Some interesting news out of Detroit this morning:
BREAKING: The #RedWings have signed Jonathan Ericsson to a six-year extension.
— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) November 27, 2013
As per team policy, the monetary terms of this extension will not be released (until outside sources get a hold of that information and share it). We’ll have that up as quickly as possible.
[EDIT: here we go]
Ericsson deal has a cap hit of 4.25 million.
— Ansar Khan (@AnsarKhanMLive) November 27, 2013
Ericsson is well-known for being the very last person picked in the 2002 entry draft, in a round which no longer exists. He was playing as a forward when he was drafted out of Sweden, but Detroit took a chance on converting the 6’5″ monster into a defenseman. Ericsson struggled with the adjustment for a few y ears, but now at age 29, he’s viewed as one of the more consistent players on the Wings’ defensive corps and is most-certainly a top-four guy.
This six-year extension will officially kick in next summer when Ericsson is 30 and will take him to his 36th birthday. I’m very much looking forward to seeing what the cap hit on this extension is, because I personally think that six years is one or two longer than he should have received. I’m very happy with the cap hit on this deal. With the rising cap, if Ericsson’s play falls off, it will be doing so at less than the rate that his cap hit percentage is doing the same.
Ericsson has played 356 total NHL games, all with the Red Wings. Overall, he’s scored 19 goals and 49 assists with 287 career PIMs and an overall +23 rating.
