15 years seems like a long time," he said before a deep sigh. "It is a long time."
Standing next to him was Garth Snow, his 37-year-old former teammate and backup, who hung up his skates earlier this summer the same day he took over as Islanders general manager. If that was strange enough, he was replacing Neil Smith, who had been on the job a little more than a month.
Snow's biggest priority suddenly became negotiating the deal to keep the Islanders' most popular player in the fold until he's nearly 40.
"At first it was a little awkward," DiPietro said.
And so it goes for the Islanders, who always seem to make more news and noise during the offseason than in winter.
"This is not a big deal," owner Charles Wang said. "You have to have a commitment to who you're working with. I've done this all my business career. Now I'm doing it in sports and everybody is like, 'Oh my God. How could he do that?"'
It's pretty funny when you think about it. Given the mess the Isles are in I'd DiPietro is sick in tired on Long Island in 2 years tops and never even comes close to being an "Islander for life"
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