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Red Wings, Niklas Kronwall hope to get started on a new contract soon

Niklas Kronwall

Detroit Red Wings defenseman Niklas Kronwall, of Sweden, celebrates his game-winning goal against the Phoenix Coyotes in the overtime period of an NHL hockey game Saturday, Oct. 16, 2010, in Glendale, Ariz. Kronwall scored with 16 seconds left in overtime to give Detroit a 2-1 victory. (AP Photo/Paul Connors)

AP

While things might get a little complicated once the Collective Bargaining Agreement expires after the 2011-12 season, the general rule is that it’s better for NHL teams to re-sign players before they hit free agency. That’s especially the case with players who are at least 27 years old because they can become unrestricted free agents and take advantage of weak markets to score bloated deals.

As Joe discussed in late July, the Detroit Red Wings’ next big salary cap commitment might be to hard-hitting defenseman Niklas Kronwall. The 30-year-old blueliner’s contract is in the final year of a contract that will pay him $3.75 million with a $3 million cap hit. The Swedish defenseman is coming off the second best offensive season of his career with 37 points in 2010-11 (he had 51 in 08-09).

While fellow Swedish blueliner Nicklas Lidstrom took home the 2011 Norris Trophy, Kronwall’s role with the Red Wings is slowly expanding. Kronwall was second to Lidstrom in ice time during the regular season with 22:52 minutes per game, but he surpassed Lidstrom in playoff ice time with a team-leading 23:04 minutes per game.

With the creeping inevitability of Lidstrom’s retirement in mind, the Red Wings’ defense could be in a serious state of flux after the 2011-12 season. Brad Stuart and Mike Commodore’s contracts will also expire in July 2012, which means that Jakub Kindl, Jonathan Ericsson and Ian White are the only defensemen who currently rank in the team’s top seven who already have contracts in place.

Of course, that situation becomes a lot more pleasant when you consider the possibility of adding a solid free agent or two (Ryan Suter, anyone?) or calling up one of the team’s prospects. The team will have a ton of cap space to work with with just under $35 million in cap commitments to 13 players as of this moment, so the situation isn’t dire - it’s just uncertain.

However they plan on filling some of those holes, it seems obvious that keeping Kronwall in the fold is still a smart plan for the team. That’s why the two sides are planning on hashing out the details soon,
according to Ansar Khan.

“As an organization with the history and tradition of Detroit, I think anyone who is fortunate enough to have a chance to play here for many, many years would love to take that,” Kronwall said. “Hopefully, I can do the same.”

The Red Wings are likely to begin contract talks with Kronwall this month or shortly after the start of the season.

“Everyone knows I like it here a lot,” Kronwall said. “I want to stay. Hopefully, they want me to stay as well. So whenever they feel it’s the right time to start negotiating we’ll be ready for it.”


It would be pretty surprising if the Red Wings cannot come to terms with Kronwall, although there’s no guarantee that it will happen quickly. The one advantage to the situation dragging out a bit is that Kronwall would gain the natural boost of contract year inspiration, which might mean a big season. Of course, the double-edged sword to that situation is that a big season would give him a better chance at an even bigger payday.

Although Ericsson’s contract ranks as a rare exception, Red Wings GM Ken Holland is known for signing homegrown talent to enviably affordable deals. We’ll see if he can work his magic with Kronwall as well.