Jean-Gabriel Pageau signed a three-year contract with the New York Islanders on Friday. Financial terms were not disclosed.
The 33-year-old center is in the final season of a six-year contract he signed with the Islanders on Feb. 24, 2020, the same day he was acquired in a trade with the Ottawa Senators. He could have become an unrestricted free agent on July 1.
Pageau has 29 points (14 goals, 15 assists) in 55 games for the Islanders this season. He leads their forwards in short-handed time on ice per game (2:35) and is tied for first in blocks (45). Pageau is fourth in the NHL in face-off winning percentage (60.1) among skaters who have taken at least 500 draws.
"I got in discussions with him last week,” Islanders general manager Mathieu Darche said. “You saw the attention on centers in the market this year, and I want to see if I'd be able to get a deal before risking losing him for nothing. And I thought, you know him and his agent did a great job. It was fairly easy negotiation; we talked, and I think it's a deal that fits for us going forward.”
Selected by Ottawa in the fourth round (No. 96) of the 2011 NHL Draft, Pageau has 393 points (173 goals, 222 assists) in 852 regular-season games for Ottawa and New York, including 213 points (86 goals, 127 assists) in 424 regular-season games for the Islanders. He also has 43 points (24 goals, 19 assists) in 86 career Stanley Cup Playoff games.
The Islanders (35-23-5), who are tied for second in the Metropolitan Division, visit the San Jose Sharks on Saturday (10 p.m. ET; MSGSN, NBCSCA).
NHL.com independent correspondent Stefen Rosner contributed to this report
