First off, the video of the press conference, in case you didn’t catch it live:
Next, the particulars, as relayed by Helene St. James. 12 years, $73 million, broken down by seasons in the following way:
09-10 $7.4 Million
10-11 $7.75 Million
11-12 $7.75 Million
12-13 $7.75 Million
13-14 $7.5 Million
14-15 $7.5 Million
15-16 $7.5 Million
16-17 $7.5 Million
17-18 $7.0 Million
18-19 $3.35 Million
19-20 $1.0 Million
20-21 $1.0 Million
From a cap standpoint, the yearly hit will be $6.08 million.
Needless to say, this is a heck of a deal. Zetterberg is a steal at $7.4 million a year and even more so at the $6.08 million cap hit. Kudos to Ken Holland for his role in the deal, and to Zetterberg for his willingness to take such a cut down from his likely market value. Hank proved himself to truly be the kind of player we thought he was.
I’ve been a fan of Hank since he was the next prospect down the pipe from Datsyuk. I still hate Barrett Jackman for winning the Calder in 2003*, stealing Zetterberg’s rightful prize. My second jersey was a Zetterberg jersey (got it before he was given an “A” and after the obligatory Yzerman sweater). My next one is likely to be one of his Team Sweden or Winter Classic editions. I’m the type of fan who puts most of his “fanship capability” eggs in one basket. The Wings are the basket holding the Zetterberg basket, if you will.
Reading Elliotte Friedman’s now-infamous “throwaway comment” a couple week’s ago ruined my day. It killed me and caused me to step out on a limb I’d never tried my weight on before as a blogger: calling the Wings’ PR reps (got their voicemail). I had to know if that line about him rejecting an offer was right. I was a Fedorov partisan back in the day and from that crappy experience I knew too well what it was like to see negotiations with your favorite player go sour.
As that story played out, calm was restored, but the positive reports that came out after didn’t do much to restore confidence in the process. I needed the press conference announcement. Reading last night’s news was almost like watching the Wings win the Cup again. I knew it was coming, but enough doubt crept in to allow visions of defeat snatched from the jaws of victory. The conference announcement changed all that. Although I hoped Khan’s early reported numbers were right, all I cared about was that Zetterberg had re-signed. It’s still sinking in. 12 years! It’s incredible.
The deal limits the Wings’ cap space to about $10 million for next season, but will allow for some more good news on the free agent front. Unfortunately, as Holland was careful to point out, this team will see some pieces broken off this summer. The important thing, however, is that this group take advantage of the time it has together and that those left here after the summer movement work to be right back at or near the top, in the Red Wings tradition.
This contract puts the Wings in great shape going forward with as good a core as there is in the league and a number of capable players currently reaching maturity in the AHL. Whether Hossa or Franzen or whoever stays is important, but regardless of what happens with the UF/RFA’s, the Wings’ status as serious competitors in this league was further solidified today.
Hank said during the press conference that he’s glad he won’t have to go through the negotiation process again. I gather from that statement that the process was something of a drain on his attention. Here’s hoping he can step it up somewhat in the second half now that the contract talks are over and he’s in the fold for what should be the rest of his career.
*A post dating back to before Blogger had post titles.
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