Nicklas Lidstrom's one-year deal with the Red Wings includes a salary of $6.2 million, a $1.25 million pay cut from what he made this past season. Lidstrom decided to take the so-called "hometown discount" in order to "give the Wings the chance to have some flexibility." Detroit isn't working with a ton of cap room, so every little bit helps.
In addition to discussing why he took a pay cut, Lidstrom also had this to say about his decision to return:
“I wanted to wait until the end of the year and really have a sit-down with them and not decide while I was still playing. Once I made my decision, it wasn’t really a tough one.”
Lidstrom said Holland approached him about “signing a two-year deal, but I just felt more comfortable going year-by-year.”
Although it would be nice to know that Lidstrom is coming back for two more years, nothing is guaranteed, which is why it's better to just go with the one-year deal for now. It's too tough to tell what Lidstrom will want to do a year from now, so by only signing a one-year contract, the Wings can just take this one season at a time.