Red Wings hand out $30 million dollar contract, but may be forced to make another move.

The Detroit Red Wings announced a critical signing on Tuesday, but it comes with some big consequences as well.

According to a report from NHL analyst Aaron Portzline, the Red Wings have signed Danny DeKeyser to a major contract worth a reported $30 million over the course of the next six years. That would work out to an average annual value of $5 million per season, and according to General Fanager that now puts the Red Wings well over the salary cap.

To make matters worse, the Red Wings are currently locked in a contract battle with starting goaltender Petr Mrazek , and it looks like that one will be settled by an arbitrator. Once that contract is done, the Red Wings will be even further above the salary cap, leading many to speculate about what further moves are coming from general manager Ken Holland.

While a player like Jimmy Howard would certainly be a prime candidate for a trade, there may be no trading partner interested in such an acquisition, leaving the Red Wings with some tough decisions ahead of them.

[pub]