Quite a Sunday: Frank Vatrano signs 3-year contract extension with Ducks, then scores 2 goals in win

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Not many players will have as good a day as Frank Vatrano had on Sunday.

Vatrano agreed to a three-year contract extension through the 2027-28 season with Anaheim and then had two goals and an assist in the Ducks' 4-1 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning.

“I always say I wouldn’t be in this position if it wasn’t for the guys in this room. They push me every day to be my best,” Vatrano said after the game. “This is one of the best rooms I’ve ever been a part of. I’m excited for the change here and trying to build that winning culture.”

The 30-year-old forward is in his third season with Anaheim. He has 70 goals and 54 assists in 201 games for the Ducks, including 11 goals and 12 assists this season.

A person with knowledge of the deal told The Associated Press that the contract will pay Vatrano $3 million in each of the next three seasons, and he will make another $9 million in deferred salary beginning in 2035.

The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the Ducks don't announce the financial details of their contracts.

Vatrano has been a dependable top-six forward since joining Anaheim as a free agent in 2022, scoring the most goals on the roster since he arrived at the club. While he led the Ducks last season with 37 goals and 60 points, general manager Pat Verbeek declined offers to trade him to a contender, preferring to keep Vatrano as a key part of his rebuild in Anaheim.

“We’re excited to have Frank in the sense that he wants to be here,” Verbeek said before the game. “We value his goal-scoring ability, and I think that that’s going to be important as we as we start to become a lot more competitive in the next two years.”

The Ducks and Vatrano agreed to the deferred salary structure of his contract to keep Vatrano's cap number low. He also is likely to reap tax benefits based on where he lives in 2035, because California's comparatively large state income tax is sometimes a factor in athletes' contract decisions.

Deferred salaries are allowed under the NHL’s collective bargaining agreement, but have rarely been used until this season.

Carolina signed Seth Jarvis and Jacob Slavin to extensions during the offseason that included payments deferred until 2032 and ’33, respectively. During the first month of the season, Toronto signed Jake McCabe to a five-year extension that has deferred money until 2031.

“I think my experience as a former player is players don’t realize when you retire, those checks that you’ve been getting for the last 10 years suddenly stop," Verbeek said. "This allowed Frank to be able to have a situation where he’s going to provide for his family and and take care of them the next 10 years after that. The more we talked about it and the more the other side understood it, it became a win.”

Anaheim also is planning ahead to have salary cap room when its large group of young talent enters free agency and the Ducks push against the limits of the cap, as they intend to do.

The Ducks have numerous top talents still on their entry-level contracts, including four forwards chosen in the top five of various NHL drafts — Leo Carlsson, Cutter Gauthier, Mason McTavish and Beckett Sennecke — along with promising defensemen Olen Zellweger, Pavel Mintyukov and Jackson LaCombe.

“I think you’ve got to look at the bigger picture. For me, it’s money that can help set up my family for the future. But at the end of the day, it also helps the team out,” Vatrano said. “We have a young team. The guys are going to be due for big contract in the future and I understood that. I wanted to be a part of it.”

Vatrano — who has 171 goals and 123 assists in 602 career NHL appearances — would have become a restricted free agent this summer at the conclusion of his three-year, $10.95 million deal with the Ducks. An undrafted free agent from western Massachusetts, he began his NHL career with the Boston Bruins and made stops with the Florida Panthers and the New York Rangers before signing with Anaheim as a free agent.

“He’s an elite skater and he’s always had a good shot, but he’s converting that now to being a reliable goal scorer. I think anybody gets over 25 goals in the NHL can be considered a goal scorer in today’s generation,” coach Greg Cronin said of Vatrano. “I think he’s going to be another 25-plus goal scorer this year. I think he’s going to get them in bunches.

“I’m sure the contract is going to take some weight off his head as far as where his next stop is, because he’s going to be with us for another three years, which is awesome for us.”

AP NHL: https://apnews.com/NHL

Anaheim Ducks right wing Frank Vatrano (77) shoots the puck during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the Tampa Bay Lightning, Sunday, Jan. 5, 2025, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/William Liang)

Anaheim Ducks center Ryan Strome, third from left, celebrates scoring against the Edmonton Oilers with right wing Frank Vatrano (77) and center Jansen Harkins (38) during the third period of an NHL hockey game in Anaheim, Calif., Sunday, Dec. 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Alex Gallardo)

Anaheim Ducks right wing Frank Vatrano (77) looks to pass the puck after breaking away with a Tampa Bay Lightning empty net during the third period of an NHL hockey game Sunday, Jan. 5, 2025, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/William Liang)

Anaheim Ducks right wing Frank Vatrano (77) controls the puck against the Philadelphia Flyers during the third period of an NHL hockey game Saturday, Dec. 28, 2024, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Raul Romero Jr.)

