The deal is worth $66 million for an average of $8.25 million per season, league sources told ESPN.com’s Pierre LeBrun.

The Ducks announced the deal Friday with Getzlaf, the former Canadian Olympic center who has spent his entire NHL career with Anaheim. His new contract runs through the 2020-21 season.

Getzlaf would have been an unrestricted free agent this summer along with Corey Perry, the former NHL MVP and his longtime teammate. Perry remains signed to his current deal.

Getzlaf, 27, has scored 499 points in 534 games with Anaheim, establishing himself as one of the NHL’s top playmakers. He won the Stanley Cup in 2007 and became Anaheim’s captain in 2010.

“This is a wonderful day for my family, as Anaheim has become our home,” said Getzlaf, a native of Saskatchewan. “The fans here have treated me very well, and I look forward to being part of a winning hockey team and contributing to the Orange County community for years to come.”

After struggling last year to his lowest-scoring performance in a full NHL season, Getzlaf is in the midst of an outstanding season for the Ducks (16-3-3), who have the NHL’s second-best record behind Chicago.

Getzlaf has nine goals and 18 assists with a plus-10 rating in just 22 games this season, tying with Chicago’s Patrick Kane for the Western Conference scoring lead.

Perry has seemed more interested than Getzlaf in exploring free agency. The gold-medal-winning Canadian Olympians have spent their entire careers with Anaheim, which drafted them together in the first round in 2003.

Ducks general manager Bob Murray has been eager to re-sign both Getzlaf and Perry, even though Anaheim has won just one playoff round in the five seasons since the franchise’s only Stanley Cup title. After several years of slow starts, the duo have justified Murray’s faith in them this season with strong play, leading the Ducks to a significant lead in the Pacific Division near the midway point of the lockout-shortened season.

“We are very happy to have Ryan committed to this franchise long-term,” Murray said. “He has often expressed his interest to stay in Anaheim for his entire career, a goal we share. He is a leader, a proven winner, and possesses a skill set that’s hard to find. This is a great day for the Ducks.”

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As expected, Jackson voided his contract with the St. Louis Rams on Thursday, making the 29-year-old an unrestricted free agent.

Jackson, the Rams’ career rushing leader, didn’t totally rule out a reduced role should he land with a contender. He never has played for a winning team over his nine-year career.

“Well, that’s where a very open dialogue has to take place,” he said. “I have opted out of my position of being with the team and being comfortable because I want to continue to still be the bell cow. So that’s how I want teams to look at me, that’s how I’m going to shop myself, and we’ll cross that bridge when we get there if that’s not the feedback we’re receiving.”

A three-time Pro Bowler, Jackson has topped 1,000 yards rushing in each of the last eight seasons. According to ESPN Stats & Information, only three players in NFL history have a longer streak of consecutive 1,000-yard rushing seasons than Jackson’s current run: Emmitt Smith (11 from 1991-01), Curtis Martin (10 from 1995-04) and Barry Sanders (10 from 1989-98). All are in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Jackson rushed for 1,042 yards and four touchdowns last season. He has 2,395 carries for 10,135 yards and 56 touchdowns over his career.

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“It wasn’t necessarily about the money. It was, at that point, about earning that respect and feeling like I was respected around here,” Flacco said Monday just minutes after signing the contract that includes $52 million in guaranteed money.

“The fact that they have made me that definitely makes me feel good about how I played and how they feel about me.”

Flacco led the Ravens to a 34-31 victory over the San Francisco 49ers in the Super Bowl, earning MVP honors by throwing for 287 yards and three touchdowns.

The Ravens and Flacco’s agent had been in talks for more than a year, but the agreement was reached Friday, just three days before Baltimore was set to use the franchise tag to keep him from being an unrestricted free agent.

“Joe’s a Raven in his style of play, the way he works and prepares, and the way he lives his life. He’s a significant reason we’ve been to the playoffs five years in a row, played in three AFC championship games, and now, we are the Super Bowl champs with Joe as MVP,” general manager Ozzie Newsome said in the statement announcing the extension.

Flacco said he learned about the deal while at his uncle’s house for family pizza night. He doesn’t have any big plans for the money.

“I’m not going to do anything crazy,” Flacco said. “All the celebration I can take is going out and enjoying a nice little time with the people that are close to me and looking at each other saying, ‘Man, can you believe where we are?'”

