Word surfaced last week that the Detroit Red Wings and defenseman Jonathan Ericsson were closing in on a long-term contract extension.
On Wednesday, the team made it official.
The Red Wings announced that they have signed Ericsson to a six-year contract extension that is worth a reported $25.5 million. That comes out to a salary cap hit of $4.5 million per season. He is currently in the final year of a three-year contract that pays him $3.25 million per season.
Detroit has managed to get quite a bit of mileage out of Ericsson considering that he was not only a ninth-round draft pick back in 2002, but also the very last player selected at No. 291 overall.
In 292 career games he's scored 14 goals to go with 48 assists and has developed into a very solid defensive player. Following the retirements of Nicklas Lidstrom and Brian Rafalski in recent years, as well as the loss of veteran Brad Stuart, Ericsson has become one of the anchors of the Detroit blue line.
With Ericsson now signed, the Red Wings have him, Johan Franzen, Henrik Zetterberg, Stephen Weiss, Niklas Kronwall and Jimmy Howard all signed through at least the end of the 2017-18 season.
Had they not re-signed Ericsson, he would have been eligible for unrestricted free agency this summer and probably been one of the top defensemen available.
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