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — As residents across much of the country take down their holiday decorations, sobered by New Year's resolutions and a return to business as usual, in Louisiana people are ramping up for the biggest celebration of the year.

Throughout the state residents are preparing for Carnival season, a pre-Lenten and weeks-long bash that includes feasting on savory dishes, opulent balls and a stream of massive parades rolling through city streets.

The bucket-list worthy period of festivities promises indulgence, costumed revelry and literal pounds of glimmery plastic beads to carry around one’s neck. Here’s what to know about Carnival.

Carnival in Louisiana and around the world is rooted in Christian and Roman Catholic traditions. It's marked by feasting, drinking and revelry before Ash Wednesday and the fasting associated with Lent, the Christian season of preparation for Easter.

Each year, along with Louisiana residents, more than a million visitors travel to New Orleans to partake in the city’s world-famous celebration.

However, the festivities are not limited to the Big Easy. Similar celebrations stretch across Louisiana and into other Gulf Coast states, including Alabama, where Mobile lays claim to the nation’s oldest Mardi Gras celebration. Additionally, there are world-renowned celebrations in Brazil and Europe.

Although some people use the terms “Carnival” and “Mardi Gras” interchangeably, they are actually different things.

Carnival is the entire pre-Lenten period. Mardi Gras, also known as Fat Tuesday, is one day.

Mardi Gras marks the grand conclusion to Carnival Season. It falls on the day before Ash Wednesday, making it the final moments of indulgence before the solemnity of Lent.

Carnival always begins Jan. 6, which in the Catholic world is called Epiphany or Twelfth Night since it’s twelve days after Christmas. And the season always ends with Mardi Gras.

But, because it’s linked to Easter — which does not have a fixed date — Mardi Gras can fall anywhere between Feb. 3 and March 9. This year Fat Tuesday is on Feb. 17, making Carnival 43 days long.

The beginning of Carnival also marks the start of when it is socially acceptable — and encouraged — to eat king cake. Lines will snake around the block at popular bakeries known for the seasonal staple

The brioche-style pastry, which some bakers say traces back to an ancient Roman holiday, has become one of the iconic and most-delicious symbols of Carnival.

The traditional ring-shaped and sweet-dough cake is streaked with cinnamon and adorned with decadent icing colored purple, green and gold. The cake is often filled with fruits, pecans or different flavors of cream cheese frosting.

Also in the treat is a tiny plastic baby. Whoever has the slice with the little figurine hidden inside is supposed to buy the next cake or throw the next party, lending an unending excuse for another festive gathering.

The traditional cake has evolved over the years with restaurants launching their own unique versions, including one that is filled with boudin — a Cajun-style sausage — and another that is made out of sushi rolls.

Carnival is best know for elaborate and massive parades. This season there will be more than 80 parades in and surrounding New Orleans — many of which last hours.

Energetic marching bands, costumed dancers and multi-level floats laden with fantastical hand-built figures, will wind through communities.

The parades embody their own identity. They include an all-female parade, one that pokes fun at politics, a Sci-Fi themed parade with revelers dressed as Chewbacca. The largest parade hosts 3,200 riders and more than 80 floats, and one of the smallest, in the literal sense, features floats made out of shoe boxes.

Float riders and walking members of Carnival clubs — known as krewes — pour much time and money into preparations for the extravaganza. But all that work pays off as celebrants, many donning homemade costumes, line streets and sidewalks to watch.

Most spectators will have their hands raised in hopes of catching “throws” — trinkets tossed to the crowd by float riders. While throws include plastic beads, candy, doubloons, stuffed animals, cups and toys, there are also the more coveted items such as painted coconuts, highly sought-after hand-decorated shoes and even bedazzled toilet plungers.

The krewe for the largest parade in New Orleans, Endymion, estimates that they toss more than 15 million throws along the parade route. The krewe's motto is, “Throw ’til it Hurts.”

Although Carnival is often known for fancy balls and boisterous parades, other areas and groups have their own traditions.

In central Louisiana people will take part in the Cajun French tradition of the Courir de Mardi Gras, or Fat Tuesday Run. These rural processions feature masked and costumed participants who will perform and beg for ingredients, and even chase after live chickens, to use for a communal gumbo at the end of the day.

In New Orleans, some African Americans mask in elaborate beaded and feathered Mardi Gras Indian suits, roving the city to sing, dance, drum and perform. The tradition, a central part of the Black Carnival experience in New Orleans since at least the late 1800s, is believed to have started in part as a way to pay homage to area Native Americans for their assistance to Black people and runaway slaves. It also developed at a time when segregation barred Black residents from taking part in whites-only parades.

FILE - The streets are filled during the Society of Saint Anne's parade on Mardi Gras Day, March 4, 2025 in New Orleans. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert, File)

FILE- People gather for the start of the Society of Saint Anne's parade on Mardi Gras Day, March 4, 2025 in New Orleans. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert, File)