Detroit Red Wings Extend Former First-Round Pick

The Detroit Red Wings have signed Michael Rasmussen to a three-year, $4.38 million contract. It will carry a $1.46 million cap hit each season.

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

The Red Wings originally took Rasmussen with the 9th overall pick of the 2017 NHL Entry Draft. The 6'6" center has taken a bit of time to develop, but he played well at the NHL level this season. In 40 games, he had three goals and recorded 12 points. With him only being 22-years-old, there certainly is room for more improvement, too. In 102 NHL games, he has 11 career goals and 30 total points thus far.

This contract comes very little risk and could become a fantastic one if he can find more of a scoring touch moving forward. His cap hit is very affordable and it will be for multiple seasons. Therefore, it's hard to find any real reason to complain about it.

It'll be intriguing to see how Rasmussen develops from here. It would be great to see him make their top-six in the future. Even if he stays as a bottom-six forward for Detroit, that is still fine at this price, though.