"The Ducks signed defenseman Francois Beauchemin to a three-year contract extension worth $10.5million.

Anaheim announced the deal Friday, keeping the off the free-agent market this summer.

"I'm really excited to be here another three years," Beauchemin said on the team's website.

"We have a great group of guys and good young players. We're going to have a good team for a while. It's just a matter of us keeping playing the way we've been playing lately.

"People don't know this, but it is a lot of stress on the players and their families to not know what's going to happen in the future. When you get those extensions, it just feels great. Everyone is a lot more relaxed at home and we can move on and think about the future."

Beauchemin is in his seventh full NHL season, playing briefly in Montreal and Columbus before a trade sent him to the Ducks in November 2005. He won the Stanley Cup with Anaheim in 2007.

Beauchemin signed with Toronto as a free agent in 2009, but the Ducks reacquired Beauchemin on Feb. 9 last year, giving up high-scoring forward Joffrey Lupul and top prospect Jake Gardiner.

The 31-year-old Beauchemin is Anaheim's top-scoring defenseman this season with six goals and 12 assists. He scored two goals on Wednesday in the Ducks' sixth win in seven games after a miserable start. "