Wednesday, May 28, 2008

The Washington Capitals have re-signed Matt Bradley to a three-year, $3 million contract extension.

The checking-line winger, who turns 30 next month, had seven goals and 11 assists in 77 games last season. He also had a plus-minus rating of plus-1 and took a career-high 111 shots on goal.

A popular player and respected voice in the locker room, Bradley also was involved in 10 fights, second to Donald Brashear's 12. He would have become an unrestricted free agent on July 1.

Bradley earned $700,000 in each of the past two seasons, but is scheduled to earn $1 million in each of the next three.

"I wanted to stay here, obviously," he said by phone. "There's never security in hockey. You always have to play like it's your last game, but it's nice to know where you're going to be for a while. We're on the brink, and we're only going to get better."

-- Tarik El-Bashir