Phoenix Coyotes' General Manager Don Maloney announced today that Associate Coach Ulf Samuelsson has signed a contract extension with the club. As per club policy, terms of the contract were not disclosed. ?We are delighted to have signed Ulf to a contract extension,? said Maloney. ?He has proven during his first three seasons behind the Coyotes? bench to be an excellent coach while exhibiting a tireless work ethic and great relationship with the coaching staff and players.? Samuelsson is entering his fourth season as associate coach of the Coyotes. Last season, he helped guide the team to an improvement of seven wins and 16 points over the previous campaign. The 16-point increase represented the fifth-largest increase among all NHL teams from 2006-07 to 2007-08, as well as the greatest one-season turnaround in Coyotes' history. Samuelsson, 44, joined the Coyotes after serving as an assistant coach with the Hartford Wolf Pack of the American Hockey League (AHL) during the 2005-06 season. Regarded as one of the hardest hitters the NHL has ever seen and a consistent, hard-working defenseman, Samuelsson was selected by the Hartford Whalers (4th choice, 67th overall) in the 1982 NHL Entry Draft. He went on to play 17 NHL seasons and 1,080 career NHL games with the Hartford Whalers, Pittsburgh Penguins, Detroit Red Wings, Philadelphia Flyers and New York Rangers, registering 57 goals and 275 assists for 332 points, along with 2,453 penalty minutes. He was a member of the 1991 and 1992 Stanley Cup Championship teams in Pittsburgh and also was a member of the NHL All-Star team for Rendez-Vous '87 that competed against the Soviet Union. Samuelsson retired from the NHL in 1999-00 after playing 49 games with the Philadelphia Flyers. A native of Fagersta, Sweden, Samuelsson represented his country in several international competitions, including three World Junior Championships in 1982, 1983 and 1984; two World Championships in 1985 and 1990 as well as the 1991 Canada Cup. In 1998, Samuelsson was chosen to represent Sweden at the 1998 Olympic Winter Games in Nagano, Japan. Prior to joining the National Hockey League, he played three seasons with Leksand of the Swedish Elite League.