The Detroit Red Wings have signed center Michael Rasmussen to a three-year contract extension worth $4.38 million with an AAV of $1.46 million.
UPDATE: The Detroit #RedWings today signed center Michael Rasmussen to a three-year contract extension.
Details: https://t.co/NZDKr0EGqZ pic.twitter.com/Wgwd7MLj45
— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) July 22, 2021
Michael Rasmussen Signs Three-Year Deal with Detroit Red Wings
Rasmussen is coming off his second season in the NHL. The Red Wings drafted the Vancouver native ninth overall in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft. Rasmussen played four years in the WHL with the Tri-City Americans, registering 157 points in 161 career games.
The forward has yet to spend a full season in the NHL, most often splitting time between the Red Wings and the Grand Rapids Griffins. In 102 career NHL games, Rasmussen has 11 goals and 19 assists for 30 points. Last season with Detroit, he recorded three goals and nine assists in 40 games.
What This Means for the Red Wings
It’s clear Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman is trying to fill roster spots with his signing of Rasmussen. While his sample size isn’t large, a modest contract for the center is a low-risk, high-reward move on the part of Detroit. At 22 years old, the 6’6″ forward still has some room to grow as an NHL player. The Red Wings also have experience developing power forwards like Rasmussen. Anthony Mantha is one such success story.
Yzerman has plenty of spots yet to fill on his roster, with 15 pending restricted or unrestricted free agents as of Thursday. Detroit may do away with some of last year’s veterans like Valtteri Filppula, Sam Gagner and Bobby Ryan in favor of younger players like Tyler Bertuzzi, who seems to be a target league-wide.
With the signing of goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic, Yzerman is looking to solidify pieces for years to come. A core group is forming with Dylan Larkin, Robby Fabbri and pending RFA Jakub Vrana. Troy Stecher, Marc Staal, and newly-acquired Nick Leddy could provide solid defense as a wealth of youngsters will likely get NHL minutes in the years to come. Rasmussen looks like he’s part of that plan, and he now has three years to prove it.
Main Photo: Embed from Getty Images
