CHICAGO -- Chicago Blackhawks goaltender Ed Belfour, last season's Calder and Vezina trophy winner, and the team have reached agreement on a two-year contract for roughly $1.8 million to end a holdout that drew the ire of coach Mike Keenan.
The two sides talked Sunday night, and the team announced the two- year contract Monday, worth a reported $1.8 million.
Belfour, 26, played in all but six regular-season games for Chicago last season, his first full one in the NHL. His 43 wins set a new club record, and he guided the Blackhawks to the President's Trophy with their 106 points. He went 43-19-7 with four shutouts and 2.47 ERA.
After the season, Belfour was awarded the Calder Trophy as Rookie of the Year and Vezina Trophy as the league's best goalie.
Belfour originally had been seeking a $1 million deal with a signing bonus of another $1 million, but his agent, Ron Salcer, reduced those demands last week. The new contract calls for 'roughly $1.8 million for two years,' Belfour told the Chicago Tribune.
Belfour, who competed in this summer's Canada Cup as a member of Team Canada, held out of training camp and has missed the first 13 games.
That drew the ire of Keenan, who blamed a team skid, at least in part, on Belfour's absence from the lineup.
While reports said Belfour could return to the lineup as soon as Thursday, Keenan also said it could take the goalie up to two weeks to get in game-playing condition.
Bringing Belfour back would leave the team with three goalies, including Jimmy Waite and Dominick Hasek, and could result in one of them being traded.
