Blue Jackets sign Mathieu Olivier to six-year extension

The Columbus Blue Jackets are locking up one of their league’s top heavyweights.

Columbus signed Mathieu Olivier to a six-year extension Wednesday with a $3 million average annual value, worth a total of $18 million.

Olivier’s deal also includes a 10-team no-trade clause and is front-loaded, according to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman.

The 28-year-old has registered a career-high 12 goals and 21 points through 61 games this season along with 113 penalty minutes. He has also seen his ice time increase to a career-high of 14:26 per game.

“Mathieu Olivier has emerged as a key contributor on and off the ice thanks to his work ethic, dedication, leadership and other intangibles that are critical to a team’s success,” said general manager Don Waddell. “Ensuring that Mathieu remains a Blue Jacket was a priority for us and we are ecstatic that he and his family will be part of our Blue Jackets family for many years.”

Olivier joins Ottawa Senators captain Brady Tkachuk as the only players in the league with 10-plus goals and more than 70 penalty minutes.

Waddell has credited Olivier with being a big part of the Blue Jackets exceeding expectations and contending for a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

“I give (defenceman Zach) Werenski and Sean Monahan so much credit along with Mathieu Olivier because these guys have stepped up in the room when times need it,” Waddell told The Associated Press in a recent phone interview. “All three of them are true professionals. The young guys can learn from these kind of guys, their preparation for practice, their preparation for games.”

He is the only player born in Mississippi to make it to the NHL. Olivier was born in Biloxi while his dad, Simon, was playing in the ECHL, and the family moved to Europe and other places, with Mathieu playing much of his advanced youth and junior hockey in Canada’s province of Quebec.

— With files from the Associated Press