EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. (AP) – Former St. Louis Blues player Mike Danton admitted Friday that he tried to hire a hit man, almost certainly bringing his NHL career to an end.

Danton pleaded guilty to a federal murder-for-hire conspiracy charge and faces seven to 10 years in prison when he is sentenced Oct. 22.

The plot unraveled when the would-be hit man turned out to be a police informant.

“Obviously, this is what I think is a good result,” prosecutor Stephen Clark said. “I think it’s a fair deal.”

Danton is seeking transfer to a prison in Canada, and prosecutors and the FBI said they won’t oppose the move. U.S. District Judge William Stiehl, however, noted that Danton may not be allowed to return to the United States.

The prison time and possible restrictions likely will spell the end of the 23-year-old’s NHL career, but his lawyer Robert Haar said the plea was the best option his client could choose.

“This was about saving as much of a young man’s life as we could,” he said.

Danton was to have been tried in September with co-defendant Katie Wolfmeyer, 19. He and Wolfmeyer, a college student from a St. Louis suburb, faced identical conspiracy charges, with Wolfmeyer accused of trying to hire the would-be killer of Danton’s agent, David Frost.

Danton’s plea agreement does not identify Frost as the intended victim. But prosecutors have said previously in open court that Frost was the man Danton wanted killed. Frost, when contacted Friday, angrily denied he was the target.

The would-be killer – identified by the government for the first time in court Friday as Justin Jones, a Columbia, Ill., police dispatcher – eventually went to police, and Frost was unharmed.

The prosecutor told the judge Friday that Danton had promised to pay Jones $10,000 for the killing, and to make it appear like a botched burglary.

Investigators have said Danton was worried that Frost would go to the Blues with information that could damage his career. Frost has said he urged Danton to get help for his use of painkillers and sleeping pills and his erratic behavior.

Wearing an orange jail jumpsuit, Danton hung his head occasionally when U.S. District Judge William Stiehl outlined the case against him. He replied to the judge’s questions with a “yes” or “no” before declaring, “I plead guilty.”

Danton has been jailed since his arrest April 16 in San Jose, Calif., a day after the San Jose Sharks eliminated the Blues from the playoffs.

Wolfmeyer has pleaded innocent and is to be tried in September. Her lawyers have said she was a naive young woman simply smitten with an athlete who ultimately manipulated her.

AP-ES-07-16-04 1818EDT