Zetterberg Takes Road Less Traveled

Detroit Red Wings forward Henrik Zetterberg recently signed a 12 year, $73 million contract extension. Yes, 12 years. Its kind of up in the air still whether or not the NHL will even be around in 12 years due to struggling ticket sales and a smaller market as a result of the dumbest move in sports history of signing an exclusive contract with Versus, a channel that a large portion of the US doesn't even get. But if this contract is any sign of confidence from within the league of a rebound, good things could be yet to come.

Zetterberg was to become an unrestricted free agent in July and would most likely reel in a deal in excess of $7 million a year on a shorter term basis. However, he signed a frontloaded 12 year deal that would pay him a total of $5 million over the last three years. Now, I'm not gonna pretend like I know the man personally but having seen numerous interviews with him and seen the character with which he plays the game, I'm surmising that his deal had very little to do with money and more to do with being part of a team. Zetterberg was drafted in the 7th round, 210th overall in 1999 but didn't make his debut for the Red Wings until 2002. He's crawled out of the draft basement to become a top-notch performer on hockey's biggest stage. Though Zetterberg doesn't have the point totals of Crosby or Ovechkin to awe you with, he is more of an all-around playmaker. One of his best contributions to the team is his defensive ability. Zetterberg and occasional linemate Pavel Datsyuk are two of the NHL's elite defensive forwards and it comes as no surprise that their defensive prowess is an indication of their "from the ground up" careers. He's not too shabby on the offensive side of the puck, averaging 60 points a year. These are some of the attributes that have contributed to him rising from a 7th round pick to a Stanley Cup Champion and Conn Smythe winner. That being said, I believe that is why he took an offer for less money to stay in Detroit. He has put everything into becoming a better player in Hockeytown and has consistently shown through his style of play that it's all about the team, not him.

In an era where baseball players are being payed $20+ million a year or NFL and NBA players demanding a trade so their egos can be placated, its good to see a player take a deal that keeps him with a team for the long haul and gives him less money. It has become rare for such contracts to even come into place, let alone be signed by a player. For one of the NHL's elite players to take a paycut to stay with a team and truly lead by example speaks volumes of the often underspoken character of the NHL players. In the end, I think Zetterberg's deal puts an eventual "C" on his chest and a "40" in the rafters of Joe Louis Arena.