DETROIT -- With just a couple of hours to go before free agency opened up, the Detroit Red Wings got a deal done Friday with center Darren Helm.
The 29-year-old forward signed a five-year deal worth $3.85 million per season to stay in Detroit, according to a league source.
With speed a priority for teams this offseason after the blazing fast Pittsburgh Penguins won the Stanley Cup, Helm was going to be a popular target if he reached the market as one of the best skaters in unrestricted free agency.
"As you watch the Stanley Cup playoffs, it re-emphasized the importance of speed, and that's something Darren has,'' Red Wings general manager Ken Holland said. "He's just 29 and we think he's going to have speed throughout the term of his deal. And, I'm told he took less money to stay. He's a homegrown player, a draft pick of ours, and we're glad to keep him because he's becoming a bit of a leader.''
Helm is best served in the bottom-six forward group and had 13 goals and 26 points in 77 games last season for Detroit.
The Red Wings also attempted to address the departure of Pavel Datsyuk by agreeing with Frans Nielsen to a six-year, $31.5 million contract.
"He's a centerman we needed after losing one in Pavel Datsyuk," Holland said. "We think he can play 200 feet, in all situations, including penalty killing and on the power play."
Nielsen averaged 51 points over the last three years with the New York Islanders. The 32-year-old Nielsen, who is from Denmark, has scored 119 goals and added 230 assists over his decade in the NHL.
Thomas Vanek also agreed to a one-year, $2.6 million deal with the Red Wings. The Minnesota Wild bought out the final year of Vanek's contract and following a disappointing two-year stint with the team.
The 32-year-old Austrian scored a career-low 18 goals last season, but has been a proven scorer in the past with 316 goals since Buffalo drafted him No. 3 overall in 2003 and he made his NHL debut two years later.
Defenseman Alexei Marchenko agreed to a deal to stay with Detroit just before he would have been available on the market.
Detroit desperately needed to add someone at center after Datsyuk decided he was done playing for the franchise and in the NHL. The Red Wings also added depth at the position later on the first day of free agency, agreeing to a one-year, $800,000 deal with Steve Ott. The 33-year-old Ott, coming off an injury-shortened season in St. Louis, has 106 career goals.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.