Islanders sign goaltender to 15-year deal

~ DiPietro inked a guaranteed contract through 2021.

UNIONDALE, N.Y. -- Rick DiPietro re-signed with the New York Islanders on Tuesday, agreeing to a record 15-year deal that will pay the No. 1 goalie $67.5 million.

The contract will pay him $4.5 miller a year until 2021, when he would be nearly 40.

The deal is the longest in NHL history, topping the 10-year, $87.5 million contract the Islanders gave enigmatic center Alexei Yashin in 2001.

"With a long-term deal, you're speculating what you'll be worth and what you'll be making," DiPietro said. "I don't think that player salaries are going to go up that much more. I mean, how much higher can they go?"

DiPietro's deal is believed to be second only in length in North American sports to the 25-year pact Magic Johnson signed with the Lakers in 1981.

The contract is guaranteed. DiPietro will be paid in full should he retire because of injury but he could forfeit the money if he retired under other circumstances.