The Detroit Red Wings have secured forward Justin Abdelkader into his mid-30s.
General manager Ken Holland told the Free Press this morning that Abdelkader has been signed for seven years, with an annual average value of $4.25 million.
Asked about the long length of the deal, Holland said, "it was to get him signed. He's 28 years of age and if he hit the open market, and a team wanted to pry him out of Detroit -- it's hard to find big people that can score 20 goals."
Seven years is something of a risk, but longer term generally enables a team to negotiate a lower average salary cap hit.