Predators hunt down Kariya Ex-Maine star signs $9M deal

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Paul Kariya signed Friday with the Nashville Predators, the left winger’s third team in three seasons.

The 30-year-old forward spent his first seven NHL seasons with Anaheim, helping the Mighty Ducks reach the Stanley Cup finals in 2003. Then he joined up with former teammate Teemu Selanne, and the pair signed free agent deals with Colorado for the 2003-04 season.

The former University of Maine All-American is the only freshman to have won the Hobey Baker Award given to the nation’s top college player. He won it while leading Maine to its first NCAA championship in 1992-93.

Kariya signed for two years and $9 million, saying he chose the team that started courting him the moment free agency opened.

“They showed a commitment to me that I was the guy they wanted to bring to Nashville, and I was very excited about their hockey club,” Kariya said by telephone.

“I think it’s a great young hockey club that’s only going to get better. I’m really excited about the speed and the goaltending. With the new rules changes coming, I think it’s only going to benefit Nashville.”

With Colorado, Kariya had career lows with 11 goals and 36 points in an injury-plagued season that limited him to just 51 games.

Kariya missed 31 of the first 38 games because of a sprained wrist, and got into only one playoff game after he sprained his ankle in the Avalanche’s last game of the regular season.

In 10 NHL seasons, Kariya has 311 goals and 705 points in 657 games.

He’ll provide an offensive touch that the expansion franchise has lacked since hitting the ice, and this easily is the biggest move for the Predators.

“This is a day we’ve been waiting for for a long time for this franchise,” general manager David Poile said.

“I think it’s fantastic he chose Nashville to play when we know … he had at least half the clubs in the National Hockey League after him. I think he chose Nashville for a lot of reasons, for reasons which were not all monetary.”

The Predators are one of the smaller-market teams that figured to benefit from the league’s new $39 million salary cap, and Poile said the new labor agreement is working out just as they had hoped.

“This is exactly what we dreamed about when we talked about the new CBA and being on a more level playing field. We’ve seen that already to a certain extent in the free agency period … The dollars are more evenly spread. These guys now are at least attracted to our markets,” Poile said.

Kariya, a seven-time All-Star, has recorded over 100 points twice, gone over 30 goals six times, and has averaged 1.073 points per game for his career.