Predators President of Hockey Operations/GM David Poile announced today that the club has signed forward Patric Hornqvist to a five-year, $21.25M contract.

“As we build towards the 2013-14 season and beyond, re-signing Patric Hornqvist was an off-season priority,” Poile said. “Since joining the Predators, he has become—and will remain—an integral member of our core group. Patric is everything we talk about as a Predator—he is relentless in going to the net and willing to pay the price to score goals, has a terrific work ethic and is  a quality person who is respected on and off the ice. Patric is just entering the prime of his career. He has led our team in goal-scoring in two of the last four seasons and we are looking forward to him being a significant part of the Predators’ on-ice success in the years to come.”

Hornqvist, 26, has amassed 20-plus goals in each of three full NHL seasons, becoming the first Nashville draft pick to do so.