Red Wings re-sign Filppula

July 30, 2008   ·   Derek Felix   ·   Jump to comments

Earlier today, the Red Wings came to terms on a new five-year contract worth a reported $15 million with forward Valtteri Filppula.

The 24 year-old Finn who Detroit tabbed in the third round back in 2002 attained new career bests across the board in games played (78), goals (19), assists (17), points (36) and plus/minus (16) last season. He also fared alright in the Wings’ run to the Stanley Cup posting five goals and six helpers for 11 points in 22 playoff games.

By getting the deal done, both sides avoided the headache known as arbitration. While he’s only played two full seasons, Detroit GM Ken Holland feels investing in Filppula will work out:

“We love everything about him because he’s a complete player with great character, and we think he can get even better. He plays hard, he plays hurt. He’s got great speed and talent along with versatility because he can play left wing or centre. … The only thing no one knows is how good he can be. But even if he doesn’t become a 70-point scorer we think he might be, we’ll still love everything about him as a player and person.”

“We’re really excited about locking in a player this young and this good that keeps him off the market as an unrestricted free agent for a couple of years,” Holland added. “He’s the kind of player we can build around in the years to come.”

More and more, we’re seeing these kinds of contracts handed out so that clubs can avoid arbitration and RFA. From my vantage point, Filppula is exactly what Holland described. A versatile gritty forward with speed who can shift from wing to center if called upon. He looks to be a solid two-way player who can play in any situation.

You have to figure he’ll continue to improve as a secondary contributor. It looks like the Wings once again found a good player in the middle of a draft. Full marks to their scouting staff who continues to get the job done at a very successful rate.

Lightning Sign Stamkos: The Tampa Bay Lightning signed 2008 No.1 overall pick Steven Stamkos to a three-year rookie entry level contract. He’ll earn an average of $875,000 and could make over $8 million in performance bonuses.

The 18 year-old out of Markham, Ontario knows it will be a challenge going from juniors to the pros this Fall:

“I know it’s not going to be easy for me to step in right away. Hopefully I can earn my stripes and play well and really deserve to be there.”