Filppula stays in Hockeytown

Young center agrees to five-year contract

Bill Roose, Detroit Red Wings

DETROIT — The Red Wings locked up another piece of their Stanley Cup championship team on Wednesday, signing restricted free agent center Valtteri Filppula to a five-year deal.

The contract runs through the 2012-13 season.

Filppula, 24, played in 78 games last season, scoring 19 goals with 17 assists and a plus-16 rating.

In the playoffs, he had five goals, six assists and was a plus-7. Perhaps his most memorable contribution came in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup finals when he capped the Wings’ 3-0 win over Pittsburgh with a diving, third-period goal.

Filppula had three game-winning goals last season – all on the road in Edmonton (Oct. 30), Nashville (Dec. 10) and Anaheim (Jan. 23).

He had his longest point streak of his career last December when he got a point in six straight games, collecting six goals and two assists during that stretch.

In 155 career NHL games, Filppula, a native of Vantaa, Finland – and a third round pick in 2002 – has 29 goals with 25 assists and is a plus-25.

Source: Red Wings Official Website