The Ottawa Senators have signed defenceman Cody Ceci to a two-year contract with an annual value of US$2.8 million.Jim Mone/The Associated Press
Cody Ceci has had a taste, and now he wants more.
He wants more points, more time on the power play, all the things that come with being a top-level offensive defenceman.
Ceci signed a new two-year deal with the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday, keeping the 22-year-old in his hometown.
An offensive specialist in his junior days with the Ontario Hockey League's Ottawa 67's and Owen Sound Attack, Ceci has played more conservatively in his three NHL seasons.
He had 49 goals and 121 assists in four seasons in the OHL, compared to 18 goals and 38 assists in three seasons with the Senators. Ceci showed flashes of that junior brilliance this spring playing for Canada's gold-medal winning team at the world championships where he contributed a goal and five assists.
"It's definitely something I'd like to improve on and bring back to my game," Ceci told reporters in a conference call on Wednesday. "I think that I showed that I can play the power play and what not at the world championships.
"Hopefully (Ottawa's front office) saw that as well and I get a little bit more of a chance this year."
His 10 goals and 16 assists last season were the best of his professional career, but he has higher aspirations for the upcoming season.
"Just to continue to improve. I'm going to go out and try and surpass everything from last year," said Ceci, who followed the same training regime this summer but tried to spend more time skating. "More goals, more points, do whatever I can to help the team win."
Ceci's new deal has an annual value of US$2.8 million. The contract runs through the end of 2017-18. He'll earn $2.25 million in the first year and $3.35 million in the second year.
"This contract allows me to have another good year or two and hopefully get something done longer term," said Ceci. "I guess that's sort of the plan, to progress to be the player I think I can be and from there we'll deal with the next one when it comes."
Ceci especially wants to see the Senators improve on their disappointing 38-35-9 record from last season that saw them finish well out of the playoff picture.
"It's pretty frustrating when your season's over and a bunch of other teams are still playing," said Ceci. "It makes you feel like you played a full season for nothing. It's definitely frustrating. You want to be in the hunt for the Stanley Cup.
"That's a big goal of ours for this year, to make the playoffs and be a more consistent team"