Kings defenseman Jake Muzzin signs five-year, $20-million extension

With Jake Muzzin’s five-year, $20-million contract extension, the Kings have managed to lock up another key defenseman for an extended period.

The average annual value of the contract is $4 million and runs through the 2019-20 season.

“It’s exciting,” Muzzin said Wednesday after practice in El Segundo. “This is a place I want to stay and I want to play here for a long time. I’m very happy that we got a deal done and this is home for me for the next five years.”

He has not played this season because of an undisclosed upper-body injury, and his return to the lineup does not seem imminent.

Muzzin’s development accelerated last season, and he and defense partner Drew Doughty formed the Kings’ top shutdown pair on the way to the Stanley Cup in 2014. He is 25 and could have plenty of attractive options after this contract expires.

“From the previous year before that, and to build off that year and to carry it into last year, you go through ups and downs but you learn a lot,” Muzzin said. “And the way it ended was very special for everyone.

“Just to build from those experiences and then to come into this year and get a deal done early and get that off my mind.

“Now we just play.”