Tiger-Cats ink Tasker to two-year deal

HAMILTON — The Hamilton Tiger-Cats announced Monday that the football club has signed international wide receiver Luke Tasker to a two-year contract extension.

Tasker was eligible to become a free agent on Tuesday at 12 p.m. ET.

“Luke is a leader in our locker room and has developed into one of the best receivers in the Canadian Football League,” said June Jones, head coach of the Tiger-Cats. “He’s got an outstanding skill set, and his unselfish play and toughness are exactly the kind of attributes that we want to personify in the football team.

“It was important to have him back and we’re thrilled to have him continue to call Hamilton home as the only franchise in his professional football career.”

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Tasker, 27, registered career highs in games played (18), receptions (104), receiving yards (1,167) and receiving touchdowns (7) in 2017. He set a Tiger-Cats’ franchise record for receptions in a single season with 104 (Fantuz – 101 in 2016), and led the CFL after Labour Day in targets (tie-87) and receptions (tie-59), was third in touchdown receptions (tie-5), and fourth in receiving yards (728).

Overall, the native of Buffalo, N.Y., ranked second in the league last season in receiving targets (154), tied for second in receptions, was sixth in receiving yards and tied for sixth in receiving touchdowns.

Over his five-year CFL career in Hamilton (2013-17), Tasker has accumulated 341 receptions for 4,224 yards and 24 receiving touchdowns, ranking eighth, 11th and 13th, respectively, among all-time franchise leaders in each category. The Cornell University product has also made two Grey Cup appearances with the Tiger-Cats (2013, 2014) and is a three-time East Division All-Star (2014, 2015, 2017).