Contracts aplenty: Holland, Nill close to extensions; Bertuzzi, RFAs offered

by Ryan Weiss on Jun 8, 2010 4:41 PM CDT in News

SAN JOSE, CA - MAY 08: Todd Bertuzzi #44 of the Detroit Red Wings celebrates after Brian Rafalski scored in the second period past Evgeni Nabokov #20 of the San Jose Sharks in Game Five of the Western Conference Semifinals during the 2010 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at HP Pavilion on May 8, 2010 in San Jose, California. (Photo by Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images)

The Detroit Red Wings put in a full day of work for sure today, offering several contracts to key figures in the organization. Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press reports:

Unrestricted free agent Todd Bertuzzi has been offered a two-year extension.
Restricted free agents Justin Abdelkader, Darren Helm, Patrick Eaves, Drew Miller, Derek Meech have all been tendered contracts.
General Manager Ken Holland and Assistant GM Jim Nill are expected to sign long term extensions this week.

All of this has been expected for quite some time, so there's no real surprises here.

The most intriguing out of the bunch is Bertuzzi. Bertuzzi wanted a two-year deal for some consistency, as this is his third team in three years. Detroit is showing a lot of commitment by giving him two years on the deal after an up-and-down season from Bertuzzi. Since it is a multi-year contract, the Wings probably front-loaded the deal to lessen the cap hit over the next two seasons, much like the Holmstrom deal.

Holland will remain the Wings GM as long as he wants, and at 54-years-old that could be well into his 60s. No complaints here, he's without a doubt the best in the business. Jim Nill has been with the club since 1994, and is constantly talked about when a new GM position opens up. Yet, he keeps coming back to Detroit. Here's the situation according to Senior VP Jim Devellano:

"It's pretty imminent," senior vice president Jimmy Devellano said Monday. "We just have to clean up a little bit of language in one of the contracts, and then it should be done. When it's long-term contracts, you want it to be right for both sides."

Nothing is set in stone yet, but the Wings have wasted little time this off-season getting things in motion with their contracts. It's entirely possible we could have the entire roster and front office all locked up nice and neatly by the end of the week, but there's a lot that can still happen. Bertuzzi, Eaves and Miller aren't sure-fire re-signs after the seasons they had, so we'll see how this all plays out over the next couple days.

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I think Miller is a sure thing. He was not wanted by anyone last season and had a productive role with the wings. He will be back. I would like to see Maltby back as a minimal cap hit. He can still skate and agitate and would play well with Miller. I think with addition of Hudler back and maybe get one more secondary scorer we will be primed for another cup run.

by Brich8503 on Jun 8, 2010 6:09 PM CDT reply actions

Maybe Landon Ferraro could be that secondary scorer if he shines in training camp.

by Brich8503 on Jun 8, 2010 6:12 PM CDT up reply actions

WTF?

Are you high?

When was the last time that Detroit sent someone up from the WHL or OHL or QMJHL to Detroit? Ferraro will play in GR for a minimum of 2 years and he’s behind Griffins like Emmerton (12 goals and 25 assists), Mursak (24 goals and 18 assists), Ritola (19 goals and 23 assists), Pare (16 goals and 23 assists), and even Tatar (16 goals and 16 assists).

Ferraro won’t be in Detroit before 2012.

by Kman23 on Jun 8, 2010 11:08 PM CDT up reply actions

Maltby? He was done 3 years ago. He’s one of the few cases of the wings loyalty biting them in the ass.

by Winggod19 on Jun 9, 2010 12:31 AM CDT up reply actions

Why the hell did we offer Meech another contract?

by Apocalyptic0n3 on Jun 8, 2010 7:30 PM CDT reply actions

Just to spite my prediction he won't be re-signed :)

Back off man, I'm a scientist

Winging It In Motown
and SB Nation Detroit --SB Nation's regional hub for all your Detroit sporting needs

by Ryan Weiss on Jun 8, 2010 7:40 PM CDT up reply actions

no kidding

by mikerlz on Jun 8, 2010 11:08 PM CDT up reply actions

Cheap & Depth

Because he’s okay making minimum wage and sitting out 70 games a year. Also, he can play offense and defense, something that’s nice when your team is right up against the cap.

by Kman23 on Jun 8, 2010 11:09 PM CDT up reply actions

This is true. Never really thought about it, but he might be valuable for practice, too. He can play any position bar goalie (and even then, who knows. lol) so he can fill in any spot we need him to during drills and scrimmages. A minimum wage guy who is a hard working body for practice probably isn’t that bad of a thing. Might also give Janik and possibly Kindl more incentive to work their asses off (“Derek has been here for a few seasons. You’ll have to beat him for the spot he has been working for”)

by Apocalyptic0n3 on Jun 9, 2010 8:54 AM CDT up reply actions

because he’s a solid two-way player, he can play Wing if we need him. I’d rather see Meech on the 3rd D-line than Ericsson. Ericsson needs to either go back to GR, or go to another club altogether.

GO WINGS!

by Kronwalled55 on Jun 16, 2010 11:49 AM CDT up reply actions

Contracts for RFAs

Because if other teams sign them away the Wings get compensatory picks I think. It’s smart management. It doesn’t mean they’ll be Wings next year.
I’d rather Bertuzzi, Williams, Lebda, Meech were all gone (Meech at least has some utility as a forward but there’s no need for him there). There is no need to keep Maltby either; Draper is fading considerably as well. I liked Miller but I don’t see him as a sure thing.
The Wings could use secondary scoring, just like any other team not named Chicago or Washington. I doubt they’ll get any until camp time or so or somebody off waivers late. Holland has said he’s looking for sandpaper and a big AMEN to that. Raffi Torres would be great if they have the money; hard nosed and not a liability. But he’s probably too pricey. In fact the Wings might look for a goalie of some kind since Larsson bailed on the Griffins. Ferraro won’t be a Wing any time soon. The only minor league forward close to call up is Ritola.
There was a good article touching on this over at BabcocksDeathStare.

by ru55ian5 on Jun 9, 2010 4:14 AM CDT reply actions