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The two sides are meeting Friday in Indianapolis at the scouting combine. Asomugha, 31, is scheduled to make $15 million, $4 million of which is guaranteed.

A three-time Pro Bowler with the Raiders from 2003-10, Asomugha has been a major disappointment with the Eagles since signing a five-year, $60 million contract in 2011.

Philadelphia thought it was assembling an all-star team that would compete for the Super Bowl, but the Eagles finished 8-8 in 2011 and 4-12 last season, leading to the firing of longtime coach Andy Reid.

In addition to Asomugha, new coach Chip Kelly has a decision to make on cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, who is set to become an unrestricted free agent.

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“Dwight is our future,” Kupchak told “The Herd with Colin Cowherd” on ESPN Radio on Wednesday. “Kobe [Bryant] has one more year on his deal [this year, plus one]. That’s all I can bank on or this organization can bank on. I have no idea if he wants to continue to play beyond next year. As of now, we’re looking at a two-year window, [and that] plays to the urgency of the situation and how we build the team. … This team’s window to win is this year and next year.”

When asked if he agreed with Kupchak and thought he was the future of the Lakers, Howard said at the team’s shootaround Wednesday, “Yeah, I do. We talked about it plenty of times.”

However, when pressed over whether he will remain with the Lakers past this season, Howard stuck to his refrain of focusing on the present.

“The only thing that matters is right now,” Howard said. “Nobody can control what happens in the offseason. Like I said to you guys before, there’s no need to talk about it every day.

“There’s no need for me to make a decision right now. My goal hasn’t changed. I want to win a championship and I want to win one here. I’m here right now and this is our chance to get one this season. It’s been tough, but we have an opportunity to change all that.”

Kupchak reiterated his public stance that the 27-year-old Howard, who becomes an unrestricted free agent at season’s end, is off the market with the NBA trade deadline looming Thursday at 3 p.m. ET.

“We’ve been very consistent,” Kupchak said. “We’re not trading Dwight Howard. … He will not be traded, and there’s nothing that anybody can do today to call me today and ask me, ‘Would you do this?’ and get a positive result.”

Kupchak called Howard the best center in the league and expressed how difficult it is to acquire talent like him, especially with the restrictions in place since the league’s new collective bargaining agreement was ratified.

“It’s hard to get talent in this league, and to have a talent like Dwight Howard, we have no intention of trading Dwight Howard,” Kupchak said. “He belongs to have his name on the wall [as a retired uniform] and a statue in front of Staples [Center] at some point in time.”

The GM said he is not concerned with Howard’s playful demeanor curtailing his effectiveness on the court and added that Howard will not be fully embraced until he earns a championship ring.

“Players in this league are not going to get their due until they win a championship, and until they do, they’re under the microscope and they’re going to be criticized for every single little thing,” Kupchak said. “We’ve seen that with what’s taken place in Miami in the last year or two. LeBron [James] is playing at a ridiculously high level right now, but for several years he was criticized for everything he did. When he won a championship, everything changed. That’s just the way it’s going to be. With Dwight, when he wins his first championship — and he will — people will look at him differently.”

Howard’s game has looked different this season as he’s struggled to recover from back surgery and has been slowed by a torn labrum in his right shoulder. Howard’s 16.3 points-per-game average is his lowest scoring output since his second season in the league, and his 11.8 rebounds per game are his lowest since his rookie season in 2004-05.

Even with the drop-off in numbers, the Lakers are prepared to offer Howard a max five-year contract extension in the offseason and believe he will be able to return to the type of player who was the three-time defensive player of the year in Orlando.

“That type of [back] surgery takes at least a year to get back completely,” Kupchak said of the procedure Howard underwent 10 months ago last April. “He’s so young, he got back so quick, he’s going to have a 100 percent recovery.”

Kupchak acknowledged that Howard’s relationship with Bryant is evolving, but said that was more of a product of them only playing half a season together than it was a personality conflict.

“I think it’s a work in progress, probably the best way to say it,” Kupchak said. “I would say the same thing about Kobe and Steve Nash and Steve Nash and Dwight Howard.”

As for Pau Gasol, the other member of the Lakers’ “big four,” Kupchak said calls asking about the availability of the 12-year veteran have quieted since he suffered a torn plantar fascia in his right foot in early February.

