Red Wings sign Lebda to 4-year deal

The Red Wings have signed defenseman Brett Lebda to a four-year deal.

The contract is worth $550,000 each of the first two seasons, and increases to $650,000 the third season and $850,000 the fourth season.

Lebda impressed the coaching staff last year at training camp with the way he handled the puck and eventually earned a steady spot on the roster in Detroit. He was part of the opening night lineup (because Niklas Kronwall busted his knee in an exhibition), and scored his first NHL goal to help the Wings beat St. Louis that game.

Lebda, 24, was sent to Grand Rapids after the Wings signed veteran Jason Woolley, but was back in Detroit by late October. He ended up playing 46 games in the regular season, contributing 12 points, and played in all six games of the first-round series with Edmonton. The 5-foot-9, 195-pound native of Buffalo Grove, Ill., spent most of his games partnered with Chris Chelios, a player he admired growing up.

Lebda was a restricted free agent this summer, and always figured into the Wings’ plans. Though he made some mistakes as a rookie, he showed himself capable of playing the puck-possession game that is the Wings’ style. Eealier this summer, general manager Ken Holland told the Free Press Lebda would have to play himself off the roster not to make next season’s team.

Lebda’s signing means the active defense corps is the same one that played down the stretch last season: Nicklas Lidstrom, Andreas Lilja, Kronwall, Mathieu Schneider, Chelios and Lebda. Holland wants to add an inexpensive physical defenseman to help fill the void left by Jiri Fischer, who isn’t expected to return from a heart ailment discovered last November.