Hockey player signs $20 million NHL contract
The captain of the Swiss national ice hockey team, Mark Streit, has signed a five-year contract worth $20 million (SFr20.35 million) with the New York Islanders.
The deal makes him the second highest earning Swiss sportsman after world tennis champion Roger Federer.
After three seasons with the Montreal Canadiens, Streit was an “unrestricted free agent” and could choose from ten different offers.
“Mark was someone we targeted from the beginning and we’re thrilled he’s an Islander,” the team’s general manager Garth Snow said in a statement.
The 30-year-old defender from canton Bern is a veteran of 205 National Hockey League (NHL) games in the United States and Canada since 2004. He also has eight years’ experience in the Swiss League, playing for Fribourg, Davos, Ambri and the Zurich Lions.
A power play specialist, last year Streit played in 81 games with Montreal and scored 13 goals with 49 assists for 62 points.
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