Ducks Do What’s Inevitable: Sign Kilger : Hockey: First-round pick gets three-year, $2.55-million contract after outstanding exhibition season.

Mighty Duck General Manager Jack Ferreira knew two weeks ago that he had little choice but to reach a deal with first-round draft pick Chad Kilger, who signed a three-year, $2.55-million contract Thursday night.

His wife, Kathy, told him so in so many words.

“I walked up to her after the Boston game and she didn’t say, ‘Good game,’ or anything,” Ferreira said. “She just said, ‘You’re going to sign Kilger, aren’t you? You can’t let him get away.’ I knew I was in trouble. I knew had to sign him.”

Kilger came to camp without a contract but made the deal almost a foregone conclusion by becoming the Ducks’ second-leading scorer during the exhibition season, scoring four goals and 10 points while playing on a line with left wing Paul Kariya.

“A lot of guys like to sit out. I felt coming in was only in my best interest,” said Kilger, 18, as he munched a piece of pizza at the Duck offices after completing the deal. “I had confidence when they gave me the opportunity to play that I could show what I could do, and we would get a deal done before the deadline.”

Still, the Ducks didn’t get Kilger’s signature until about 7:30 Thursday night, a scant 4 1/2 hours before the deadline for him to play in the NHL this season. Though Ferreira had already conceded the maximum guaranteed money of $850,000 a year under the NHL’s new rookie salary cap, the final quibbling was about performance bonuses, a point the Ducks won.

Kilger will make an additional $200,000 if he wins the Calder Trophy as the NHL’s rookie of the year, and an additional $15,000 if he scores 20 goals or 60 points, with slightly larger additional bonuses for each increment of five goals.

“You’re not going to focus on that,” Kilger said. “I’m here to help the Mighty Ducks do the best they can by doing the best I can. If I reach those goals, that’s great. If not, it’s not a big deal. It’s not something I’ll be keeping track of.”

The top two picks in July’s NHL draft didn’t reach deals with their clubs, partly because they were at loggerheads on bonuses. The No. 3 pick, the Kings’ Aki-Petteri Berg, signed for slightly less than Kilger--$2.4 million for three years with a $150,000 bonus if he wins the Calder Trophy.

“I’m relieved it’s done,” said Duck Coach Ron Wilson. “In Chad’s case, I expected it to get done and made plans accordingly. I would have had to scramble if it didn’t get done.”

The way Kilger played made it a sure thing.

“I give him a lot of credit for it,” Ferreira said. “He came in here and won a job and we gave him a contract. When you get into the season, a lot of different things can happen. It’s a learning process, like Oleg [Tverdovsky] and Paul went through, learning what you can do at this level and adjusting to the number of games and the travel.”