St. Louis Blue sign defenceman Roman Polak to five-year contract extension

ST. LOUIS - The St. Louis Blues inked defenceman Roman Polak to a five-year contract extension Thursday.

The 25-year-old Polak played in 55 games for the Blues in 2010-11, recording three goals, nine assists and 33 penalty minutes.

"We believe Roman is one of the top defensive defencemen in the league who plays against the opposing team's best players night after night," Blues executive vice-president and general manager Doug Armstrong said in a statement.

"He's one of our top penalty killers who is just reaching the prime of his career and we're happy to have him in the fold for the next five years."

The six-foot-one, 227-pound Polak, who has eight goals, 41 assists and 143 penalty minutes in 227 NHL games, was set to become a restricted free agent July 1.

The Ostrava, Czech Republic, native was originally drafted by the Blues in the sixth round, 180th overall in the 2004 draft.