“We’re not going to trade Pau today or tomorrow, but his name has come up in the past, and it would be misleading to say it won’t come up in the future,” Kupchak said of Gasol, who will have a $19.3 million expiring contract next season.

Lakers coach Mike D’Antoni also isn’t going anywhere anytime soon, according to Kupchak.

“Mike D’Antoni is going to be the coach here going forward,” Kupchak said. “We’re very happy with Mike D’Antoni. This is a very tough situation to walk into with no training camp, new players, a lot of injuries. There are no excuses there, whatsoever, because that’s what all teams in this league deal with, especially the injury part, but he’s brought energy, he understands the game, he’s been great and we’re very happy with him going forward.”

While Kupchak is busy fielding phone calls leading up to the trade deadline, he is also processing the death of longtime Lakers owner Dr. Jerry Buss, who will be honored with a memorial service Thursday afternoon just hours after the deadline passes.

“The last two days have been very solemn around the office, and a lot of people [are] reflecting,” Kupchak said. “We’re going to miss him tremendously, but the franchise is in good hands. It really is. He made provisions to keep it in the family. My understanding is that’s what’s going to happen.”

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The Falcons have been exerting tremendous pressure on Gonzalez to make one more Super Bowl run, and sources said he’s wavering from his intention to retire for the first time. While he is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent, Gonzalez said at his locker after Atlanta’s season ended in the NFC Championship Game that if he were to return he would be interested in playing only for the Falcons.

While the Falcons would certainly like to have a commitment from Gonzalez before free agency begins March 12, sources say no deadlines have been established.

Gonzalez is tempted because he knows — barring major injuries to key players — the Falcons have the talent to go deep into the postseason, and there has been no evidence to suggest his own performance has declined.

A 13-time Pro Bowler, who will turn 38 on Feb. 27, Gonzalez holds NFL records for touchdown receptions (107) and reception yards (14,268) by a tight end. He had 93 catches for 930 yards and 8 touchdowns last season.

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Flacco, the MVP of Super Bowl XLVII, is set to become an unrestricted free agent. His new deal is expected to rival those of Peyton Manning and Drew Brees, whose contracts are among the most lucrative in NFL history for quarterbacks.

Flacco’s agent, Joe Linta, said in an interview with CNBC that Flacco should be the NFL’s highest-paid quarterback.

“I think everybody is going to see what Joe [Flacco] ends up signing for,” Rodgers said Tuesday on his weekly radio show on 540 ESPN. “I’m sure they want to lock him up. He’s a great player — had an incredible run in the playoffs — and I’m sure they want to keep him around. A guy like that, with the postseason success he’s had, you want to keep a guy like that around for a while.”

Also a former Super Bowl MVP, Rodgers is under contract through 2014, having signed a six-year, $65 million contract in October 2008. Rodgers’ base salary next season is $9.25 million, while his 2014 deal is worth $10.5 million. Manning ($18 million base salary) and Brees ($20 million base) also are former Super Bowl MVPs.

Rodgers, who didn’t discuss whether he would give the Packers a hometown discount, understands that the market will dictate his next contract.

“It kind of is what it is, as far as that goes. The team, when they’re ready to talk contract, we’ll get there when we get there,” Rodgers said.

Rodgers also is confident that things will work out with the Packers, saying, “When that time comes, we’ll get a deal done. I’m not worried about that. I think the Packers want to keep me around for a little while longer, and I’d love to be a Packer for life.”

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But sources told ESPN.com this week the Lakers might be forced to reconsider that position between now and the Feb. 21 trade deadline because of Howard’s growing unhappiness with his role under coach Mike D’Antoni and the potential that raises for Howard leaving them in July without compensation.

Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak, however, said that a trade is not imminent.

“I don’t think we’re at the point where you say, ‘It’s time for a trade,’ and a trade happens in three to four days. That’s just not how this league works,” Kupchak said in a phone interview with ESPN.

Howard has not publicly indicated any desire to sign elsewhere when he becomes an unrestricted free agent July 1 and came to Los Angeles determined to succeed with a minimum amount of fuss after the hits he took image-wise during his drawn-out departure from the Orlando Magic. But sources say that Howard, as the Lakers’ struggles have mounted, has dropped hints within team circles about his discomfort in D’Antoni’s system and that he could consider moving on if things don’t improve or change.

