Stanley Cup Hero Patrick Roy Signs To Stick With Avalanche

Patrick Roy, whose goaltending helped bring the Stanley Cup to Denver, signed a multi-year contract with the Colorado Avalanche, the team announced Tuesday.

The Avalanche also said that free agent Alexei Gusarov, a defenseman, also signed a multi-year contract and right wing Claude Lemieux agreed to a contract extension that should keep him in Colorado for the remainder of his career.

Terms of the contracts weren’t announced, but Roy reportedly was paid about $3 million.

Roy said his main goal was to remain with the Avalanche, “and I am glad I didn’t have to go in arbitration to come to new terms.”

Roy went to arbitration in 1993 and his agent, Bob Suave, said he would seek arbitration if Roy didn’t receive a new contract ranging from two to four years.

Roy was acquired by the Avalanche on Dec. 6 in a trade that sent Jocelyn Thibault, Martin Rucinsky and Andrei Kovalenko to the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for the All-Star goaltender and former Canadien Mike Keane.

The San Jose Sharks filled their need for a top center, signing veteran free agent Bernie Nicholls to a two-year contract with an option, general manager Dean Lombardi said.

Nicholls, a 15-year NHL veteran, has played the past two years with the Chicago Blackhawks. Last season, he had 19 goals and 41 assists in 59 games.

The Hartford Whalers have signed goalie Jean-Sebastien Giguere - their top draft pick in 1995 - to a three-year contract worth more than $2 million.

Giguere, 19, was introduced at a news conference. The 6-foot Montreal native was the 13th overall pick in the 1995 NHL Entry Draft. After he attended training camp last year, the Whalers made an offer, but neither side was in a hurry to sign and he went back to juniors.