Red Wings Extend Howard

The Red Wings have announced that they have signed their number one goalie Jimmy Howard to a new 2-year contract extension, reported to be worth $4.5 million, a $2.25 million cap hit each season.  The Red Wings do not have a history of signing goaltenders for too long or too much and that is rather evident with this deal here today.

With the Red Wings in the 2011 season, Howard has a 30-12-3 record, with 2 shutouts and 1 assist for 65 points in the pools, which has him ranked 13th in overall pool scoring.  He has been a goalie good enough to get the job done and will likely be relied upon to do the same sort of thing over the next couple seasons when the deal kicks in.

As of right now, I have the Red Wings projection for the 2012 season at 15 players for $46.8 million, which should give them plenty of wiggle room for some quality depth to stay competitive.