DETROIT (AP) -The Detroit Red Wings checked off two of the top items on their offseason to-do list by re-signing star goalie Dominik Hasek and up-and-coming forward Jiri Hudler.
The Red Wings and Hasek agreed Thursday to terms of a one-year contract worth more than $2 million in base salary with a chance to earn an additional $2 million in bonuses.
Hudler, a restricted free agent, signed a two-year contract that will pay him $880,000 next season.
The 42-year-old Hasek, a six-time Vezina Trophy winner and two-time MVP, informed the Red Wings that he wanted to play in Detroit again. But it took weeks for both sides to reach a deal.
“It’s a lot less than he should be making,” said Hasek’s agent, Ritch Winter. “It’s one of the few deals that I do in which the player, the club and the agent agree the player is worth $5 (million) or $6 million and we talk it down from there.
“Dom didn’t want more. He’s taking one for the team. It’s not one of my fun deals, but Dom is happy and that’s important.”
In July 2006, Hasek signed a one-year contract worth $750,000 and earned $900,000 in bonuses after helping the Red Wings advance past the second round for the first time since 2002. Detroit was eliminated in the Western Conference finals by the Anaheim Ducks, who went on to win the Stanley Cup.
Hasek was 38-11-6 with a 2.05 goals-against average, .913 save-percentage and eight shutouts during his 15th regular season and third in Detroit. In the playoffs, Hasek was 10-8 with a 1.79 GAA, .923 save-percentage and two shutouts.
He looked a lot like he did in his previous playoff appearance in 2002, when he had six postseason shutouts en route to the Stanley Cup. Hasek has 362 career regular-season victories over a 14-year career in Chicago, Buffalo, Detroit and Ottawa.
Hudler, 23 and like Hasek a native of the Czech Republic, led Detroit’s rookies with 15 goals and 25 points in 76 games last season, his first full year in the NHL. He had two assists in six playoff games.
“We felt it was important to get him signed because he’s a young player that was able to score 15 goals in part-time duty last season,” Red Wings general manager Ken Holland said Thursday. “And with our salary cap, you can’t address every need with unrestricted free agents.
“You need some homegrown tomatoes.”
Hudler had 36 goals and 97 points during the 2005-06 season for Grand Rapids in the AHL.
The Red Wings might not make another significant move this offseason.
They added free agent defenseman Brian Rafalski last week, shortly after losing Mathieu Schneider in free agency. But they don’t expect to replace departed forwards Robert Lang or Todd Bertuzzi, both of whom left the team as free agents.
“We would like to add a top-six forward, but we’re probably not going to be able to because of what’s on the market, our cap space now and our plans for the future,” Holland said. “We’d like to add an NHL veteran up front to help our depth before training camp and we’ll also bring in some minor league defensemen.
“But we really need our young guys, such as Jiri Hudler, to step forward and contribute consistently.”
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