Michael Rasmussen has signed a three-year contract extension with the Detroit Red Wings.
The 22-year-old center became a restricted free agent at the end of the 2020-21 season. The extension was announced Thursday but financial details of the contract were not immediately revealed.
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Rasmussen was drafted 9th overall in 2017 and has played 102 games with the Red Wings since 2018. In 40 games played this past season he scored 3 goals and 9 assists. He showed a massive improvement through those 40 games despite the team’s lackluster play overall.
Rasmussen appears to be ready to take the next step as a center in the NHL. He averaged a career high 14:48 of ice time as he slotted into the Detroit lineup as third- or fourth-line center, and at times higher up the lineup. His faceoff win percentage improved to 44.4%. He is expected to fill this role for the Red Wings come October.
Rasmussen was loaned to Graz EC in the Austrian league for part of the 2020-21 season. With Graz he score 16 points in 18 games.
At the time of this announcement, Rasmussen was one of a small list Red Wings players under contract beyond the 2022-23 season. This is a significant commitment from GM Steve Yzerman who hasn’t been handing out many contracts with terms longer than a season or two.
Yzerman has signed key prospects to three-year, entry-level deals such as Moritz Seider, Lucas Raymond, Albert Johansson and Joe Veleno.