Justin Abdelkader signs 7-year extension with Red Wings

He’s been a full-time forward for Detroit ever since.

“There are lots of players that are real close, I saw that in the American League, ” Blashill added. He has four goals and seven points through 15 games, but has not scored since the second game of the season.

The seven-year term is eye-popping.

The Muskegon, Mich., native turned pro in 2007-08 after his junior season at MI State University, appearing in two regular-season games and serving as a Black Ace during the team’s 2008 Stanley Cup championship run. His current 4-year contract, which has a $1.8 million yearly cap hit for Detroit, expires at the end of this season.

The extension will keep him locked in through the 2022-23 season, at which point the former second-round draft pick will be 35 years of age. He had already been in the league for five seasons by the time he broke out offensively.

Although I really like what Abby brings to the Red Wings, the 7-year term scares me a little.

The length, on the other hand, is too long for a player of Abdelkader’s caliber and the point totals he has shown thus far. Riley Sheahan was moved to wing on the third line, next to Andreas Athanasiou and Teemu Pulkkinen. Before that season, his career best was 28 points.

Plus, Abdelkader plays a physical style of hockey, a bruising brand that increases his likelihood of slowing down in his later years with a bigger risk to injury. However, when this deal kicks in, Abdelkader will be 29. However, this bad contract will likely overshadow anything Abdelkader does from here on out through the next seven years in Detroit.