Frank Vatrano signed a three-year, $18 million contract with the Anaheim Ducks on Sunday.
“All I wanted (for) a long time was to be a Duck. It didn’t matter what money I was making or anything," Vatrano said. "I wanted to play here, I didn’t want to play anywhere else. I’m just happy to help these young guys grow and be a part of it.”
The contract, which will have an average annual value of $4.57 million, will pay Vatrano $3 million in each of the next three seasons, with the remaining $9 million in deferred salary beginning in 2035.
Ducks general manager Pat Verbeek said Jeff Solomon, the team's vice president of hockey operations and assistant general manager, came to him last summer with the idea to structure a contract similar to Shohei Ohtani's with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
"As this process went along, I think 'Frankie' was looking for a number and we were looking for a number. ... We looked at it and said this could be the perfect scenario for us to present this to Frankie and his agent Peter Fish," Verbeek said. "I'm grateful that they were open to this idea of how we set this sort of thing up, and I think as the talks evolved it became clear that this was going to be a scenario that satisfied the club and what we were looking for and also satisfy Frankie."
"What players don't realize is when you retire, those checks that you've been getting for the last 10 years suddenly stop, and this allowed Frankie to be able to have a situation where he's going to provide for his family and take care of them for the next 10 years after. The more we talked about it and the more the other side understood it, it became a win-win for all of us."
The 30-year-old undrafted forward, who could have become an unrestricted free agent after this season, is tied for second on the Ducks with 23 points (11 goals, 12 assists) in 38 games this season after scoring an NHL career-high 37 goals in 82 games last season.
"It means everything. This is home for us," Vatrano said. "I can't say enough good things about this team, the guys, the organization, the staff. We love it here and we're excited to be here another three years.
“This is one of the best rooms I’ve been a part of. I’m excited for the change here and the culture that we’re trying to build. I’m just so thrilled to be part of it in the future.”
Vatrano signed a three-year contract with Anaheim on July 13, 2022, after helping the New York Rangers reach the Eastern Conference Final. He has 294 points (171 goals, 123 assists) in 602 regular-season games for the Boston Bruins, Florida Panthers, Rangers and Ducks, and 16 points (seven goals, nine assists) in 34 Stanley Cup Playoff games.
"We're excited to have Frankie in a sense that he wants to be here," Verbeek said. "We value his goal-scoring ability, and I think that's going to be important as we start to become more competitive in one or two years."
NHL.com independent correspondent Dan Arritt contributed to this report.
