Hiller Signs 4 Year Contract Worth $18 Million

The Ducks have identified their goalie of the future by signing Jonas Hiller to a four-year, $18 million extension, it was announced Saturday. The 27-year-old will make $4.5 million in each year of the contract.

The deal comes after a quick three-year ascension for Hiller in the NHL, in which he took over the No. 1 mantle from Jean-Sebastien Giguere, led the Ducks into the second round of the playoffs last season and now will be paid like a starting goalie.

"When I got here I didn't know what to expect, my first year was more about showing I could play here," Hiller said. "My second year I tried to get better ... having that security is a great thing."

Since the Ducks signed Hiller as a free agent out of the Swiss Elite League, only Boston's Tim Thomas (.9244) and Florida's Tomas Vokoun (.9241) have a better save percentage than Hiller (.9192). He's just ahead of Roberto Luongo (Vancouver), Martin Brodeur (New Jersey) and Ryan Miller (Buffalo) on that list.

This season Hiller is 21-15-2 with a 2.75 goals-against average and a .916 save percentage. Like the rest of his teammates, those numbers have gotten better as the Ducks have turned their season around.

"We had a lot of new players and never found a way to play 60 minutes," Hiller said. "There is a lot of talent on this team. I was able to be a factor in that process."

Hiller said Giguere was the first teammate he told about his new contract - "That's the honesty me and Jiggy have"

content retrieved from: http://www.dailynews.com/sports/ci_14304608

Jonas Hiller Making a Difference for the Ducks

The Anaheim Ducks have been right near the bottom of the standing for pretty much this whole season. Their goaltender Jonas Hiller is trying to make a difference and its starting to work. Hiller has been playing at the top of his game this year giving the Ducks a chance to win every night.

Most recently he was the NHL's second star of the week after posting a 4-0-0 record with only 1.50GAA and a 0.954SV% over the past week. But the glory doesn't end there. He was also recently named to the 2010 Men's Olympic Switzerland Team where he will be sharing the net with Martin Gerber and Tobias Stephan.

The stats that Hiller has been putting up this year have been amazing considering he's on a loosing team. He has posted up a GAA of 2.72 and a SV% of 0.918 with one shutout. He also has 16 wins in his 31 games played this season.