In the wake of the LA Kings last month  re-signing young star center Anze Kopitar some pundits expressed concern that the Colorado Avalanche had not done the same with Paul Stastny.

Turns out those concerns were unfounded as the Avalanche yesterday re-signed Stastny to a lucrative five-year contract extension which begins in the 2009-10 season.

Stastny's new contract is worth $33 million, which will average $6.6 million per season against the Avalanche's cap from the '09-'10 season until the 2013-14 season.  That deal is two years shorter and $200K per season cheaper than Kopitar's deal.

No surprise that Stastny's deal would be pretty much the same as Kopitar as they're comparable players, although Stastny does currently have a slight edge in career points (164 to 151). There was no way the Avs were going to get cheap with their future franchise player and current leading scorer.

With Joe Sakic now on the decline the Avalanche need a star to build around and Statsny is more than ready to inherit the torch from Sakic when he finally retires either at the end of this season or next.

This signing will take a big chunk out of the Avs' payroll for next season, pushing it toward $43 million for next season committed to 12 players. If Sakic re-ups again next season for the same $6.5 million he's being paid this season the Avs will be pushing $50 million, leaving them little room to re-sign other key players or bid competitively for top free agent talent.

Still, as noted earlier the Avs had little choice. It was either re-sign Stastny to their own terms or risk a rival team dictating them next summer by sending him an expensive offer sheet.

This move could signal that they are ready to move on next season and build around their future, which clearly rests on Stastny's shoulders.