On the Wings

Update (9:21 PM): Dave Waddell explains the significance of Lidstrom’s pay cut:

By agreeing to take a slight pay cut, Lidstrom gives the Wings more cap space with Henrik Zetterberg due for renewal after next season.

That’s not just Waddell’s analysis, as Ken Holland indicates cap space was part of Nick’s thinking. As George Malik says, $150,000 may not seem like much of a discount, but every bit of space will help the Wings re-sign Hank and maintain their depth. - Matt

Update (4:47 PM): Red Wings TV has added a video clip consisting of interviews  with Lidstrom, Kris Draper, and Mike Babcock. - Matt

Update (3:10 PM): TSN is reporting that Nick will make $7.45 million a year. (via Kukla’s) - Matt

Update (3:08 PM): Ansar Khan’s piece on the signing is here. He does not know the terms of the deal, but reports that, “Lidstrom agreed to take a slight paycut from his current $7.6 million salary.” Cool.

Khan also provides updates on some other potential free agents. He’s had “preliminary discussions” with Dan Cleary, Andreas Lilja, and Chris Osgood, but has been told by Valtteri Filppula’s agent to wait until after the season for negotiations since Fil is in the process of establishing his market value. - Matt

The Freep reports that Nick Lidstrom has signed a two-year contract extension.

Financial terms have not been released and I’m not sure what to expect there. He’s making $7.6 million now and could command that much or more, but may have taken a pay cut in order to give the Wings’ more cap room in the future. We’ll find out soon enough, I’m sure.

Also, check out this NHLPA piece on Lidstrom and the Wings.