The Chicago Blackhawks have re-signed forward Patrick Sharp to a five-year contract extension worth $29.5 million
The average annual cap hit for the deal is $5.9 million per season.
The 29-year-old forward had one of his best offensive seasons in 2010-11 scoring 34 goals and 71 points for the defending champion Blackhawks, who were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs by the Vancouver Canucks in seven games.
Sharp had three goals and five points against the Canucks in the post-season.
Blackhawks' general manager Stan Bowman sees Sharp as a major building block in his team's future success.
"Patrick is a very important member of our organization and we are looking forward to him being part of a core group that will be a contender for many years to come," Bowman said in a release. “Over the last several years we have seen him develop into one of the game's elite players as well as a fixture in the community."
The Thunder Bay, Ontario native was drafted by the Flyers in the third round (95th overall) of the 2001 NHL Entry Draft out of the University of Vermont.
He was acquired by the Blackhawks from the Flyers in a 2005 trade along with Eric Meloche for Matt Ellison and Chicago's third-round choice in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft.
