Wings sign Draper to three-year extension

The Detroit Red Wings locked up one of their key veterans for the long term, signing forward Kris Draper to a three-year contract extension last Thursday.

The deal will pay him $1.85 million next season, $1.65 million in 2009-10, and $1.25 million in the 2010-11 campaign.

Draper, one of the league's top defensive forwards, has 137 goals and 302 points in 895 career NHL games.

He played parts of three seasons with the Winnipeg Jets and was traded to the Red Wings in 1993 for one dollar. He has helped lead Detroit to three Stanley Cups in his 13 seasons with the club and also won the Selke Trophy as the NHL's best defensive forward in 2004.

Draper, who earns $2.128 million this season, scored five goals in his first 10 games of the 2007-08 campaign.

The 36-year-old was set to become an unrestricted free agent next summer.