Howard has, indeed, publicly struggled to mask his frustration in recent days about his role in D’Antoni’s offense. After Monday’s road loss to the Derrick Rose-less Chicago Bulls, in which he finished with eight points and attempted just five shots, Howard said: “They made it tough. I missed some shots early, didn’t get an opportunity to go to work like I wanted to.” When pressed further, Howard repeatedly pointed at a stat sheet (showing five shot attempts) and insisted the Lakers needed to “play inside-out.”

“There’s nothing I can do,” Howard told reporters in Chicago. “Just continue to play. Not get frustrated. As hard as it is, I can’t get frustrated.”

The Lakers, sources say, have been telling interested teams that they don’t want to make a major move of any kind between now and the trade deadline given how tumultuous their season has already been. Following the much-heralded offseason acquisitions of Howard and Steve Nash, Mike Brown was fired after just five games and replaced by D’Antoni after the Lakers flirted with bringing back legendary coach Phil Jackson.

In addition to rebuffing the trade interest in Howard, Lakers officials are also reluctant to trade Pau Gasol for players who fit D’Antoni’s system better — despite Gasol’s recent demotion to the bench — because they still have no assurances Howard will stay beyond this season and don’t want to risk losing both of their elite big men after trading away Andrew Bynum in the original Howard deal last August. The Lakers’ league-high $100 million payroll likewise makes it difficult to seriously consider deals involving Gasol because the Spaniard’s $19.3 million salary would almost certainly require them to take back long-term contracts they want to avoid. L.A. has been trying to preserve the considerable payroll flexibility that it’s on course to have in summer 2014.

The Lakers knew when they acquired Howard in a four-team deal with Orlando, Philadelphia and Denver that the 27-year-old would not immediately sign a contract extension as part of the trade because the league’s new labor agreement makes it more financially advantageous for Howard to wait until July to sign his next deal. But the resulting uncertainty those circumstances bring for the Lakers has only added to the pressure felt throughout the organization as they sit seven games below .500 at the midpoint of the 82-game regular season.

When the Lakers hired D’Antoni, it was with the vision of Howard thriving alongside Nash as Amar’e Stoudemire did in Phoenix, operating as the “roll man” in a pick-and-roll offense driven by Nash as opposed to a traditional back-to-basket center.

None of those visions, however, have come to bear yet. With Nash missing seven weeks with a leg fracture — including D’Antoni’s first 16 games in charge — and Howard still recovering from back surgery last April while also coping with a recent shoulder injury, timing between the two has shown few signs of improvement.

The inability of Howard and Nash to find pick-and-roll harmony has likewise had a ripple effect throughout the roster, with the increasingly under-fire D’Antoni demoting Gasol from the starting lineup Tuesday because he feels Gasol and Howard are both most effective at the center position and haven’t learned how yet to play off each other well.

Howard and several other players have soured on D’Antoni’s perimeter-oriented offensive system, sources told ESPN. A few have gone to him about slowing down the tempo and playing inside-out, but so far D’Antoni hasn’t been willing to change.

“Without a doubt, we have utmost confidence in Mike as a coach,” Kupchak told ESPN. “I think if you spoke to him, his vision on Day 1 was dramatically different than it is today. It’s the coach’s job to adjust and to make changes. Sometimes a player is just not going to fit. Sometimes a coach has to make changes and compromise in the way he’s done things and I think that’s what Mike is going through right now is just the process.”

“Obviously, this isn’t working,” Lakers star Kobe Bryant told Yahoo! Sports after the Chicago loss.

“I’ve tried to go out of my way to get (Howard) the ball. Sometimes I end up looking like an idiot, because I get up in the air, I’ve got a shot, but I try to find him. But he thinks I’m going to shoot, so his back is turned. I’m trying to think about getting him the ball a lot — take care of him as much as I possibly can. It takes me out of rhythm a little bit, but I’m fine with that. If that’s going to help our team, I’m more than willing to do that.

“I’ve constantly tried to help him out, tried to talk to him,” Bryant continued. “Two o’clock in the morning, three o’clock in the morning. Texting him. Sharing reading materials. Anything to try and help him.

“He’s coming off a major surgery in a market where it’s just merciless; where there’s demands and responsibilities of athletes. It’s been tough on him.”

