EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. ? 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.