The blame in L.A. has been widespread, with both Howard and Gasol facing criticism for not battling through these tough times with the needed resolve. D’Antoni getting second-guessed with rising volume for not tweaking his spread-the-floor system to accommodate his marquee players and Bryant critiquing himself this week for missing too many shots on an 0-2 road trip that has spiraled into six straight losses away from Staples Center and three straight losses overall heading into Thursday’s game at Memphis.

Explaining the lineup change that elevated Earl Clark to a starting spot over Gasol, D’Antoni told reporters in Chicago: “We got to go small. That’s just the way it is. It’s after [Gasol] had a great game (with 25 points on 10-for-15 shooting Sunday in Toronto). It’s not him. I talked to him and he understands where we have to go and we got to do it.”

For his part, Gasol said he was “not happy about” the switch but added that “right now I’m more worried about us as a team and us struggling.”

The Lakers have strongly believed from the start that Howard would stay in Los Angeles for the long term, pointing to the franchise’s rich tradition with big men and the fact that they don’t make a habit of losing their own marquee free agents. But those assumptions were based on the notion that Howard, once he got a taste of the Lakers’ championship culture and all the ancillary benefits that come with playing in Los Angeles, wouldn’t want to play anywhere else.

These Lakers, however, are miles away from a championship culture. The Chicago loss, its ninth in January, dropped L.A. to 17-24 and down to 12th place in the Western Conference, four games behind eighth-place Houston for the West’s final playoff spot.

In a radio appearance two weeks ago on ESPNLA 710, Lakers executive vice president Jim Buss said he was confident Howard would want to stay in Los Angeles regardless of how this season ended up.

“If we make the playoffs, that means we’re playing well and I think we’ll go deep in the playoffs and it’s a no-brainer that he stays,” Buss said in the January 10 radio interview. “I think if it continues to fall apart because of injuries, I’m hoping we can convince him: ‘Look, everybody was injured, you weren’t 100 percent for the whole year, let’s give it another shot next year.’ It points to 95 percent that we’ll be able to keep him. I can’t control what he does, but I can sure make a great argument.”

The Lakers, beyond all the perks associated with playing for them, have the advantage of being able to offer Howard more money and years than any other team thanks to the NBA’s collective bargaining agreement. But they’ve gone just 2-4 since Buss’ comments, with the negative atmosphere around the team only growing amid all the losing.

Calls for D’Antoni, who received a four-year contract in November when he took the job, to go away from small-ball preferences only figure to get louder in the wake of the fresh concerns voiced by Bryant.

“We need to go back to basics,” Bryant told Yahoo! “We need to put guys in positions to do what they do best. We need to strip it down. Steve is best in pick-and-roll. Pau is best in the post. I’m best from the free-throw line extended down. Let’s go back to basics.

“We’ve got to evaluate what’s going on. Management is looking at it. The players are looking at it. I’m looking at myself. I’m shooting a low percentage right now, and I’ve got to look at that. It’s on me to make shots, but I’m having to make tough shots, getting the ball 30 feet from the basket and [expletive] like that.”

Earlier this month that there’s no shortage of rival executives who believe that the Dallas Mavericks and Atlanta Hawks — who’ll both have the requisite cap space to steal him away — would get serious consideration from Howard if he decides to explore his options in free agency.

“I have it as Lakers, Dallas or Atlanta for Dwight,” one Western Conference GM said recently.

The Brooklyn Nets are believed to still strongly intrigue Howard as a future destination after the Nets’ long-running attempts to trade for him last season. But after re-signing Deron Williams and Brook Lopez last summer and taking on more than $300 million in long-term salary commitments, Brooklyn can only acquire Howard via trade now, which would likely require an additional team (or teams) to join in even if the Lakers were amenable.

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The 26-year-old had 11 goals and 38 assists in 82 games with the Canucks last season.

Edler has spent his entire career with Vancouver after being drafted 91st overall in the 2004 draft.

He was set to become an unrestricted free agent in the summer.

Edler has 43 goals, 141 assists and 200 penalty minutes in 386 career NHL games since making his debut in the 2006-07 season.

Edler has also been effective for Vancouver in the postseason, with seven goals and 20 assists in 55 playoff games.

The Canucks open the lockout-shortened season Saturday night at home against the Anaheim Ducks.

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